Present (1st Person Changes)
A few verbs, although otherwise regular in the present tense, have a change in the spelling and pronunciation for the first person singular (sentir ➡ eu sinto). In Portuguese, this is called 'alternância vocálica.'
This happens in certain third conjugation verbs (ending in -ir), where the vowel e changes to i or the vowel o changes to u:
It's important to note that while these verbs have a spelling change in the first person singular (eu), they generally follow the regular conjugation patterns for -ir verbs in the present tense in other forms.
- Sentir (present conjugation)
- Eu sinto; tu sentes; você/ele/ela sente; nós sentimos; vocês/eles/elas sentem.
- Dormir (present conjugation)
- Eu durmo; tu dormes; você/ele/ela dorme; nós dormimos; vocês/eles/elas dormem.
Here are some more verbs ending in -ir that have a spelling change in the present tense for the 1st person singular:
- Cobrir (to cover) ➡ Cubro
- 🪑 Eu cubro a mesa com uma toalha. (I cover the table with a towel.)
- Descobrir (to discover)
- Eu descubro novos lugares quando viajo. (I discover new places when I travel.)
- Despir (to undress) ➡ Dispo
- Eu dispo o fato de banho no balneário. (I undress my swimsuit in the locker room.)
- Divertir (to have fun) ➡ Divirto
- 🤝 Eu divirto os meus amigos com piadas. (I amuse my friends with jokes.)
- Engolir (to swallow) ➡ Engulo
- 💧 Eu engulo comprimidos com água. (I swallow pills with water.)
- Encobrir (to conceal) ➡ Encubro
- Eu encubro a verdade. (I hide/conceal the truth.)
- Ferir (to injure) ➡ Firo
- Eu firo-o sem querer. (I unintentionally hurt him.)
- Inserir (to insert) ➡ Insiro
- Eu insiro o cartão e a máquina devolve-o. (I insert the card and the machine returns it.)
- Preferir (to prefer) ➡ Prefiro
- 🍷 Eu prefiro vinho branco, e tu? (I prefer white wine, and you?)
- Repetir (to repeat) ➡ Repito
- Repito, esta situação é grave. (I repeat, this situation is serious.)
- Servir (to serve) ➡ Sirvo
- Eu sirvo as sobremesas. (I serve the desserts.)
- Tossir (to cough) ➡ Tusso
- Desde ontem que tusso imenso. (I’ve been coughing a lot since yesterday.)
Present - spelling changes
The rest of this lesson is for members
DailyNata Plus opens this lesson and every other one in the library, going back years.
Sinto, durmo, cubro, dispo, engulo. The -ir verbs whose vowel shifts in the eu form and nowhere else, with an exercise on getting them right.
- An interactive exercise
Written for level A2–B1. Every lesson has its own, anywhere from A1 to B2.
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