Regular –ER verbs

The -ER Conjugation Pattern

Like -AR verbs, conjugating -ER verbs involves removing the infinitive ending and adding person-specific endings. The key difference is the vowel: where -AR uses 'a', -ER uses 'e'.

Let's use COMER (to eat) as our model:

1. Find the stem: COMER - ER = COM-

2. Add the appropriate ending:

EU → -O

• com + o = como (I eat)

TU → -ES (rarely used in Brazil)

At Restaurants and Bars

• "O que vocês bebem?" (What are you drinking?)

• "Eu não como carne" (I don't eat meat)

• "Nós escolhemos o prato do dia" (We choose the daily special)

• "Ela bebe só água com gás" (She only drinks sparkling water)

Daily Routines

• "Eu corro toda manhã" (I run every morning)

• "A gente come fora às sextas" (We eat out on Fridays)

• "Você recebe muitos emails?" (Do you receive many emails?)

• "Eles vendem produtos online" (They sell products online)

Spelling Changes in -CER and -GER Verbs

To preserve pronunciation, some -ER verbs change spelling in the eu form:

Verbs ending in -CER: c becomes ç in the eu form

• conhecer → eu conheço (I know / I meet)

• parecer → eu pareço (I seem)

Verbs ending in -GER: g becomes j in the eu form

• proteger → eu protejo (I protect)

The change is purely about keeping the soft sound — say it out loud and you will hear why.

The 1990 Orthographic Agreement removed the circumflex from -ER verbs ending in -eem in the third-person plural — so lêem, crêem, vêem and dêem are now spelled leem, creem, veem and deem. Brazilian publishers had a transition period that ended in 2016, which is why older novels and textbooks may still display the old accented forms.

Source: Uso do acento circunflexo no Novo Acordo Ortográfico — portugues.com.br.