Understand the participle in Portuguese

The participle is a noun form and can be understood as the verb form that indicates a completed action. Understanding this noun form is essential to improving your writing and speaking, as well as better understanding sentence structure. Let's dive in!

What is a participle?

A participle is a nominal form that plays an important role in a sentence. It can act as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb, and can also be used in compound tenses. In Portuguese, participles can be classified into two main categories: regular and irregular.

Participle Rules

Forming the regular participle is quite simple. In general, regular verbs form their participle by adding -ado to first-conjugation verbs (ending in -ar) and -ido to second- and third-conjugation verbs (ending in -er and -ir). For example:

• Verb falar = falado

• Verb comer = comido

• Verb partir = partido

Now, when we talk about irregular participles, things change. These verbs don't follow the previously mentioned rules and have their own forms. Some examples include:

• Verb fazer = feito

• Verb dizer = dito

• Verb ver = visto

Abundant Verbs

A curious aspect of the Portuguese participle is the abundant verbs, which have more than one form. For example, the verb "pagar" (pay) can be in the forms "pago" and "pagado", while "imprimir" (print) can be in both "impresso" and "imprimido".

Understanding the participle is crucial for constructing correct and clear sentences. It is present in many verb tenses and expands your expressive capacity. By mastering this noun form, you will be able to use constructions such as "tinha falado" (had spoken), "fui contratado" (was hired), or "ele tinha visto" (he had seen), making your communication much richer and more precise.

Furthermore, knowing participles will help you understand literary and academic texts, where quality writing is essential. The more you study this essential part of grammar, the more you'll improve your fluency.

And to help you delve even deeper into this topic, I recommend this video I prepared. This video offers detailed explanations and practical examples, as well as a short exercise, which will certainly facilitate your understanding and application of the participle in your daily life.

See you there and happy studying!