ser

Irregular in every tense: sou, é, somos, são; era in the imperfect; and fui, foi, fomos, foram in the past, the same forms as ir. Portuguese has two verbs for “to be”. Ser is for what something is — identity, nationality, profession, what it's made of, the time (são três horas). Estar is for how or where something is at the moment. The subjunctive seja turns up in fixed phrases: seja bem-vindo (“welcome”), ou seja (“in other words”). The future subjunctive for is common after quando and se.

Examples

• Ela é professora em Belo Horizonte.

  She's a teacher in Belo Horizonte.

• Era uma vez um rei muito velho.

  Once upon a time there was a very old king.

• Quando for possível, a gente conversa.

  When it's possible, we'll talk.

Related verbs

• estar — to be
• ir — to go
• ter — to have

Mostly found in writing. In speech Brazilians use the forms above instead.