• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
How to Give Tips, Advice, and Instructions in Portuguese – Video lesson

How to Give Tips, Advice, and Instructions in Portuguese – Video lesson

posted on June 2, 2015

How to Give Tips, Advice, and Instructions in Portuguese - Commands

To make requests and give tips, advice, and instructions in Portuguese you need a specific verb conjugation often called Commands in Portuguese textbooks.

Say you want to record a voice mail greeting that says “Leave your message after the beep”; you need this conjugation. If your friend is going to Brazil and you want to tell her “Eat pão de queijo, tapioca, and brigadeiro in Brazil!”, you need this conjugation.

I am talking about the Imperative or Commands.

It is an easy conjugation, and that’s what you will learn with this lesson.

I will show you a trick to help you master this conjugation faster, including irregular verbs.

At the end of the lesson you will be able to download a handout with this lesson in Portuguese and practice exercises.

Pronunciation Tip

In the Commands form, the stronger syllable is the second to last (just like in the present tense).

Commands in Action

Observe the sentences below. The verbs in bold are conjugated in the Commands form:

  1. Deixe seu recado após o sinal. = Leave your message after the beep.
  2. Coma muitas frutas no Brasil. = Eat lots of fruits in Brazil.
  3. Assista a filmes brasileiros para aprender mais. = Watch Brazilian movies to learn more.

Commands Conjugation: Regular Verbs

It is very easy to conjugate regular verbs in the Imperative. Simply follow two quick steps.

Tip: Have you learned the present subjunctive? The Imperative conjugation is the same, except for Tu.

Step 1: Drop the ending and switch the vowel

1. Verbs ending in –AR:

Remove the final –AR and add an E

Infinitive Command
Deixar (to leave) Deixe

Ex: Deixe seu recado após o sinal. = Leave your message after the beep.

2. Verbs ending in –ER

Remove the final –ER and add an A

Infinitive Command
Comer (to eat) Coma

Ex: Coma muitas frutas no Brasil. = Eat lots of fruits in Brazil.

3. Verbs ending in –IR

Remove the final –IR and add an A

Infinitive Command
Assistir (to watch) Assista

Ex: Assista a filmes brasileiros para aprender mais. = Watch Brazilian movies to learn more.

Tip:

Notice the crisscross between AR and ER. They exchange their vowels. Then IR verbs imitate ER verbs. These little tricks can help us memorize rules.

So now you have the Commands conjugation for Você. It is what we usually need when we are using the Commands. But you certainly want to learn the conjugations for the other persons of speech, right? Then follow step 2.

Step 2: Follow the pattern for the other conjugations

You already know that we use patterns to conjugate verbs. Here is the conjugation pattern for the Commands:

Person of speech

Pattern for verbs
ending in AR

Pattern for verbs
ending in ER

Pattern for verbs
ending in IR

Você

e

a

a

Nós

emos

amos

amos

Vocês

em

am

am

And here are the conjugations for the verbs that we used in the opening examples:

Deixar (AR) Comer (ER) Assistir (IR)
Deixe (você) Coma (você) Assista (você)
Deixemos (nós) Comamos (nós) Assistamos (nós)
Deixem (vocês) Comam (vocês) Assistam (vocês)

Commands Conjugation: Irregular Verbs

There is an easy trick that works for stem-changing verbs and almost all the irregular verbs:

  1. It all Starts in the Simple Present for Eu
  2. All you need to do is change the very last vowel according to the pattern in Step 1 for regular verbs.

Exempes:

Infinitive Simple present for Eu Command (você)
Ter (to have) Tenho (I have) Tenha
Fazer (to do, make) Faço (I do, I make) Faça
Dizer (to say, to tell) Digo (I say) Diga
  1. Tenha paciência, por favor. = Have patience, please.
  2. Faça suas tarefas de casa. = Do your homework.
  3. Diga a verdade. = Tell the truth.

To get the other conjugations (nós, vocês), follow the same pattern that we showed for the regular verbs.

[Tweet “Check out this Portuguese lesson: Commands conjugation”]

Verbs That Are Truly Irregular in the Imperative

There are only six verbs that are irregular in the Commands conjugation. This means that the trick above will not work. You need to memorize these verbs.

Ser Estar Dar
Seja (você) Esteja (você) Dê (você)
Sejamos (nós) Estejamos (nós) Demos (nós)
Sejam (vocês) Estejam (vocês) Deem (vocês)
Saber Ir Querer
Saiba (você) Vá (você) Queira (você)
Saibamos (nós) Vamos (nós) Queiramos (nós)
Saibam (vocês) Vão (vocês) Queiram (vocês)

Where Is the Conjugation for Eu?

The Imperative mode does not have a conjugation for Eu. We don’t usually give commands or tips to ourselves. When we do, we use the conjugation for Você.

How We Use the Conjugation for Nós

We can use the Imperative conjugation for Nós as we use Let’s + verb in English.

Examples:

Situation 1

At a dinner party we are all at the table ready to eat. The host may say:

  • Comamos! = Let’s eat!

Situation 2

The conference room is full. The lecturer takes his place and says:

  • Comecemos. = Let’s get started.

This form is more formal than the equivalent Vamos + verb. But you can hear it from your friends, too.

What is Correct: Diz or Diga?

I get this question a lot. It is a great question. I have just told you that the Command form for the verb Dizer is Diga. I gave you the example:

  • Diga a verdade. = Tell the truth.

But you will also hear Brazilians saying:

  • Diz a verdade. = Tell the truth.

Both are correct. They are simply different conjugations for different persons of speech.

  • Diga is the conjugation for Você.
  • Diz is the conjugation for Tu.

Another common example is:

  • Venha cá! (você) = Come here!
  • Vem cá! (tu) = Come here!

Brazilians will use both interchangeably without necessarily thinking about the conjugation.

The Conjugation for Tu

In affirmative commands, the conjugation for Tu is the same as the conjugation for Você in the present tense.

I know this sounds confusing at first, but it is easy to speak correctly:

  Present Indicative Command
Deixar Você deixa Deixa (tu) / Deixe (você)
Comer Você come Come (tu) / Coma (você)
Assitir Você assiste Assiste (tu) / Assista (você)
Fazer Você faz Faz (tu) / Faça (você)
Dizer Você diz Diz (tu) / Diga (você)

The negative imperative is different. The conjugation for Tu is the same as the present subjunctive conjugation. However in general this rule is not observed in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.

To make it easier, we recommend that you use the conjugation for Você.

Learn from Examples

All the examples below use the conjugation for Você.

1)

Apague a luz e feche a porta ao sair.

= Turn off the light and close the door when you leave.

How to Give Tips, Advice, and Instructions in Portuguese - Commands

2)

Preencha esse formulário e depois clique em Enviar.

= Fill out this form and then click on Send.

How to Give Tips, Advice, and Instructions in Portuguese - Commands

3)

Faça o que eu digo, mas não faça o que eu faço.

= Do as I say, but don’t do as I do.

4)

Viva, ame, ria.

= Live, love, laugh.

How to Give Tips, Advice, and Instructions in Portuguese - Commands

5)

Durma cedo porque amanhã o dia vai ser longo.

= Sleep early because tomorrow will be a long day.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have a regular practice if you truly want to feel comfortable speaking Portuguese. There is only so much that apps can do for you. If your goal is to be conversational, book a Trial Lesson now to see the difference it makes when you learn with the professional instructors at Street Smart Brazil.

Download Your Lesson w/ Practice Exercises

We prepared a handout for you with this lesson entirely in Portuguese to give you extra practice.

The handout contains:

  1. This lesson nicely formatted and all in Portuguese
  2. Additional info and different examples using Commands
  3. Practice exercises to help you master this useful verb conjugation

We want you to use your new conjugation with confidence. Sign up to our Newsletter below to download your handout:

Portuguese Lessons via Skype

Related Posts:

  • 12 Ways to Say You are Welcome in Brazil - Portuguese lesson
  • 8 Power Tips to Learn Verb Conjugation – Portuguese lesson
  • Shopping vocabulary in Portuguese

About Luciana Lage

I’m Luciana, founder of Street Smart Brazil. I am so happy to be able to help you in your Portuguese speaking journey! Teaching Portuguese as a foreign language was one of the best things that could have happened in my life. I’ve had the privilege of teaching Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. Now I am fully dedicated to the Street Smart Brazil community.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

Streetsmart Brazil has great teachers. They are interested in creating a learning experience that I look forward to every week. I’ve progressed and become comfortable with my use and understanding of… Read more
Bill B.
I always wanted to learn a second language, but as much as I tried, I couldn’t manage to do it on my own. Much to my surprise, after learning with Street Smart Brazil, I find myself speaking in sente… Read more
Michael
I loved my Portuguese classes! I was enrolled with Street Smart Brazil for a few years and I would continue if I could! Street Smart Brazil makes learning a language fun and exciting while never havin… Read more
Yasmin
I love my Portuguese lessons. My instructor is fantastic. She listens to my requests and allows me to practice what I want to practice. I also like the written exercises and the fact that I can practi… Read more
Kate

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Meio or Meia? How to say KIND OF in Portuguese
  • Family Vocabulary in Portuguese
  • The Power of Rehearsal to Improve Language Learning
  • Learn the Numbers in Portuguese: All you need to know
  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/xoNtWBolAzE

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2023 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved.