Portuguese · Chapter 1 · Lesson 6 · Grammar primer
Three verb families, very few surprises
Every verb ends in -ar, -er or -ir, and each family takes a predictable set of endings. The irregulars are irregular because they are common.
The short version
Brazilian Portuguese needs fewer endings
Brazil has largely standardised on voce for everyday address, and voce takes the same verb form as ele and ela. So one ending covers three pronouns, and the present tense a learner actually needs has four forms rather than the six most textbooks print. That is a real saving; take it.
Voce fala muito bem.
Ficar is regular, it just changes its spelling
Ficar writes qu before an e and parecer writes a cedilla before an a, and both look like irregularities. They are not. The sound follows the regular pattern perfectly and only the spelling shifts to protect it. File them as regular verbs with a spelling rule attached.
Eu fico em casa.
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