Portuguese regular verbs - present tense. The smaller number of irregular verbs vary from the following rules.

Get to know a few verbs in the "to know" infinitive form. a lot of the guys will understand a verb infinitive even when incorrectly conjugated with a preceding subject and subsequent object.

I might say, for example, "I to like caipirinhas" before memorizing the present tense "I like ... "

Even better, a great start is mastering present verb tense for the verbs. The verbs (infinitives) end in -ar, -er, and -ir.

All present indicative verb tense forms conjugate from the stem of the infinitive, that is, the infinitive minus the ar, er, or ir.

Unlike continental, you and he/she conjugate the same.

Four person subject pronouns: I (1st sing.), You/He/She (2nd/3rd sing.), We (1st pl.), You/They (2nd/3rd pl.)

                                                 -AR                          -ER                            -IR

 PRESENT                              o a a a                       o e e e                      o e i e

Rules for plural: "mos" is appended to all 1st person plural conjugations; "m" is appended to 2nd/3rd person plural conjugations.

For example: to like - gostar ... gosto, gosta, gostamos, gostam.

Hope I have got this right.

I find present tense easy because I have this tune in my head: Oh, ah, ah, ah; oh, ee, ee, ee; oh, ee, eye, ee.

 

Here is a more expanded guideline for various tenses

Portuguese verbs - the 3 regular verb infinitive forms/classes, guidelines for 72 verb endings

6 conjugations (first 5 are indicative):
Present                                               I eat
Past imperfect                                   I was eating
Past perfect                                       I ate
Future                                                 I will eat
(Future can also be formed by the verb ir, to go ... I am going to eat) - ir is irregular)
Conditional                                         I would eat
Present subjunctive (imperative)     Eat (one word command)

Verb base types: The future and conditional conjugate from the infinitive; the others from the stem.

4 persons: I (1st sing.), You/He/She (2nd/3rd sing.), We (1st pl.), You/They (2nd/3rd pl.)

The dotted lines mean the endings are the same as the set directly preceding (left to right)

                                                    -AR                          -ER                            -IR

PRESENT                              o a a a                          o e e e                      o e i e

PAST IMPERFECT               ava ava áva ava             ia ia ia ia                   - - - -

PAST PERFECT                     ei ou a ara                   ie eu e era                i iu i ira

FUTURE                                 ei á e âo                          - - - -                      - - - -

CONDITIONAL                       ia ia ia ia                          - - - -                      - - - -

IMPERATIVE, pres. subjnct.   e e e e                            a a a a                      - - - -

Rules for plural: "mos" is appended to all 1st person plural conjugations; "m" is appended to all 2nd/3rd person plural conjugations except future indicative

Present progressive, I am eating, is denoted by the verb estar [to be - temporary, as opposed to ser (permanent)], person-conjugated followed by verb stem and: ando, endo, indo.