What this is about
Four irregular verbs punch far above their weight: querer (want), poder (can), fazer (do/make) and ir (go). With just these four + any infinitive, you can already negotiate most daily life: I want to eat, can we go, what do you do…
QUERER — want
PODER — can
FAZER — do/make
IR — go
How they combine with other verbs
| Quero comer feijoada. | querer + infinitive = want to… |
| Posso entrar? | poder + infinitive = may/can I…? |
| Vou viajar amanhã. | ir + infinitive = the future (Lição 4!) |
| O que você faz? | fazer alone = what do you do (job)? |
Exceptions & details
1 · faço is the only truly weird form in fazer's present — the rest follow the sound.
2 · Politeness upgrade: Queria um café… (I'd like…) is the soft version of quero — full story in Lição 18.
3 · ir + ir: "I'm going to go" is just vou — Brazilians never say "vou ir".
4 · fazer also runs weather (faz calor) and time (faz dois anos) — those chapters come later.
Practise this chapter
0 pool questions plus generated ones — 20 fresh practice questions, reshuffled every visit, inside the grammar library.
Practise The power verbs: querer, poder, fazer, ir — 20 questions →This chapter is taught in Lição 3 of the course — free, no account needed. Rumo is a complete Brazilian Portuguese course, A1 to B2; level A1 is free.