Five tenses to A2, ten by B2.

Strip the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and replace it with the person endings.

The -ar set is -o / -as / -a / -amos / -ais / -am; the -er set is -o / -es / -e / -emos / -eis / -em; the -ir set is -o / -es / -e / -imos / -is / -em.

Falo português todos os dias.

I speak Portuguese every day.

Take the stem (infinitive without -ar/-er/-ir) and add the past-tense endings.

For -ar: -ei / -aste / -ou / -ámos / -astes / -aram.

For -er: -i / -este / -eu / -emos / -estes / -eram.

For -ir: -i / -iste / -iu / -imos / -istes / -iram.

Many high-frequency verbs (ter, fazer, vir, ver…) use a fully irregular stem and a slightly different ending set.

Ontem comi um pastel de nata.

Yesterday I ate a custard tart.

Take the stem and add the imperfect endings.

For -ar: -ava / -avas / -ava / -ávamos / -áveis / -avam.

For -er and -ir verbs the endings are the same: -ia / -ias / -ia / -íamos / -íeis / -iam.

Only four verbs are irregular here — ser, ter, vir, pôr.

Quando era criança, falava muito alto.

When I was a child, I used to talk very loudly.

Keep the FULL infinitive intact and tack the endings onto the end: -ei / -ás / -á / -emos / -eis / -ão.

The endings are identical for all three classes.

Only three verbs have a contracted stem — fazer (farei), dizer (direi) and trazer (trarei) — everything else follows the rule.

Amanhã partirei para Lisboa.

Tomorrow I will leave for Lisbon.

Same starting point as the simple future: keep the FULL infinitive.

Add: -ia / -ias / -ia / -íamos / -íeis / -iam.

Identical endings for the three classes.

The three contracted-stem verbs from the future apply here too — faria, diria, traria.

Eu falaria com ele, se pudesse.

I would speak with him, if I could.

Take the eles-form of pretérito perfeito (e.g. falaram, comeram, partiram), drop the final -m, and that gives you the ele-form.

Then add the endings -a / -as / -a / -mos / -is / -m, with a stressed nós/vós (-áramos/-áreis for -ar, -êramos/-êreis for -er, -íramos/-íreis for -ir).

Modern speech almost always swaps this in for the compound "tinha + past participle".

Quando cheguei, ele já partira.

When I arrived, he had already left.

Take the eu-form of the present indicative (falo, como, parto, faço, ponho…) and drop the -o.

For -ar verbs add -e / -es / -e / -emos / -eis / -em.

For -er and -ir verbs add -a / -as / -a / -amos / -ais / -am.

The trick is that irregular eu-forms carry through here too: faça, ponha, diga, veja.

Espero que fales devagar.

I hope (that) you speak slowly.

Take the eles-form of pretérito perfeito (falaram, fizeram, tiveram), drop the -ram, and you have the irregular stem baked in.

Then add the endings -sse / -sses / -sse / -ssemos / -sseis / -ssem, with a stressed nós/vós (á / ê / í before the -ssemos / -sseis depending on whether the original verb was -ar / -er / -ir).

Se falasses comigo, eu entenderia.

If you spoke with me, I would understand.

Same starting point as the imperfeito do conjuntivo: take eles-pretérito-perfeito and drop the -ram.

Then add -r / -res / -r / -rmos / -rdes / -rem.

For regular verbs the eu and ele forms come out identical to the infinitive (falar, comer, partir); for irregulars you get the irregular stem (fizer, tiver, puder, vir, fôr).

Quando falares com ela, avisa-me.

When you speak with her, let me know.

There is no eu slot.

For tu, take the present-indicative ele-form (fala, come, parte).

For vós, drop -r from the infinitive and add -i (falai, comei, parti).

Every other slot — ele/ela, nós, eles/elas — borrows directly from the conjuntivo presente.

Negative commands switch every slot (including tu) to the conjuntivo presente.

Fala mais devagar, por favor.

Speak more slowly, please.