Introduction

Relevance of the Topic

Within the structures of the Portuguese language, verbs stand out as main actors, bringing movement and action to sentences. Their 'nominal forms' and 'mood inflections' play a crucial role in constructing meaning. Mastering this concept is essential for effective communication and for performing well in tests and essays.

Contextualization

Within the broader scope of the Portuguese curriculum, the study of nominal forms and mood inflections stands as a pillar in understanding verbal morphology. This theme naturally follows the approach to the general characteristics of verbs and prerequisites the understanding of tense and aspect inflections. Delving into this topic, the student expands their understanding of verbal structure, preparing for more complex topics, such as verbal voice and the study of clauses.

Theoretical Development

Components

• Infinitive: A key factor in the nominal forms of the verb, the infinitive is the original form of the verb, before any conjugation. It represents the action in a general way, without specifying subject or verb tense. It is of utmost importance for understanding the verb-nominal structure, being divided into Personal, Impersonal, and Flexed Infinitive.

  • Personal Infinitive: It is the form of the verb that retains the endings of the original infinitive, indicating the person of the discourse. Example: To Love (I love, You love, He loves, We love, You love, They love).

  • Impersonal Infinitive: It is the form of the verb that does not refer to any particular subject. Furthermore, it does not undergo changes due to person, number, or tense. Example: To Love (To love is the best remedy, We must love our neighbor).

  • Flexed Infinitive: It is the infinitive that acquires characteristics of other verbal moods, usually indicative, subjunctive, or imperative. Example: Indicative (Would love, We would love), Subjunctive (If I loved, If we love) and Imperative (Love you, Love him).

• Gerund: Another nominal form of the verb, the gerund expresses action simultaneous to the moment of speech. It is formed by the verb root + -ing ending. It can function as a verb or as an adverb. Example: Running (She is running, She speaks running).

• Participle: The third verbal form, in addition to the infinitive and gerund, that make up the nominal forms of the verb. The participle indicates a completed action. It has the -ed inflection for the first conjugation and -ed for the second and third. Example: Loved (He is loved, The letters are loving).

Key Terms

• Nominal forms of the verb: These are verb forms that, in the context of the sentence, behave like a noun, adjective, or adverb. They are the infinitive, gerund, and participle.

• Mood inflections: Changes that the verb undergoes to indicate the attitude, intention of the speaker. Mood inflections in Portuguese are indicative, subjunctive, and imperative.

Examples and Cases

• Infinitive: To understand the importance of the infinitive, observe its use in sentences like 'I want to love' (Personal Infinitive), 'Love is beautiful' (Impersonal Infinitive), 'To love is a gift' (Impersonal Infinitive), and 'If we love, we will be happy' (Flexed Infinitive - Subjunctive).

• Gerund: Examples of gerund: 'She is reading a book' (verb), 'Speaks running' (adverb).

• Participle: We observe the participle in action in sentences like 'She is loved' (auxiliary verb + participle as an adjective) and 'The letters are loving' (auxiliary verb + gerund as a verb).

Detailed Summary

Key Points

• The centrality of verbs: Verbs are the soul of the sentence, to them we attribute action, state, or phenomenon, in different tenses, moods, numbers, and persons. They are the key element for forming meaningful sentences.

• The nominal forms of the verb: They are essential for language structuring. Knowledge and correct use of the infinitive, gerund, and participle are fundamental factors for constructing meaning.

  • Infinitive: It is the original form of the verb and has the ability to behave as a noun, adjective, or adverb within the sentence. Understanding the difference between personal, impersonal, and flexed infinitive is essential for mastering verb forms.

  • Gerund: Besides being able to act as a verb, it has the peculiarity of, in some situations, behaving as an adverb, expressing a circumstance of manner to the verbal action.

  • Participle: Together with the auxiliary verb, it forms compound tenses and the passive voice. It can also act as an adjective, agreeing in number and gender with the modifying element.

• The importance of mood inflections: The verb's mood inflections (indicative, subjunctive, and imperative) reveal the attitude, intention, will, or desire of the speaker, bringing nuances of meaning that enrich communication.

Conclusions

• Mastering the nominal forms and mood inflections of the verb is a fundamental requirement for those seeking effective and accurate communication, as well as being crucial for a deeper and correct text interpretation.

• The infinitive, gerund, and participle as nominal forms of the verb are versatile tools in sentence construction, being able to act as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

• The mood inflections of the verb, more than a grammatical obligation to be followed, compose a rich range of possibilities in the expression of feelings, desires, possibilities, facts, among others.

Exercises

• Exercise 1: Classify the verb in each of the following sentences and indicate if it is in the infinitive, gerund, or participle form: 'Running is good for health', 'I am running in the park', 'They have been running every day'.

• Exercise 2: Rewrite the following sentences, maintaining the meaning, replacing the highlighted verb with the infinitive, gerund, and participle, respectively: 'The girl smiled upon receiving the prize' (infinitive), 'The boy speaks softly during classes' (gerund), 'The students were studying for the test' (participle).

• Exercise 3: Rewrite the sentences below, changing the highlighted verb according to the indicated mood: 'If he sings, I will dance' (subjunctive), 'Sing!' (imperative), 'He sings very well' (indicative).