Ter conjugation in Portuguese

What’s up, folks? Ready for another Dica do Dia? Let’s learn the ter conjugation in Portuguese and how to use it. In addition, let’s practice it with an exercise!

Uses of the Portuguese verb Ter

We use the Portuguese verb ter (to have) to talk about things we possess (or not), about family, age, and to describe things, people, feelings or to make a statement.

Let’s do an exercise. Using the Portuguese verb ter, tell me what you have in you bag, purse, backpack or pockets right now. In my bag I have a cellphone, a notebook, a bottle of water and my wallet. How about you?

Now that you know what the verb ter  means. Let’s take a look at how this verb is conjugated in the simple present tense:

Conjugation of ter in the present

Examples with the Portuguese verb ter

Eu tenho muitos amigos.
I have many friends

Você tem muitos irmãos?
Do you have many siblings?

Ele tem 20 anos.
He is 20 years old.

Now let’s see the conjugation of ter using pretérito perfeito:

Conjugation of the verb ter with pretérito perfeito

Examples 

Ela teve dois filhos.
She had two children.

Nós tivemos fome de manhã.
We were hungry in the morning.

Vocês tiveram muito trabalho para hoje?
Have you had a lot of work today?

There is also the Portuguese verb ter in the pretérito imperfeito, let’s see this conjugation:

Conjugation of the verb ter in the pretérito imperfeito

Examples with the Portuguese verb ter

Eles tinham frio quando moravam na Inglaterra.
They were cold when they lived in England.

Você tinha muito amigos quando era criança?
Did you have many friends when you were a child?

Eu tinha muitos problemas com matemática antigamente.
In the past, I had a lot of problems with math.

Let’s see also its conjugation using the future tense:

Conjugation of ter in the future

Examples

Nós teremos muitas histórias para contar sobre nossas aulas de Português!
We will have many stories to tell about our Portuguese classes!

Eu terei uma ótima semana!
I will have a great week!

Quantos filhos você terá com sua esposa?
How many kids will you have with your wife?

Complete conjugation of the verb ter in Portuguese

Since we are learning how to conjugate ter in Portuguese, let’s learn the complete conjugation. Pay extra attention to the verb endings because this verb is very irregular, and so all of these irregularities will have an asterisk next to them, while the regular ones will have their endings in bold. Let’s check it out!

Indicative

Imperative

Subjunctive

Other tenses

Exercises with the Portuguese verb ter

Complete the sentences with the correct tense of the Portuguese verb ter:

1. Eu __________ 22 anos e gosto de jogar futebol.
2. Quando minha mãe era criança, ela __________ muitas bonecas.
3. João nunca __________ catapora.
4. A: Você já __________ um animal de estimação?
   B: Sim! Eu __________ dois cachorros.
5. Eles __________ três filho e nós __________ um.
6. Em duas semanas ela __________ uma casa nova.
7. Quando eu crescer, __________ o carro mais rápido do mundo!
8. Nós __________ muitas brigas quando éramos casado.
9. O que __________  na sua mochila?
10. A: Você __________ certeza que ela vem?
    B: Antes eu __________, mas agora não __________.

Did you think this was all? No, no, no. You know that the only way to learn Portuguese is by practicing, right? And if you ever want to study Portuguese in Brasil, don’t forget to talk to us! So, let’s practice one more time!

Follow the image to create sentences using the conjugation of the Portuguese verb ter. You can create whatever sentence you want, as long you conjugate it correctly.

Check out some possibilities that we separated for you at the end of this Dica.

And you? What do you have? Make a list of things you have at home, at your office and other places that you would like to describe.

Hope you enjoyed our Dica about the Portuguese verb ter! Come study more on our Youtube channel.

See you in the next Dica!
Bye bye!

              
Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Portuguese verbs in -ER
Verbs ending in -ER in the past in Portuguese
Verbs ter and haver replacing existir
Poder in Portuguese

Answer 1

1. tenho
2. tinha
3. teve
4. A: teve
   B: tive
5. têm / temos
6. terá
7. terei
8. tínhamos
9. tem
10. A: tem
    B: tinha / tenho

Answer 2

1. Eu vou comer agora, porque tenho muita fome.
2. Eu sei que você não tem cachorros, mas você já teve gatos?
3. Ele não foi à praia ontem, porque tem medo de mar.
4. Ainda bem que temos roupa limpa para festa hoje, hehehe.
5. Vocês querem que eu tenha uma família grande.
6. Elas têm a sua idade, 29.
7. Ela teria um apartamento grande, se tivesse dinheiro.
8. Pedro sempre me diz que eu devia ter um Iphone.
9. Quando José tiver 20 anos, terá 5 tatuagens.
10. Eles têm amigos ao redor do mundo todo.