Tomar in Portuguese

20 de November de 2014

Hey there! Are you ready for another Dica? Today we’ll talk about the verb tomar in Portuguese.Β You might have already seen this verb with the meaning of drink in Portuguese, but the thing is that sometimes verbs can have more than just one meaning, so they might not translate entirely the same in other languages. One of these verbs is tomar, that can be translated into various verbs and can be used in many expressions that should be considered. Check out the tomar Portuguese conjugation!

Expressions with Tomar in Portuguese

The verb tomar can be found in a couple expressions that you should pay attention to because when you come to our school in Copacabana we’ll have a coffeeΒ  (tomar um cafΓ©zinho) while we talk and practice Portuguese.

Tomar in Portuguese is a verb that has many different meanings and can be seen in different uses that have an also different translations into other languages. The most common meanings are, for instance, verbs like to have, to make,Β toΒ take and to drink in Portuguese.

Now, take a look at the expressions where we can use the verb Tomar:

1 – Tomar a liberdade de: To take the opportunity / take the liberty to
2 – Tomar cafΓ© (da manhΓ£): To have breakfast
3 – Tomar conta: To take care of
4 – Tomar cuidado: To be careful
5 – Tomar um Γ΄nibus (metrΓ΄, trem, tΓ‘xi…): To take a bus (metro, train, taxi…)
6 – Tomar parte: To take part
7 – Tomar uma medida: To take measures (a descision about something)
8 – Tomar banho: To take a shower
9 – Tomar um remΓ©dio: To take medicine

Tomar cafΓ© in Portuguese

Pay attention to this! In Portuguese, when we talk about breakfast we use the expression tomarΒ cafΓ© in Portuguese, as a shortened version of cafΓ© da manha. Literally, tomar cafΓ© means, to drink coffee. However, this expression is used even when someone didn’t drink coffee for breakfast. For example today I tomei cafΓ© (da manha) but I only ate an apple. Okay?

Talking about coffee, we have an amazing place toΒ tomar cafΓ© in Portuguese: a Confeitaria Colombo. Come with us from Rio & Learn in one of our RioLIVE! activities to drink some incredible coffee!

Now, let’s take a look at some sentence structures using expressions with the verb tomar, in Portuguese:

Examples

Eu tomei a liberdade de escolher sua roupa para sair hoje Γ  noite.
I took the liberty to to choose your clothes to go out tonight.

Eu sempre tomo cafΓ© da manhΓ£ antes de sair de casa.
I always have breakfast before leavingΒ  home.

Ela sempre toma conta dos irmΓ£os quando a mΓ£e vai trabalhar.
He always takes care of his brothers when his mother goes to work.

VocΓͺ deve tomar cuidado com os perigos da cidade.
You have to be careful with the dangerous situations of the city.

NΓ³s tomamos um Γ΄nibus para chegar ao centro.
We took the bus to go downtown.

VocΓͺs nunca tomam parte dos problemas da empresa.
You never participateΒ in the company problems.

Precisamos tomar medidas para prevenir a violΓͺncia.
We need to take measures to prevent violence.

Eles foram tomar banho muito tarde ontem.
They took a shower really late yesterday.

Elas vΓ£o tomar um remΓ©dio por causa da gripe.
They are going to take some medicine for the flu.

Tomar instead of beber

When we’re talking about drinks, sometimes we can use tomar also when talking about drink in Portuguese, tomar and beber can be synonymous in this context. So, we can use either one and it’ll have the same meaning. Let’s see some examples with the verb tomar instead of beber:

O que vocΓͺ toma no almoΓ§o?Β Eu tomo cerveja.
What do you drink at lunchtime? I have beer.

Ela sempre tomaΒ suco de laranja fresco quando viaja para o Rio de Janeiro.
She always has fresh orange juice when she comes to Rio de Janeiro.

VocΓͺs tomam cafΓ© ou chΓ‘?
Will you haveΒ coffee or tea?

Eles tomaram as caipirinhas que os alunos prepararam na Lapa.
They had the caipirinhas that the students made in Lapa.

Verb Tomar Portuguese conjugation

Tomar is a regular verb with termination -AR. The regular endings have been highlighted on the table below, to make it easier for you to learn.

Indicative

Present Past Simple Imperfect Past
Eu tomo Eu tomei Eu tomava
VocΓͺ toma VocΓͺ tomou VocΓͺ tomava
Ele/ ela toma Ele/ ela tomou Ele/ ela tomava
NΓ³s tomamos NΓ³s tomamos NΓ³s tomΓ‘vamos
VocΓͺs tomam VocΓͺs tomara VocΓͺs tomavam
Eles/ elas tomam Eles/ elas tomaram Eles/ elas tomavam
Past pluperfect simple Past pluperfect composed
Eu tomara Eu tinha tomado
VocΓͺ tomara VocΓͺ tinha tomado
Ele/ ela tomara Ele/ ela tinha tomado
NΓ³s tomΓ‘ramos NΓ³s tΓ­nhamos tomado
VocΓͺs tomaram VocΓͺs tinham tomado
Eles/ elas tomaram Eles/ elas tinham tomado
SimpleΒ Future Immediate Future Future of the past
Eu tomarei Eu vou tomar Β Eu tomaria
VocΓͺ tomarΓ‘ VocΓͺ vai tomar VocΓͺ tomaria
Ele/ ela tomarΓ‘ Ele/ ela vai tomar Ele/ ela tomaria
NΓ³s tomaremos NΓ³s vamos tomar NΓ³s tomarΓ­amos
VocΓͺs tomarΓ£o VocΓͺs vΓ£o tomar VocΓͺs tomariam
Eles/ elas tomarΓ£o Eles/ elas vΓ£o tomar Eles/ elas tomariam

Imperative

Affirmative Negative
Tome vocΓͺ NΓ£o tome vocΓͺ
Tome ele/ ela NΓ£o tome ele/ ela
Tomemos nΓ³s NΓ£o tomemos nΓ³s
Tomem vocΓͺs NΓ£o tomem vocΓͺs
Tomem eles/ elas NΓ£o tomem eles/ elas

Subjunctive

Present Imperfect Past Future
Que eu tome Se eu tomasse Quando eu tomar
Que vocΓͺ tome Se vocΓͺ tomasse Quando vocΓͺ tomar
Que ele/ela tome Se ele/ela tomasse Quando ele/ela tomar
Que nΓ³s tomemos Se nΓ³s tomΓ‘ssemos Quando nΓ³s tomarmos
Que vocΓͺs tomem Se vocΓͺs tomassem Quando vocΓͺs tomarem
Que eles/elas tomem Se eles/elas tomassem Quando eles/elas tomarem

Other tenses

Personal infinitive Gerund Participle
Para tomar eu Tomado Tomando
Para tomar vocΓͺ
Para tomar ele/ela
Para tomarmos nΓ³s
Para tomarem vocΓͺs
Para tomarem eles/elas

There are cases where only the verb tomar is acceptable, especially when we are unsure whether we should be eating (comendo) or drinking (bebendo) the item!Β Let’s see:

More examples with the verb tomar

Hoje estΓ‘ muito quente. Vou tomar um aΓ§aΓ­.
Today it’s too hot. I will have an aΓ§aΓ­.

No inverno nΓ³s tomamos sopas deliciosas.
In winter we have delicious soups.

Ela toma sol na praia todo fim de semana.
She sunbathes every weekend at the beach.

Por que vocΓͺ nΓ£o toma um remΓ©dio para a dor de cabeΓ§a?
Why don’t you take some headache medicine?

Now it’s your turn!

Got it, folks?
We learned when to use tomar vs beber in Portuguese. How about we practice some more while drinking caipirinhas and taking a little quiz?

[quiz-cat id=”91629″]

We are preparing some while waiting for you.

Conjugate tomar in Portuguese

We’ve learned some expressions with the verb tomar in Portuguese. So now it’s time to practice!! Here there are some sentences and you have to fill in the blanks using the correct form of the verb.

  1. O que vocΓͺ _______ no seu cafΓ© da manhΓ£?
  2. Ontem fomos Γ  Lapa e _______ muitas caipirinhas.
  3. Os alunos podem _______ cervejas durante as aulas de PortuguΓͺs no Rio de Janeiro.
  4. _______ cuidado ao nadar. O mar estΓ‘ muito forte.
  5. Ele _______ o Γ΄nibus errado, entΓ£o vai se atrasar.
  6. Eles estΓ£o fedidos… Precisam _______ um banho.
  7. No passado, Marcos _______ muitas decisΓ΅es erradas.
  8. VocΓͺ parece cansado, _______ um cafΓ©.
  9. Os mΓ©dicos querem que eu _______ remΓ©dios, mas eu nΓ£o quero.
  10. Se pudesse, eu _______ esta decisΓ£o por vocΓͺ.

What do you think about taking a plane and coming to Rio de Janeiro to learn Portuguese in real life? Here you can have a teacher dedicated to you and your needs.

See you next Dica!

Regards fromΒ Rio & Learn!

Ler esta Dica em PortuguΓͺsΒ  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Leer esta Dica en EspaΓ±ol
Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Eat in Portuguese
Drink in Portuguese
Live in Portuguese

Conjugate tomar in Portuguese: answers

  1. O que vocΓͺ tomou no seu cafΓ© da manhΓ£?
  2. Ontem fomos Γ  Lapa e tomamos muitas caipirinhas.Β 
  3. Os alunos podem tomar cervejas durante as aulas de PortuguΓͺs no Rio de Janeiro.Β 
  4. Tome cuidado ao nadar. O mar estΓ‘ muito forte.
  5. Ele tomou o Γ΄nibus errado, entΓ£o vai se atrasar.
  6. Eles estΓ£o fedidos… Precisam tomar um banho.
  7. No passado, Marcos tomava muitas decisΓ΅es erradas.Β 
  8. VocΓͺ parece cansado, tome um cafΓ©.
  9. Os mΓ©dicos querem que eu tome remΓ©dios, mas eu nΓ£o quero.
  10. Se pudesse, eu tomaria esta decisΓ£o por vocΓͺ.Β