Tomar in Portuguese

Hey there! Are you ready for another Dica? Today we’ll talk about the verb tomar in Portuguese. 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 coffee  (tomar um cafézinho) 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, to 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 café (da manhã): To have breakfast
3 – Tomar conta: To take care of
4 – Tomar cuidado: To be careful
5 – Tomar um ônibus (metrô, trem, táxi…): 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 remédio: To take medicine

Tomar café in Portuguese

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

Talking about coffee, we have an amazing place to tomar café 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 à noite.
I took the liberty to to choose your clothes to go out tonight.

Eu sempre tomo café da manhã antes de sair de casa.
I always have breakfast before leaving  home.

Ela sempre toma conta dos irmãos quando a mãe vai trabalhar.
He always takes care of his brothers when his mother goes to work.

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

Nós tomamos um ônibus para chegar ao centro.
We took the bus to go downtown.

Vocês nunca tomam parte dos problemas da empresa.
You never participate in the company problems.

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

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

Elas vão tomar um remédio 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 você toma no almoço? Eu tomo cerveja.
What do you drink at lunchtime? I have beer.

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

Vocês tomam café ou chá?
Will you have 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

Imperative

Subjunctive

Other tenses

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! Let’s see:

More examples with the verb tomar

Hoje está muito quente. Vou tomar um açaí.
Today it’s too hot. I will have an açaí.

No inverno nós 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 você não toma um remédio para a dor de cabeça?
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 você _______ no seu café da manhã?
2. Ontem fomos à Lapa e _______ muitas caipirinhas.
3. Os alunos podem _______ cervejas durante as aulas de Português no Rio de Janeiro.
4. _______ cuidado ao nadar. O mar está muito forte.
5. Ele _______ o ônibus errado, então vai se atrasar.
6. Eles estão fedidos… Precisam _______ um banho.
7. No passado, Marcos _______ muitas decisões erradas.
8. Você parece cansado, _______ um café.
9. Os médicos querem que eu _______ remédios, mas eu não quero.
10. Se pudesse, eu _______ esta decisão por você.

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 from Rio & Learn!

           
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 você tomou no seu café da manhã?
2. Ontem fomos à Lapa e tomamos muitas caipirinhas. 
3. Os alunos podem tomar cervejas durante as aulas de Português no Rio de Janeiro. 
4. Tome cuidado ao nadar. O mar está muito forte.
5. Ele tomou o ônibus errado, então vai se atrasar.
6. Eles estão fedidos… Precisam tomar um banho.
7. No passado, Marcos tomava muitas decisões erradas. 
8. Você parece cansado, tome um café.
9. Os médicos querem que eu tome remédios, mas eu não quero.
10. Se pudesse, eu tomaria esta decisão por você.