Fala Gringo › Verbs › botar
botar — to put (colloquial)
Full conjugation of botar in the tenses that matter for everyday speech, with pronunciation hints in the Rio (carioca) accent and example sentences the way Brazilians actually talk — not textbook European Portuguese.
In spoken Brazilian Portuguese it is interchangeable with colocar and pôr — the drill accepts any of them.
How to use botar in Brazilian Portuguese
Botar is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to put (colloquial). It is a regular -ar verb, so once you know the endings there are no surprises.
Three tenses do almost all the work in conversation. The presente covers the present and the near future: eu boto — I put. The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu botei — I put / placed. The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu botava — I used to put / place / was putting.
Said the Rio way, boto sounds like BOH-too. The nós form botamos ends in the carioca “sh”, boh-TAH-moosh — the most recognisable sound of the Rio accent, where São Paulo says a plain s.
Presente — present tense
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | botoI put | BOH-too | Eu boto o celular na bolsa. |
| você / ele / ela | botayou put | BOH-tah | Você bota açúcar no café? |
| nós | botamoswe put | boh-TAH-moosh | Nós botamos tudo no carro. |
| vocês / eles / elas | botamyou all put | BOH-tahng | Vocês botam a mesa antes do jantar? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | boteiI put / placed | boh-TAY | Eu botei o casaco na cadeira. |
| você / ele / ela | botouyou put / placed | boh-TOH | Você botou açúcar no café? |
| nós | botamoswe put / placed | boh-TAH-moosh | Nós botamos a mesa para o jantar. |
| vocês / eles / elas | botaramyou all put / placed | boh-TAH-rahng | Vocês botaram as coisas no lugar? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | botavaI used to put / place / was putting | boh-TAH-vah | Eu botava açúcar no café. |
| você / ele / ela | botavayou used to put / place / were putting | boh-TAH-vah | Você botava sal na comida? |
| nós | botávamoswe used to put / place / were putting | boh-TAH-vah-moosh | Nós botávamos a mesa antes do jantar. |
| vocês / eles / elas | botavamyou all used to put / place | boh-TAH-vahng | Vocês botavam as coisas no lugar? |
More “Ações e movimentos” verbs
- trazer to bring
- colocar to put, to place
- tirar to take (photo, vacation), to take off, to remove
- deixar to leave (behind), to let
- passar to pass, to spend (time)
- parar to stop
- continuar to continue
- mudar to change, to move (house)
- correr to run
- sentar to sit (down)
- fugir to run away, to escape
- cair to fall
- andar to walk, to go around
- descer to go down, to get off
- partir to leave, to depart
- pôr to put, to place
- subir to go up, to climb
- virar to turn (a corner), to become