Fala Gringo › Verbs › combinar
combinar — to arrange
Full conjugation of combinar 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.
How to use combinar in Brazilian Portuguese
Combinar is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to arrange. 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 combino — I arrange. The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu combinei — I arranged. The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu combinava — I used to arrange / was arranging.
Said the Rio way, combino sounds like kohm-BEE-noo. The nós form combinamos ends in the carioca “sh”, kohm-bee-NAH-moosh — the most recognisable sound of the Rio accent, where São Paulo says a plain s.
Presente — present tense
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | combinoI arrange | kohm-BEE-noo | Eu combino tudo com ela antes. |
| você / ele / ela | combinayou arrange | kohm-BEE-nah | Você sempre combina tudo com antecedência? |
| nós | combinamoswe arrange | kohm-bee-NAH-moosh | Nós combinamos o horário por mensagem. |
| vocês / eles / elas | combinamyou all arrange | kohm-BEE-nahng | Vocês combinam de ir junto? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | combineiI arranged | kohm-bee-NAY | Eu combinei de encontrar ele às oito. |
| você / ele / ela | combinouyou arranged | kohm-bee-NOH | Você combinou alguma coisa com eles? |
| nós | combinamoswe arranged | kohm-bee-NAH-moosh | Nós combinamos de nos ver no sábado. |
| vocês / eles / elas | combinaramyou all arranged | kohm-bee-NAH-rahng | Vocês combinaram o preço? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | combinavaI used to arrange / was arranging | kohm-bee-NAH-vah | Eu combinava tudo por telefone antes. |
| você / ele / ela | combinavayou used to arrange / were arranging | kohm-bee-NAH-vah | Você combinava de sair toda sexta? |
| nós | combinávamoswe used to arrange / were arranging | kohm-bee-NAH-vah-moosh | Nós combinávamos de jogar bola no domingo. |
| vocês / eles / elas | combinavamyou all used to arrange / were arranging | kohm-bee-NAH-vahng | Vocês combinavam os planos juntos? |
More “Interação social” verbs
- gostar to like
- amar to love
- ajudar to help
- cuidar to take care (of)
- emprestar to lend
- paquerar to flirt
- acompanhar to accompany, to follow along
- lidar to deal (with), to handle
- convidar to invite
- visitar to visit
- aceitar to accept
- recusar to refuse
- encontrar to find, to meet
- esperar to wait, to hope
- seguir to follow
- agradecer to thank
- desculpar to forgive, to excuse
- marcar to schedule, to mark