Fala Gringo › Verbs › experimentar
experimentar — to try (food, clothes), to try out
Full conjugation of experimentar 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 experimentar in Brazilian Portuguese
Experimentar is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to try (food, clothes), to try out. 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 experimento — I try (food, clothes). The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu experimentei — I tried (food, clothes). The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu experimentava — I used to try (food, clothes).
Said the Rio way, experimento sounds like esh-peh-ree-MEHN-too. The nós form experimentamos ends in the carioca “sh”, esh-peh-ree-mehn-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 | experimentoI try (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-MEHN-too | Eu experimento tudo que tem no cardápio. |
| você / ele / ela | experimentayou try (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-MEHN-tah | Você experimenta essa calça antes de comprar? |
| nós | experimentamoswe try (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-mehn-TAH-moosh | Nós experimentamos açaí no primeiro dia. |
| vocês / eles / elas | experimentamyou all try (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-MEHN-tahng | Vocês experimentam a comida antes de temperar? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | experimenteiI tried (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-mehn-TAY | Eu já experimentei cupuaçu. |
| você / ele / ela | experimentouyou tried (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-mehn-TOH | Você experimentou a caipirinha de maracujá? |
| nós | experimentamoswe tried (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-mehn-TAH-moosh | Nós experimentamos três sabores de sorvete. |
| vocês / eles / elas | experimentaramyou all tried (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-mehn-TAH-rahng | Vocês experimentaram o pastel de feira? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | experimentavaI used to try (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-mehn-TAH-vah | Eu experimentava um restaurante novo toda semana. |
| você / ele / ela | experimentavayou used to try (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-mehn-TAH-vah | Você experimentava tudo quando viajava? |
| nós | experimentávamoswe used to try (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-mehn-TAH-vah-moosh | Nós experimentávamos as receitas da vovó. |
| vocês / eles / elas | experimentavamyou all used to try (food, clothes) | esh-peh-ree-mehn-TAH-vahng | Vocês experimentavam roupa na loja? |