Fala Gringo › Verbs › responder
responder — to answer
Full conjugation of responder 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 responder in Brazilian Portuguese
Responder is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to answer. It is a regular -er 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 respondo — I answer. The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu respondi — I answered / replied. The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu respondia — I used to answer / respond / was answering.
Said the Rio way, respondo sounds like hesh-POHN-doo. The nós form respondemos ends in the carioca “sh”, hesh-pohn-DEH-moosh — the most recognisable sound of the Rio accent, where São Paulo says a plain s. Notice responde is hesh-POHN-djee: in Brazil a final -de softens to “jee” and -te to “chee”, something European Portuguese never does.
Presente — present tense
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | respondoI answer | hesh-POHN-doo | Eu respondo os emails de manhã. |
| você / ele / ela | respondeyou answer | hesh-POHN-djee | Você responde a mensagem? |
| nós | respondemoswe answer | hesh-pohn-DEH-moosh | Nós respondemos todas as perguntas. |
| vocês / eles / elas | respondemyou all answer | hesh-POHN-deng | Vocês respondem juntos? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | respondiI answered / replied | hesh-pohn-DJEE | Eu respondi o e-mail assim que vi. |
| você / ele / ela | respondeuyou answered / replied | hesh-pohn-DEH-oo | Você respondeu a mensagem dela? |
| nós | respondemoswe answered / replied | hesh-pohn-DEH-moosh | Nós respondemos todas as perguntas. |
| vocês / eles / elas | responderamyou all answered / replied | hesh-pohn-DEH-rahng | Vocês responderam ao convite? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | respondiaI used to answer / respond / was answering | hesh-pohn-DJEE-ah | Eu respondia todas as mensagens no dia. |
| você / ele / ela | respondiayou used to answer / respond / were answering | hesh-pohn-DJEE-ah | Você respondia rápido aos e-mails? |
| nós | respondíamoswe used to answer / respond / were answering | hesh-pohn-DJEE-ah-moosh | Nós respondíamos às perguntas com cuidado. |
| vocês / eles / elas | respondiamyou all used to answer / respond | hesh-pohn-DJEE-ahng | Vocês respondiam as ligações sempre? |
More “Comunicação” verbs
- falar to speak, to talk
- gritar to shout, to scream
- dizer to say
- perguntar to ask
- explicar to explain
- chamar to call
- conversar to chat
- contar to tell, to count
- repetir to repeat
- entender to understand
- aprender to learn
- ensinar to teach
- sugerir to suggest
- receber to receive, to get (mail, a message)
- mandar to send
- avisar to let (someone) know, to warn