Fala Gringo › Verbs › sentar
sentar — to sit (down)
Full conjugation of sentar 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 sentar in Brazilian Portuguese
Sentar is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to sit (down). 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 sento — I sit (down). The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu sentei — I sat (down). The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu sentava — I used to sit / was sitting.
Said the Rio way, sento sounds like SEHN-too. The nós form sentamos ends in the carioca “sh”, sehn-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 | sentoI sit (down) | SEHN-too | Eu sento sempre na janela do ônibus. |
| você / ele / ela | sentayou sit (down) | SEHN-tah | Você senta aqui do meu lado? |
| nós | sentamoswe sit (down) | sehn-TAH-moosh | Nós sentamos na areia pra ver o pôr do sol. |
| vocês / eles / elas | sentamyou all sit (down) | SEHN-tahng | Vocês sentam na primeira fila? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | senteiI sat (down) | sehn-TAY | Eu sentei no lugar errado. |
| você / ele / ela | sentouyou sat (down) | sehn-TOH | Você sentou na cadeira molhada? |
| nós | sentamoswe sat (down) | sehn-TAH-moosh | Nós sentamos no bar e pedimos um chopp. |
| vocês / eles / elas | sentaramyou all sat (down) | sehn-TAH-rahng | Vocês sentaram lá fora? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | sentavaI used to sit / was sitting | sehn-TAH-vah | Eu sentava no fundo da sala. |
| você / ele / ela | sentavayou used to sit / were sitting | sehn-TAH-vah | Você sentava perto da janela? |
| nós | sentávamoswe used to sit / were sitting | sehn-TAH-vah-moosh | Nós sentávamos na calçada pra conversar. |
| vocês / eles / elas | sentavamyou all used to sit / were sitting | sehn-TAH-vahng | Vocês sentavam juntos na escola? |
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
- fugir to run away, to escape
- cair to fall
- andar to walk, to go around
- botar to put (colloquial)
- 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