Fala Gringo › Verbs › torcer
torcer — to root for, to cheer (for a team)
Full conjugation of torcer 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 torcer in Brazilian Portuguese
Torcer is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to root for, to cheer (for a team). It is a regular -er verb, so once you know the endings there are no surprises — only the spelling shifts in torço to keep the sound of the stem, which is orthography, not irregularity.
Three tenses do almost all the work in conversation. The presente covers the present and the near future: eu torço — I root for. The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu torci — I rooted for. The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu torcia — I used to root for.
Said the Rio way, torço sounds like TOHR-soo. The nós form torcemos ends in the carioca “sh”, tohr-SEH-moosh — the most recognisable sound of the Rio accent, where São Paulo says a plain s.
Presente — present tense
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | torçoI root for | TOHR-soo | Eu torço pro Flamengo. |
| você / ele / ela | torceyou root for | TOHR-see | Você torce pra qual time? |
| nós | torcemoswe root for | tohr-SEH-moosh | Nós torcemos juntos na Copa. |
| vocês / eles / elas | torcemyou all root for | TOHR-seng | Vocês torcem pra Noruega ou pro Brasil? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | torciI rooted for | tohr-SEE | Eu torci muito pelo time ontem. |
| você / ele / ela | torceuyou rooted for | tohr-SEH-oo | Você torceu pelo Brasil na final? |
| nós | torcemoswe rooted for | tohr-SEH-moosh | Nós torcemos até o último minuto. |
| vocês / eles / elas | torceramyou all rooted for | tohr-SEH-rahng | Vocês torceram pra quem? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | torciaI used to root for | tohr-SEE-ah | Eu torcia pro Botafogo quando era criança. |
| você / ele / ela | torciayou used to root for | tohr-SEE-ah | Você torcia pro mesmo time do seu pai? |
| nós | torcíamoswe used to root for | tohr-SEE-ah-moosh | Nós torcíamos no bar da esquina. |
| vocês / eles / elas | torciamyou all used to root for | tohr-SEE-ahng | Vocês torciam contra a Argentina? |
More “Rotina e lazer” verbs
- comer to eat
- beber to drink
- tomar to take (a shower, a coffee, medicine)
- cozinhar to cook
- almoçar to have lunch
- jantar to have dinner
- assistir to watch
- escutar to listen (actively)
- dançar to dance
- viajar to travel
- descansar to rest
- praticar to practice
- treinar to train
- curtir to enjoy (slang)
- aproveitar to make the most of, to take advantage of
- frequentar to attend, to go regularly
- jogar to play (sports), to throw
- brincar to play (kids), to joke
- nadar to swim
- passear to go for a walk, to stroll
- ganhar to win, to earn
- perder to lose