Ajudar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

ajudar — to help — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a regular -ar verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to help, and it is completely regular: ajudo, ajudas, ajuda, ajudamos, ajudais, ajudam. It takes the person helped, usually with a: ajudo a Maria. On this page you will find ajudar in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the ajudar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the ajudar present tense page.

Example sentences with ajudar

In the present tense

  • “Eu ajudo a Maria todos os dias.” — “I help Maria”
  • “Tu ajudas a Maria todos os dias.” — “You help Maria”
  • “Ele ajuda a Maria todos os dias.” — “He helps Maria”
  • “Nós ajudamos a Maria todos os dias.” — “We help Maria”
  • “Vós ajudais a Maria todos os dias.” — “You help Maria”
  • “Eles ajudam a Maria todos os dias.” — “They help Maria”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu ajudei a Maria ontem.” — “I helped Maria”
  • “Tu ajudaste a Maria ontem.” — “You helped Maria”
  • “Ele ajudou a Maria ontem.” — “He helped Maria”
  • “Nós ajudámos a Maria ontem.” — “We helped Maria”
  • “Vós ajudastes a Maria ontem.” — “You helped Maria”
  • “Eles ajudaram a Maria ontem.” — “They helped Maria”

In other tenses

The same verb in the pretérito imperfeito, the futuro do presente, the futuro do pretérito, the presente do subjuntivo and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Eu ajudava a Maria antigamente.” — “I used to help Maria”
  • “Tu ajudarás a Maria amanhã.” — “You will help Maria”
  • “Ele ajudaria a Maria um dia.” — “He would help Maria”
  • “É importante que nós ajudemos a Maria.” — “It is important that we help Maria”
  • “Ajuda a Maria!” — “Help Maria!”

How ajudar is used

The first thing to know about ajudar is its core meaning: to help. It means to help, and it is completely regular: ajudo, ajudas, ajuda, ajudamos, ajudais, ajudam. It takes the person helped, usually with a: ajudo a Maria. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the pretérito perfeito, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company ajudar keeps. The present eu form is ajudo, and it pairs naturally with the time words todos os dias and sempre for habits, and with agora for what is happening right now. The pretérito perfeito composto eu form is tenho ajudado, and it pairs with ontem and esta semana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what ajudar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need ajudo, never ajudar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho ajudado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle ajudado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Ajudar in context

Eu ajudo a Maria todos os dias. Tu ajudas a Maria todos os dias. Ele ajuda a Maria todos os dias. Nós ajudamos a Maria todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of ajudar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — ajudo, ajudas, ajuda, ajudamos — while the meaning stays the same: to help. Eu ajudei a Maria ontem. Tu ajudaste a Maria ontem. Ele ajudou a Maria ontem. Nós ajudámos a Maria ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of ajudar appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to help — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Eu ajudar a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu ajudo a Maria todos os dias.”

The infinitive ajudar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form ajudo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu ajudas a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu ajudo a Maria todos os dias.”

ajudas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is ajudo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu ajudo a Maria ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu ajudei a Maria ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito ajudei here, not the present ajudo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou ajudado a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho ajudado a Maria esta semana.”

ajudar takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto. The eu form is tenho ajudado — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on ajudar across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of ajudar in the Present indicative (presente)?

    • A) ajudo
    • B) ajudas
    • C) ajuda
    • D) ajudamos

  2. What is the eu form of ajudar in the Pretérito perfeito composto?

    • A) tens ajudado
    • B) tem ajudado
    • C) tenho ajudado
    • D) temos ajudado

  3. What is the ele/ela form of ajudar in the Pretérito imperfeito?

    • A) ajudavas
    • B) ajudávamos
    • C) ajudáveis
    • D) ajudava

  4. What is the nós form of ajudar in the Futuro do presente?

    • A) ajudaremos
    • B) ajudarei
    • C) ajudarás
    • D) ajudará

  5. What is the tu form of ajudar in the Futuro do pretérito?

    • A) ajudaria
    • B) ajudarias
    • C) ajudaríamos
    • D) ajudaríeis

  6. What is the eu form of ajudar in the Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples?

    • A) ajudaras
    • B) ajudáramos
    • C) ajudara
    • D) ajudáreis

  7. What is the nós form of ajudar in the Presente do subjuntivo?

    • A) ajude
    • B) ajudes
    • C) ajudeis
    • D) ajudemos

  8. What is the gerund of ajudar?

    • A) ajudando
    • B) ajudado
    • C) ajudar
    • D) ajudo

  9. What is the past participle of ajudar?

    • A) ajudando
    • B) ajudado
    • C) ajudar
    • D) ajudo

  10. What does ajudar mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to help
  • D) —

Answer key

  1. B) ajudas — the correct form is ajudas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho ajudado — the correct form is tenho ajudado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ajudava — the correct form is ajudava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ajudaremos — the correct form is ajudaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) ajudarias — the correct form is ajudarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) ajudara — the correct form is ajudara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ajudemos — the correct form is ajudemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) ajudando — the correct form is ajudando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) ajudado — the correct form is ajudado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to help — the correct form is to help. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does ajudar mean in English?

ajudar means “to help”. You use it whenever you talk about to help in Portuguese, in the present, the past and the future.

Is ajudar regular or irregular?

ajudar is regular. ajudar is regular: every form follows the standard -ar endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of ajudar?

The gerund is ajudando and the past participle is ajudado. The perfect tenses use ter + ajudado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ajudar?

On the ajudar conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The ajudar present tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for ajudar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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