Introduction

Cair means “to fall”, and this page covers exactly one thing: cair in the pretérito perfeito. The pretérito perfeito is the tense Portuguese speakers reach for when they talk about one finished action in the past, especially in conversation. On this page you will find the full pretérito perfeito table for cair, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the pretérito imperfeito, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about cair in the pretérito perfeito. It means to fall, and it is completely regular: caio, cais, cai, caímos, caís, caem. Its pretérito perfeito is caí, caíste, caiu, caímos, caístes, caíram — note the accent on the eu and tu forms. Its gerund is caindo and its participle is caído. For example: “Ele caiu no chão ontem.” — “He fell on the floor.” Everything on this page uses the forms of cair exactly as they are conjugated in the pretérito perfeito, so you can trust every form you see here.

Cair in the Pretérito perfeito — full table

Person Form
eu caí
tu caíste
ele/ela caiu
nós caímos
vós caístes
eles/elas caíram
Gerund: caindo · Past participle: caído
The gerund is caindo, which you use with estar to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Caindo no chão, aprendo muito.” — “While falling on the floor, I learn a lot.” The past participle is caído, which you use with ter in the perfect tenses: tenho caído is the pretérito perfeito composto, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the pretérito perfeito is only one part of how cair is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for cair, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the pretérito perfeito of cair is formed

The pretérito perfeito of cair has six forms: eu caí, tu caíste, ele caiu, nós caímos, vós caístes, eles caíram. The participle is given here in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table. cair is regular in the pretérito perfeito: the -ar endings are -ei, -aste, -ou, -ámos, -astes, -aram, and the -er and -ir endings are -i, -este, -eu, -emos, -estes, -eram. Learn the six forms as a set and the tense is yours — the endings never change for a regular verb.

Two things about the pretérito perfeito of cair are worth noticing. First, it is the tense of finished events with a clear result, so it pairs naturally with time words such as ontem, esta semana and no ano passado — those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense. Second, it is a simple tense, built from one word, unlike the pretérito perfeito composto, which needs ter plus the participle caído: tenho caído. When the action is one finished event, reach for the simple form first.

Because the pretérito perfeito of cair is one word per person, it is cheap to learn once the six forms are fixed. Learn them in order — eu, tu, ele, nós, vós, eles — and say each one with a time word, so the tense and its time words are learnt together.

When to use the pretérito perfeito of cair

The pretérito perfeito is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use cair in the pretérito perfeito most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. One finished action

The pretérito perfeito describes a single action that is finished, especially in spoken Portuguese. When the action has a clear end, the pretérito perfeito is the natural choice. Example: “Eu caí no chão ontem.” — “I fell on the floor.”

2. Recent events

Use the pretérito perfeito for things that happened recently — today, this week, this morning — where the result is still visible in the present. Example: “Ele caiu no chão ontem.” — “He fell on the floor.”

3. A sequence of events

When you tell what happened first, second and third, each step takes the pretérito perfeito. The tense moves the story forward one finished action at a time. Example: “Nós caímos no chão ontem.” — “We fell on the floor.”

4. An experience in your life

Use the pretérito perfeito for things you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience as much as of yesterday. Example: “Tu caíste no chão ontem.” — “You fell on the floor.”

5. News and results

When you report news or a result, the pretérito perfeito carries it: something happened, and now the situation is different. The result matters more than the process. Example: “Eles caíram no chão ontem.” — “They fell on the floor.”

Pretérito Perfeito vs Pretérito Imperfeito: how to choose

The closest tense to the pretérito perfeito is the pretérito imperfeito, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the pretérito perfeito describes one finished action, while the pretérito imperfeito describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past, or the background of a scene. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the pretérito perfeito sentences use words such as ontem or esta semana, while the pretérito imperfeito sentences use antigamente or todos os dias.

  • Pretérito Perfeito: “Ele caiu no chão ontem.” — “He fell on the floor”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Ele caía no chão antigamente.” — “He used to fall on the floor”
  • The pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event; the pretérito imperfeito sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.
  • Pretérito Perfeito: “Eu caí no chão ontem.” — “I fell on the floor”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Eu caía no chão antigamente.” — “I used to fall on the floor”
  • The pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event; the pretérito imperfeito sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.
  • Pretérito Perfeito: “Tu caíste no chão ontem.” — “You fell on the floor”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Tu caías no chão antigamente.” — “You used to fall on the floor”
  • The pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event; the pretérito imperfeito sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.

Example sentences: cair in the pretérito perfeito

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Eu caí no chão ontem.” — “I fell on the floor”
  2. “Tu caíste no chão ontem.” — “You fell on the floor”
  3. “Ele caiu no chão ontem.” — “He fell on the floor”
  4. “Nós caímos no chão ontem.” — “We fell on the floor”
  5. “Vós caístes no chão ontem.” — “You fell on the floor”
  6. “Eles caíram no chão ontem.” — “They fell on the floor”
  7. “Eu caí no chão ontem.” — “I fell on the floor”
  8. “Ele caiu no chão ontem.” — “He fell on the floor”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Eu caio no chão ontem.” Right: “Eu caí no chão ontem.” Why: Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito caí for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Eu caía no chão ontem.” Right: “Eu caí no chão ontem.” Why: The pretérito imperfeito describes an ongoing or habitual past action, not one finished event. For a single finished action yesterday, use the pretérito perfeito caí.
  • Wrong: “Eu caíste no chão.” Right: “Eu caí no chão ontem.” Why: The eu form is caí, not caíste. caíste is the tu form. Match the verb to the subject every time.
  • Wrong: “Eu cair no chão.” Right: “Eu caí no chão ontem.” Why: The infinitive cair never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After eu you need the conjugated pretérito perfeito form caí.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

  1. What is the eu form of cair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) caíste
    • B) caí
    • C) caiu
    • D) caímos

  2. What is the tu form of cair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) caí
    • B) caiu
    • C) caíste
    • D) caímos

  3. What is the ele/ela form of cair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) caí
    • B) caíste
    • C) caímos
    • D) caiu

  4. What is the nós form of cair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) caímos
    • B) caí
    • C) caíste
    • D) caiu

  5. What is the vós form of cair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) caí
    • B) caístes
    • C) caíste
    • D) caiu

  6. What is the eles/elas form of cair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) caí
    • B) caíste
    • C) caíram
    • D) caiu

  7. What is the eu form of cair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) caíste
    • B) caiu
    • C) caímos
    • D) caí

  8. What is the tu form of cair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) caíste
    • B) caí
    • C) caiu
    • D) caímos

Answer key

  1. B) caí — the correct form is caí. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) caíste — the correct form is caíste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) caiu — the correct form is caiu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) caímos — the correct form is caímos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) caístes — the correct form is caístes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) caíram — the correct form is caíram. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) caí — the correct form is caí. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) caíste — the correct form is caíste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does cair mean in English?

cair means “to fall”. It is a regular -ir verb.

How is the pretérito perfeito of cair formed?

The six pretérito perfeito forms are: eu caí, tu caíste, ele caiu, nós caímos, vós caístes, eles caíram.

When do I use the pretérito perfeito instead of the pretérito imperfeito?

Use the pretérito perfeito for one finished action in the past. Use the pretérito imperfeito for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. The time words are your best clue: ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.

What are the gerund and past participle of cair?

The gerund is caindo and the past participle is caído. The perfect tenses use ter + caído.

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