Chegar Conjugation in Portuguese
chegar means “to arrive” in English, and it is one of the first verbs Portuguese learners meet — it sits at number 59 in VerbFlow’s frequency list for Portuguese verbs. It means to arrive somewhere, and it is completely regular apart from its spelling: the -gar stem keeps its hard g by writing gu before e and i, so the eu form is chego and the subjunctive is chegue. It is the natural opposite of partir and sair. This page gives you the complete conjugation of chegar — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Eu chego a casa todos os dias.” — “I arrive home.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: chegar
- English: to arrive
- Verb type: Regular -ar verb
- Irregular in: none — regular in every tense
- Gerund: chegando
- Present participle: chegante
- Past participle: chegado
- Auxiliary: ter (all perfect tenses are formed with ter + the past participle)
- Ending: -ar verbs; pattern ar in the verified tables
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for chegar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Learn the spelling of the forms first, and listen to a native speaker for the sounds rather than trusting an invented transcription. The forms below are the ones that matter: once you can read chegar in every tense, you can recognise it in speech even before you can pronounce every form perfectly.
Three things to remember about chegar
- It is regular: every form follows the ordinary -ar pattern, so once you know the stem you can build the whole table. The only work is learning the endings, not memorising exceptions. The stem keeps its hard sound by writing qu or gu before e and i, so the eu form is chego and the subjunctive eu form is chegue.
- The perfect tenses use ter: the pretérito perfeito composto is formed with ter in the present plus the past participle chegado. The tables on this page give the participle 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.
- The gerund is chegando, the present participle is chegante and the past participle is chegado: keep all three in mind as you read the tables, because the gerund appears in progressive constructions, the present participle appears as an adjective, and the past participle appears in every perfect tense. If you know those three forms and the present tense, you already know the skeleton of the whole conjugation.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for chegar. Learn the present tense first, then the pretérito perfeito and the pretérito imperfeito, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative (presente)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | chego |
| tu | chegas |
| ele/ela | chega |
| nós | chegamos |
| vós | chegais |
| eles/elas | chegam |
The present indicative (presente) is used for habits, facts and things happening now. For example: “Eu chego a casa todos os dias.” — “I arrive home”
Pretérito perfeito
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | cheguei |
| tu | chegaste |
| ele/ela | chegou |
| nós | chegámos |
| vós | chegastes |
| eles/elas | chegaram |
The pretérito perfeito is used for completed actions in the past, especially one finished event. For example: “Eu cheguei a casa ontem.” — “I arrived home”
Pretérito imperfeito
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | chegava |
| tu | chegavas |
| ele/ela | chegava |
| nós | chegávamos |
| vós | chegáveis |
| eles/elas | chegavam |
The pretérito imperfeito is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. For example: “Eu chegava a casa antigamente.” — “I used to arrive home”
Pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | chegara |
| tu | chegaras |
| ele/ela | chegara |
| nós | chegáramos |
| vós | chegáreis |
| eles/elas | chegaram |
The pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples is used for an action completed before another past action; in everyday speech the compound form with tinha is more common. For example: “Eu chegara a casa antes do jantar.” — “I had arrived home”
Futuro do presente
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | chegarei |
| tu | chegarás |
| ele/ela | chegará |
| nós | chegaremos |
| vós | chegareis |
| eles/elas | chegarão |
The futuro do presente is used for what will happen, for predictions and for promises. For example: “Eu chegarei a casa amanhã.” — “I will arrive home”
Futuro do pretérito
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | chegaria |
| tu | chegarias |
| ele/ela | chegaria |
| nós | chegaríamos |
| vós | chegaríeis |
| eles/elas | chegariam |
The futuro do pretérito is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. For example: “Eu chegaria a casa um dia.” — “I would arrive home”
Pretérito perfeito composto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tenho chegado |
| tu | tens chegado |
| ele/ela | tem chegado |
| nós | temos chegado |
| vós | tendes chegado |
| eles/elas | têm chegado |
The pretérito perfeito composto is used for actions that started in the past and continue, or have been repeated, up to the present. For example: “Ele tem chegado a casa esta semana.” — “He has arrived home”
Pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tinha chegado |
| tu | tinhas chegado |
| ele/ela | tinha chegado |
| nós | tínhamos chegado |
| vós | tínheis chegado |
| eles/elas | tinham chegado |
The pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Eu tinha chegado a casa antes do jantar.” — “I had arrived home”
Futuro do presente composto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | terei chegado |
| tu | terás chegado |
| ele/ela | terá chegado |
| nós | teremos chegado |
| vós | tereis chegado |
| eles/elas | terão chegado |
The futuro do presente composto is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Eu terei chegado a casa até amanhã.” — “I will have arrived home”
Futuro do pretérito composto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | teria chegado |
| tu | terias chegado |
| ele/ela | teria chegado |
| nós | teríamos chegado |
| vós | teríeis chegado |
| eles/elas | teriam chegado |
The futuro do pretérito composto is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Eu teria chegado a casa ontem.” — “I would have arrived home”
Presente do subjuntivo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | chegue |
| tu | chegues |
| ele/ela | chegue |
| nós | cheguemos |
| vós | chegueis |
| eles/elas | cheguem |
The presente do subjuntivo is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. For example: “É importante que eu chegue a casa.” — “It is important that I arrive home”
Pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | chegasse |
| tu | chegasses |
| ele/ela | chegasse |
| nós | chegássemos |
| vós | chegásseis |
| eles/elas | chegassem |
The pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo is used in the past for wishes and hypotheticals after que, and in se-clauses. For example: “Era importante que eu chegasse a casa.” — “It was important that I arrive home”
Futuro do subjuntivo
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | chegar |
| tu | chegares |
| ele/ela | chegar |
| nós | chegarmos |
| vós | chegardes |
| eles/elas | chegarem |
The futuro do subjuntivo is used after se and quando for a future possibility, where English would use the present. For example: “Se eu chegar a casa, é bom.” — “If I arrive home, that is good”
Imperativo (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | chega |
| ele/ela | chegue |
| nós | cheguemos |
| vós | chegai |
| eles/elas | cheguem |
The affirmative imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. For example: “Chega a casa!” — “Arrive home!”
Imperativo (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | não chegues |
| ele/ela | não chegue |
| nós | não cheguemos |
| vós | não chegueis |
| eles/elas | não cheguem |
The negative imperative is used for prohibitions and negative commands. For example: “Não chegues a casa.” — “Do not arrive home.”
Presente do subjuntivo composto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tenha chegado |
| tu | tenhas chegado |
| ele/ela | tenha chegado |
| nós | tenhamos chegado |
| vós | tenhais chegado |
| eles/elas | tenham chegado |
The presente do subjuntivo composto is used for a completed action in a subordinate clause expressing doubt, wish or emotion. For example: “É importante que eu tenha chegado a casa.” — “It is important that I have arrived home”
Pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo composto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tivesse chegado |
| tu | tivesses chegado |
| ele/ela | tivesse chegado |
| nós | tivéssemos chegado |
| vós | tivésseis chegado |
| eles/elas | tivessem chegado |
The pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo composto is used for a completed action in a past subordinate clause. For example: “Era importante que eu tivesse chegado a casa.” — “It was important that I had arrived home”
Futuro do subjuntivo composto
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tiver chegado |
| tu | tiveres chegado |
| ele/ela | tiver chegado |
| nós | tivermos chegado |
| vós | tiverdes chegado |
| eles/elas | tiverem chegado |
The futuro do subjuntivo composto is used after se for a completed future possibility. For example: “Se eu tiver chegado a casa, é bom.” — “If I have arrived home, that is good”
Gerund
| Form | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Gerund | chegando |
The gerund is used for an action happening at the same time as another action, often with estar for the progressive. For example: “Chegando a casa, aprendo muito.” — “While arriving home, I learn a lot.”
Present participle
| Form | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Present participle | chegante |
The present participle is used as an adjective, describing an ongoing action. For example, the participle chegante is used to describe something that is happening at the same time as the main action, much like an English -ing adjective. You will meet chegante more often as an adjective or a noun than as a verb form, so learn it as a word in its own right.
Past participle
| Form | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Past participle | chegado |
The past participle is used with an auxiliary to form the perfect tenses, and as an adjective. For example: “Eu tenho chegado a casa esta semana.” — “I have arrived home.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with chegar, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the Portuguese and try to produce it from the English.
- “Eu chego a casa todos os dias.” — “I arrive home”
- “Tu chegaste a casa ontem.” — “You arrived home”
- “Ele chegava a casa antigamente.” — “He used to arrive home”
- “Eu chegarei a casa amanhã.” — “I will arrive home”
- “Tu chegarias a casa um dia.” — “You would arrive home”
- “Ele tem chegado a casa esta semana.” — “He has arrived home”
- “Eu tinha chegado a casa antes do jantar.” — “I had arrived home”
- “Tu terás chegado a casa até amanhã.” — “You will have arrived home”
- “É importante que eu chegue a casa.” — “It is important that I arrive home”
- “Chega a casa!” — “Arrive home!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Eu chegar a casa.”
✓ Right: “Eu chego a casa todos os dias.”
The infinitive chegar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form chego.
2. Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Eu chegas a casa.”
✓ Right: “Eu chego a casa todos os dias.”
chegas is the tu form, not the eu form. Match the verb to the subject every time: eu goes with chego.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Eu chego a casa ontem.”
✓ Right: “Eu cheguei a casa ontem.”
Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito cheguei for a finished action yesterday.
4. Using the wrong auxiliary in the pretérito perfeito composto
✗ Wrong: “Eu sou chegado a casa.”
✓ Right: “Eu tenho chegado a casa esta semana.”
The pretérito perfeito composto of chegar is formed with ter plus the past participle chegado: the eu form is tenho chegado. Check the auxiliary in the table above before you build a perfect tense.
5. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “É importante que eu chego a casa.”
✓ Right: “É importante que eu chegue a casa.”
After é importante que Portuguese needs the subjunctive, so use chegue here, not the indicative chego.
6. Using the gerund instead of the past participle in a perfect tense
✗ Wrong: “Eu tenho chegando a casa.”
✓ Right: “Eu tenho chegado a casa esta semana.”
The perfect tenses need the past participle chegado, not the gerund chegando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions, never after an auxiliary in a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on chegar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the eu form of chegar in the Present indicative (presente)?
- A) chegas
- B) chego
- C) chega
- D) chegamos
What is the ele/ela form of chegar in the Pretérito perfeito?
- A) cheguei
- B) chegaste
- C) chegou
- D) chegámos
What is the nós form of chegar in the Pretérito imperfeito?
- A) chegava
- B) chegavas
- C) chegáveis
- D) chegávamos
What is the tu form of chegar in the Futuro do presente?
- A) chegarás
- B) chegarei
- C) chegará
- D) chegaremos
What is the eu form of chegar in the Futuro do pretérito?
- A) chegarias
- B) chegaria
- C) chegaríamos
- D) chegaríeis
What is the ele/ela form of chegar in the Pretérito perfeito composto?
- A) tenho chegado
- B) tens chegado
- C) tem chegado
- D) temos chegado
What is the ele/ela form of chegar in the Presente do subjuntivo?
- A) chegues
- B) cheguemos
- C) chegueis
- D) chegue
What is the eu form of chegar in the Pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo?
- A) chegasse
- B) chegasses
- C) chegássemos
- D) chegásseis
What is the gerund of chegar?
- A) chegado
- B) chegando
- C) chegar
- D) chego
What does chegar mean in English?
- A) to be
- B) to have
- C) to arrive
- D) —
Answer key
- B) chego — the correct form is chego. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) chegou — the correct form is chegou. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) chegávamos — the correct form is chegávamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) chegarás — the correct form is chegarás. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) chegaria — the correct form is chegaria. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) tem chegado — the correct form is tem chegado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) chegue — the correct form is chegue. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) chegasse — the correct form is chegasse. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) chegando — the correct form is chegando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) to arrive — the correct form is to arrive. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does chegar mean in English?
chegar means “to arrive”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is chegar regular or irregular?
chegar is regular: it follows the ordinary -ar pattern in every tense. The gerund is chegando and the past participle is chegado.
What are the gerund and past participle of chegar?
The gerund is chegando — use it with estar for the progressive. The past participle is chegado — use it with ter for the perfect tenses, as in tenho chegado.
Which auxiliary does chegar take in the pretérito perfeito composto?
chegar takes ter in the pretérito perfeito composto: the eu form is tenho chegado. All seven compound tenses on this page are built with ter plus the past participle chegado.
How do I say “I arrive” in Portuguese?
Say “Eu chego a casa todos os dias.” — “I arrive home” The eu form of the present is chego, and it is the form you will use most often.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of chegar — every tense of chegar in one place.
- Chegar in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Chegar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Portuguese present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Portuguese.
- Estar conjugation — another everyday Portuguese verb.
- Dar conjugation — another everyday Portuguese verb.
- Portuguese verbs — the full hub of Portuguese conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Verb Conjugator — practise chegar with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise chegar with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise chegar with the interactive tool.