Descer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

descer — to go down — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a regular -er verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to go down, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the stem-final c becomes ç before a and o, so the eu form is desço. Its present is desço, desces, desce, and its pretérito perfeito is desci, desceste, desceu. It is the opposite of subir, which means to go up. On this page you will find descer 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 descer conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the descer present tense page.

Example sentences with descer

In the present tense

  • “Eu desço as escadas todos os dias.” — “I go down the stairs”
  • “Tu desces as escadas todos os dias.” — “You go down the stairs”
  • “Ele desce as escadas todos os dias.” — “He goes down the stairs”
  • “Nós descemos as escadas todos os dias.” — “We go down the stairs”
  • “Vós desceis as escadas todos os dias.” — “You go down the stairs”
  • “Eles descem as escadas todos os dias.” — “They go down the stairs”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu desci as escadas ontem.” — “I went down the stairs”
  • “Tu desceste as escadas ontem.” — “You went down the stairs”
  • “Ele desceu as escadas ontem.” — “He went down the stairs”
  • “Nós descemos as escadas ontem.” — “We went down the stairs”
  • “Vós descestes as escadas ontem.” — “You went down the stairs”
  • “Eles desceram as escadas ontem.” — “They went down the stairs”

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 descia as escadas antigamente.” — “I used to go down the stairs”
  • “Tu descerás as escadas amanhã.” — “You will go down the stairs”
  • “Ele desceria as escadas um dia.” — “He would go down the stairs”
  • “É importante que nós desçamos as escadas.” — “It is important that we go down the stairs”
  • “Desce as escadas!” — “Go down the stairs!”

How descer is used

The first thing to know about descer is its core meaning: to go down. It means to go down, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the stem-final c becomes ç before a and o, so the eu form is desço. Its present is desço, desces, desce, and its pretérito perfeito is desci, desceste, desceu. It is the opposite of subir, which means to go up. 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 descer keeps. The present eu form is desço, 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 descido, 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 descer does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need desço, never descer. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho descido, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle descido is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Descer in context

Eu desço as escadas todos os dias. Tu desces as escadas todos os dias. Ele desce as escadas todos os dias. Nós descemos as escadas todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of descer is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — desço, desces, desce, descemos — while the meaning stays the same: to go down. Eu desci as escadas ontem. Tu desceste as escadas ontem. Ele desceu as escadas ontem. Nós descemos as escadas ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of descer 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 go down — 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 descer as escadas.”

✓ Right: “Eu desço as escadas todos os dias.”

The infinitive descer never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form desço.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu desces as escadas.”

✓ Right: “Eu desço as escadas todos os dias.”

desces is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is desço — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu desço as escadas ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu desci as escadas ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito desci here, not the present desço.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou descido as escadas.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho descido as escadas esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) desço
    • B) desces
    • C) desce
    • D) descemos

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

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

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

    • A) descias
    • B) descíamos
    • C) descíeis
    • D) descia

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

    • A) desceremos
    • B) descerei
    • C) descerás
    • D) descerá

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

    • A) desceria
    • B) descerias
    • C) desceríamos
    • D) desceríeis

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

    • A) desceras
    • B) descéramos
    • C) descera
    • D) descéreis

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

    • A) desça
    • B) desças
    • C) desçais
    • D) desçamos

  8. What is the gerund of descer?

    • A) descendo
    • B) descido
    • C) descer
    • D) desço

  9. What is the past participle of descer?

    • A) descendo
    • B) descido
    • C) descer
    • D) desço

  10. What does descer mean in English?

  • A) to ask for
  • B) to receive
  • C) to go down
  • D) to pay

Answer key

  1. B) desces — the correct form is desces. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho descido — the correct form is tenho descido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) descia — the correct form is descia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) desceremos — the correct form is desceremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) descerias — the correct form is descerias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) descera — the correct form is descera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) desçamos — the correct form is desçamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) descendo — the correct form is descendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) descido — the correct form is descido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to go down — the correct form is to go down. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does descer mean in English?

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

Is descer regular or irregular?

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

What are the gerund and past participle of descer?

The gerund is descendo and the past participle is descido. The perfect tenses use ter + descido.

Where can I see the full conjugation of descer?

On the descer conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The descer 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 descer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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