Ensinar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

ensinar — to teach — 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 teach, and it is completely regular: ensino, ensinas, ensina, ensinamos, ensinais, ensinam. It takes the subject and the person taught — ensino português à Maria — and it is the natural partner of aprender. On this page you will find ensinar 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 ensinar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the ensinar present tense page.

Example sentences with ensinar

In the present tense

  • “Eu ensino português à Maria todos os dias.” — “I teach Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Tu ensinas português à Maria todos os dias.” — “You teach Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Ele ensina português à Maria todos os dias.” — “He teaches Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Nós ensinamos português à Maria todos os dias.” — “We teach Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Vós ensinais português à Maria todos os dias.” — “You teach Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Eles ensinam português à Maria todos os dias.” — “They teach Portuguese to Maria”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu ensinei português à Maria ontem.” — “I taught Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Tu ensinaste português à Maria ontem.” — “You taught Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Ele ensinou português à Maria ontem.” — “He taught Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Nós ensinámos português à Maria ontem.” — “We taught Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Vós ensinastes português à Maria ontem.” — “You taught Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Eles ensinaram português à Maria ontem.” — “They taught Portuguese to 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 ensinava português à Maria antigamente.” — “I used to teach Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Tu ensinarás português à Maria amanhã.” — “You will teach Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Ele ensinaria português à Maria um dia.” — “He would teach Portuguese to Maria”
  • “É importante que nós ensinemos português à Maria.” — “It is important that we teach Portuguese to Maria”
  • “Ensina português à Maria!” — “Teach Portuguese to Maria!”

How ensinar is used

The first thing to know about ensinar is its core meaning: to teach. It means to teach, and it is completely regular: ensino, ensinas, ensina, ensinamos, ensinais, ensinam. It takes the subject and the person taught — ensino português à Maria — and it is the natural partner of aprender. 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 ensinar keeps. The present eu form is ensino, 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 ensinado, 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 ensinar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need ensino, never ensinar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho ensinado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle ensinado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Ensinar in context

Eu ensino português à Maria todos os dias. Tu ensinas português à Maria todos os dias. Ele ensina português à Maria todos os dias. Nós ensinamos português à Maria todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of ensinar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — ensino, ensinas, ensina, ensinamos — while the meaning stays the same: to teach. Eu ensinei português à Maria ontem. Tu ensinaste português à Maria ontem. Ele ensinou português à Maria ontem. Nós ensinámos português à Maria ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of ensinar 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 teach — 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 ensinar português à Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu ensino português à Maria todos os dias.”

The infinitive ensinar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form ensino.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu ensinas português à Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu ensino português à Maria todos os dias.”

ensinas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is ensino — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu ensino português à Maria ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu ensinei português à Maria ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito ensinei here, not the present ensino.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou ensinado português à Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho ensinado português à Maria esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) ensino
    • B) ensinas
    • C) ensina
    • D) ensinamos

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

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

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

    • A) ensinavas
    • B) ensinávamos
    • C) ensináveis
    • D) ensinava

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

    • A) ensinaremos
    • B) ensinarei
    • C) ensinarás
    • D) ensinará

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

    • A) ensinaria
    • B) ensinarias
    • C) ensinaríamos
    • D) ensinaríeis

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

    • A) ensinaras
    • B) ensináramos
    • C) ensinara
    • D) ensináreis

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

    • A) ensine
    • B) ensines
    • C) ensineis
    • D) ensinemos

  8. What is the gerund of ensinar?

    • A) ensinando
    • B) ensinado
    • C) ensinar
    • D) ensino

  9. What is the past participle of ensinar?

    • A) ensinando
    • B) ensinado
    • C) ensinar
    • D) ensino

  10. What does ensinar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) ensinas — the correct form is ensinas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho ensinado — the correct form is tenho ensinado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ensinava — the correct form is ensinava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ensinaremos — the correct form is ensinaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) ensinarias — the correct form is ensinarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) ensinara — the correct form is ensinara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ensinemos — the correct form is ensinemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) ensinando — the correct form is ensinando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) ensinado — the correct form is ensinado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to teach — the correct form is to teach. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does ensinar mean in English?

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

Is ensinar regular or irregular?

ensinar is regular. ensinar 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 ensinar?

The gerund is ensinando and the past participle is ensinado. The perfect tenses use ter + ensinado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ensinar?

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

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