Escrever Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

escrever — to write — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a irregular -er verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to write, and it is irregular in the present and the pretérito perfeito: escrevo, escreves, escreve, and escrevi, escreveste, escreveu in the past. Its participle is escrito, not a regular -ido form, so learn it as a pair with the infinitive. On this page you will find escrever 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 escrever conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the escrever pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with escrever

In the present tense

  • “Eu escrevo uma carta todos os dias.” — “I write a letter”
  • “Tu escreves uma carta todos os dias.” — “You write a letter”
  • “Ele escreve uma carta todos os dias.” — “He writes a letter”
  • “Nós escrevemos uma carta todos os dias.” — “We write a letter”
  • “Vós escreveis uma carta todos os dias.” — “You write a letter”
  • “Eles escrevem uma carta todos os dias.” — “They write a letter”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.” — “I wrote a letter”
  • “Tu escreveste uma carta ontem.” — “You wrote a letter”
  • “Ele escreveu uma carta ontem.” — “He wrote a letter”
  • “Nós escrevemos uma carta ontem.” — “We wrote a letter”
  • “Vós escrevestes uma carta ontem.” — “You wrote a letter”
  • “Eles escreveram uma carta ontem.” — “They wrote a letter”

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 escrevia uma carta antigamente.” — “I used to write a letter”
  • “Tu escreverás uma carta amanhã.” — “You will write a letter”
  • “Ele escreveria uma carta um dia.” — “He would write a letter”
  • “É importante que nós escrevamos uma carta.” — “It is important that we write a letter”
  • “Escreve uma carta!” — “Write a letter!”

How escrever is used

The first thing to know about escrever is its core meaning: to write. It means to write, and it is irregular in the present and the pretérito perfeito: escrevo, escreves, escreve, and escrevi, escreveste, escreveu in the past. Its participle is escrito, not a regular -ido form, so learn it as a pair with the infinitive. 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 escrever keeps. The present eu form is escrevo, 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 escrito, 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 escrever does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need escrevo, never escrever. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho escrito, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle escrito is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Escrever in context

Eu escrevo uma carta todos os dias. Tu escreves uma carta todos os dias. Ele escreve uma carta todos os dias. Nós escrevemos uma carta todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of escrever is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — escrevo, escreves, escreve, escrevemos — while the meaning stays the same: to write. Eu escrevi uma carta ontem. Tu escreveste uma carta ontem. Ele escreveu uma carta ontem. Nós escrevemos uma carta ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of escrever 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 write — 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 escrever uma carta.”

✓ Right: “Eu escrevo uma carta todos os dias.”

The infinitive escrever never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form escrevo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu escreves uma carta.”

✓ Right: “Eu escrevo uma carta todos os dias.”

escreves is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is escrevo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu escrevo uma carta ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito escrevi here, not the present escrevo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou escrito uma carta.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho escrito uma carta esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) escrevo
    • B) escreves
    • C) escreve
    • D) escrevemos

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

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

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

    • A) escrevias
    • B) escrevíamos
    • C) escrevíeis
    • D) escrevia

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

    • A) escreveremos
    • B) escreverei
    • C) escreverás
    • D) escreverá

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

    • A) escreveria
    • B) escreverias
    • C) escreveríamos
    • D) escreveríeis

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

    • A) escreveras
    • B) escrevéramos
    • C) escrevera
    • D) escrevéreis

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

    • A) escreva
    • B) escrevas
    • C) escrevais
    • D) escrevamos

  8. What is the gerund of escrever?

    • A) escrevendo
    • B) escrito
    • C) escrever
    • D) escrevo

  9. What is the past participle of escrever?

    • A) escrevendo
    • B) escrito
    • C) escrever
    • D) escrevo

  10. What does escrever mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) escreves — the correct form is escreves. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho escrito — the correct form is tenho escrito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) escrevia — the correct form is escrevia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) escreveremos — the correct form is escreveremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) escreverias — the correct form is escreverias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) escrevera — the correct form is escrevera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) escrevamos — the correct form is escrevamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) escrevendo — the correct form is escrevendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) escrito — the correct form is escrito. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to write — the correct form is to write. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does escrever mean in English?

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

Is escrever regular or irregular?

escrever is irregular. escrever is irregular in particípio, pretérito perfeito composto, pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto, futuro do presente composto, futuro do pretérito composto, presente do subjuntivo composto, pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo composto, futuro do subjuntivo composto — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of escrever?

The gerund is escrevendo and the past participle is escrito. The perfect tenses use ter + escrito.

Where can I see the full conjugation of escrever?

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

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