Esquecer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

esquecer — to forget — 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 forget, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the stem-final c becomes ç before a and o, so the eu form is esqueço. Its present is esqueço, esqueces, esquece, and its pretérito perfeito is esqueci, esqueceste, esqueceu. It is the opposite of lembrar, which means to remember. On this page you will find esquecer 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 esquecer conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the esquecer pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with esquecer

In the present tense

  • “Eu esqueço o livro todos os dias.” — “I forget the book”
  • “Tu esqueces o livro todos os dias.” — “You forget the book”
  • “Ele esquece o livro todos os dias.” — “He forgets the book”
  • “Nós esquecemos o livro todos os dias.” — “We forget the book”
  • “Vós esqueceis o livro todos os dias.” — “You forget the book”
  • “Eles esquecem o livro todos os dias.” — “They forget the book”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu esqueci o livro ontem.” — “I forgot the book”
  • “Tu esqueceste o livro ontem.” — “You forgot the book”
  • “Ele esqueceu o livro ontem.” — “He forgot the book”
  • “Nós esquecemos o livro ontem.” — “We forgot the book”
  • “Vós esquecestes o livro ontem.” — “You forgot the book”
  • “Eles esqueceram o livro ontem.” — “They forgot the book”

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 esquecia o livro antigamente.” — “I used to forget the book”
  • “Tu esquecerás o livro amanhã.” — “You will forget the book”
  • “Ele esqueceria o livro um dia.” — “He would forget the book”
  • “É importante que nós esqueçamos o livro.” — “It is important that we forget the book”
  • “Esquece o livro!” — “Forget the book!”

How esquecer is used

The first thing to know about esquecer is its core meaning: to forget. It means to forget, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the stem-final c becomes ç before a and o, so the eu form is esqueço. Its present is esqueço, esqueces, esquece, and its pretérito perfeito is esqueci, esqueceste, esqueceu. It is the opposite of lembrar, which means to remember. 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 esquecer keeps. The present eu form is esqueço, 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 esquecido, 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 esquecer does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need esqueço, never esquecer. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho esquecido, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle esquecido is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Esquecer in context

Eu esqueço o livro todos os dias. Tu esqueces o livro todos os dias. Ele esquece o livro todos os dias. Nós esquecemos o livro todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of esquecer is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — esqueço, esqueces, esquece, esquecemos — while the meaning stays the same: to forget. Eu esqueci o livro ontem. Tu esqueceste o livro ontem. Ele esqueceu o livro ontem. Nós esquecemos o livro ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of esquecer 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 forget — 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 esquecer o livro.”

✓ Right: “Eu esqueço o livro todos os dias.”

The infinitive esquecer never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form esqueço.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu esqueces o livro.”

✓ Right: “Eu esqueço o livro todos os dias.”

esqueces is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is esqueço — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu esqueço o livro ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu esqueci o livro ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito esqueci here, not the present esqueço.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou esquecido o livro.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho esquecido o livro esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) esqueço
    • B) esqueces
    • C) esquece
    • D) esquecemos

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

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

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

    • A) esquecias
    • B) esquecíamos
    • C) esquecíeis
    • D) esquecia

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

    • A) esqueceremos
    • B) esquecerei
    • C) esquecerás
    • D) esquecerá

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

    • A) esqueceria
    • B) esquecerias
    • C) esqueceríamos
    • D) esqueceríeis

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

    • A) esqueceras
    • B) esquecéramos
    • C) esquecera
    • D) esquecéreis

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

    • A) esqueça
    • B) esqueças
    • C) esqueçais
    • D) esqueçamos

  8. What is the gerund of esquecer?

    • A) esquecendo
    • B) esquecido
    • C) esquecer
    • D) esqueço

  9. What is the past participle of esquecer?

    • A) esquecendo
    • B) esquecido
    • C) esquecer
    • D) esqueço

  10. What does esquecer mean in English?

  • A) to ask for
  • B) to receive
  • C) to forget
  • D) to pay

Answer key

  1. B) esqueces — the correct form is esqueces. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho esquecido — the correct form is tenho esquecido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) esquecia — the correct form is esquecia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) esqueceremos — the correct form is esqueceremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) esquecerias — the correct form is esquecerias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) esquecera — the correct form is esquecera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) esqueçamos — the correct form is esqueçamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) esquecendo — the correct form is esquecendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) esquecido — the correct form is esquecido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to forget — the correct form is to forget. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does esquecer mean in English?

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

Is esquecer regular or irregular?

esquecer is regular. esquecer 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 esquecer?

The gerund is esquecendo and the past participle is esquecido. The perfect tenses use ter + esquecido.

Where can I see the full conjugation of esquecer?

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

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