Ficar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

ficar — to stay — 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 stay and to remain somewhere, and it is also the verb for becoming something and for where something is located in a house or a city. It is completely regular apart from its spelling: the -car stem keeps its hard c by writing qu before e and i, so the eu form is fico and the subjunctive is fique. Do not confuse it with estar, which is the verb for temporary location. On this page you will find ficar 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 ficar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the ficar present tense page.

Example sentences with ficar

In the present tense

  • “Eu fico em casa todos os dias.” — “I stay at home”
  • “Tu ficas em casa todos os dias.” — “You stay at home”
  • “Ele fica em casa todos os dias.” — “He stays at home”
  • “Nós ficamos em casa todos os dias.” — “We stay at home”
  • “Vós ficais em casa todos os dias.” — “You stay at home”
  • “Eles ficam em casa todos os dias.” — “They stay at home”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu fiquei em casa ontem.” — “I stayed at home”
  • “Tu ficaste em casa ontem.” — “You stayed at home”
  • “Ele ficou em casa ontem.” — “He stayed at home”
  • “Nós ficámos em casa ontem.” — “We stayed at home”
  • “Vós ficastes em casa ontem.” — “You stayed at home”
  • “Eles ficaram em casa ontem.” — “They stayed at home”

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 ficava em casa antigamente.” — “I used to stay at home”
  • “Tu ficarás em casa amanhã.” — “You will stay at home”
  • “Ele ficaria em casa um dia.” — “He would stay at home”
  • “É importante que nós fiquemos em casa.” — “It is important that we stay at home”
  • “Fica em casa!” — “Stay at home!”

How ficar is used

The first thing to know about ficar is its core meaning: to stay. It means to stay and to remain somewhere, and it is also the verb for becoming something and for where something is located in a house or a city. It is completely regular apart from its spelling: the -car stem keeps its hard c by writing qu before e and i, so the eu form is fico and the subjunctive is fique. Do not confuse it with estar, which is the verb for temporary location. 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 ficar keeps. The present eu form is fico, 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 ficado, 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 ficar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need fico, never ficar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho ficado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle ficado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Ficar in context

Eu fico em casa todos os dias. Tu ficas em casa todos os dias. Ele fica em casa todos os dias. Nós ficamos em casa todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of ficar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — fico, ficas, fica, ficamos — while the meaning stays the same: to stay. Eu fiquei em casa ontem. Tu ficaste em casa ontem. Ele ficou em casa ontem. Nós ficámos em casa ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of ficar 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 stay — 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 ficar em casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu fico em casa todos os dias.”

The infinitive ficar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form fico.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu ficas em casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu fico em casa todos os dias.”

ficas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is fico — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu fico em casa ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu fiquei em casa ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito fiquei here, not the present fico.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou ficado em casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho ficado em casa esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) fico
    • B) ficas
    • C) fica
    • D) ficamos

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

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

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

    • A) ficavas
    • B) ficávamos
    • C) ficáveis
    • D) ficava

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

    • A) ficaremos
    • B) ficarei
    • C) ficarás
    • D) ficará

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

    • A) ficaria
    • B) ficarias
    • C) ficaríamos
    • D) ficaríeis

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

    • A) ficaras
    • B) ficáramos
    • C) ficara
    • D) ficáreis

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

    • A) fique
    • B) fiques
    • C) fiqueis
    • D) fiquemos

  8. What is the gerund of ficar?

    • A) ficando
    • B) ficado
    • C) ficar
    • D) fico

  9. What is the past participle of ficar?

    • A) ficando
    • B) ficado
    • C) ficar
    • D) fico

  10. What does ficar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) ficas — the correct form is ficas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho ficado — the correct form is tenho ficado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ficava — the correct form is ficava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ficaremos — the correct form is ficaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) ficarias — the correct form is ficarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) ficara — the correct form is ficara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) fiquemos — the correct form is fiquemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) ficando — the correct form is ficando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) ficado — the correct form is ficado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to stay — the correct form is to stay. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does ficar mean in English?

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

Is ficar regular or irregular?

ficar is regular. ficar 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 ficar?

The gerund is ficando and the past participle is ficado. The perfect tenses use ter + ficado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ficar?

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

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