Ler Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

ler — to read — 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 read, and it is irregular in the present and the pretérito perfeito: leio, lês, lê, lemos, ledes, leem, and li, leste, leu, lemos, lestes, leram in the past. Its gerund is lendo and its participle is lido. On this page you will find ler 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 ler conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the ler pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with ler

In the present tense

  • “Eu leio um livro todos os dias.” — “I read a book”
  • “Tu lês um livro todos os dias.” — “You read a book”
  • “Ele lê um livro todos os dias.” — “He reads a book”
  • “Nós lemos um livro todos os dias.” — “We read a book”
  • “Vós ledes um livro todos os dias.” — “You read a book”
  • “Eles leem um livro todos os dias.” — “They read a book”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu li um livro ontem.” — “I read a book”
  • “Tu leste um livro ontem.” — “You read a book”
  • “Ele leu um livro ontem.” — “He read a book”
  • “Nós lemos um livro ontem.” — “We read a book”
  • “Vós lestes um livro ontem.” — “You read a book”
  • “Eles leram um livro ontem.” — “They read a 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 lia um livro antigamente.” — “I used to read a book”
  • “Tu lerás um livro amanhã.” — “You will read a book”
  • “Ele leria um livro um dia.” — “He would read a book”
  • “É importante que nós leiamos um livro.” — “It is important that we read a book”
  • “Lê um livro!” — “Read a book!”

How ler is used

The first thing to know about ler is its core meaning: to read. It means to read, and it is irregular in the present and the pretérito perfeito: leio, lês, lê, lemos, ledes, leem, and li, leste, leu, lemos, lestes, leram in the past. Its gerund is lendo and its participle is lido. 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 ler keeps. The present eu form is leio, 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 lido, 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 ler does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need leio, never ler. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho lido, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle lido is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Ler in context

Eu leio um livro todos os dias. Tu lês um livro todos os dias. Ele lê um livro todos os dias. Nós lemos um livro todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of ler is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — leio, lês, lê, lemos — while the meaning stays the same: to read. Eu li um livro ontem. Tu leste um livro ontem. Ele leu um livro ontem. Nós lemos um livro ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of ler 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 read — 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 ler um livro.”

✓ Right: “Eu leio um livro todos os dias.”

The infinitive ler never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form leio.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu lês um livro.”

✓ Right: “Eu leio um livro todos os dias.”

lês is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is leio — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu leio um livro ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu li um livro ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito li here, not the present leio.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou lido um livro.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho lido um livro esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) leio
    • B) lês
    • C) lê
    • D) lemos

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

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

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

    • A) lias
    • B) líamos
    • C) líeis
    • D) lia

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

    • A) leremos
    • B) lerei
    • C) lerás
    • D) lerá

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

    • A) leria
    • B) lerias
    • C) leríamos
    • D) leríeis

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

    • A) leras
    • B) lêramos
    • C) lera
    • D) lêreis

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

    • A) leia
    • B) leias
    • C) leiais
    • D) leiamos

  8. What is the gerund of ler?

    • A) lendo
    • B) lido
    • C) ler
    • D) leio

  9. What is the past participle of ler?

    • A) lendo
    • B) lido
    • C) ler
    • D) leio

  10. What does ler mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) lês — the correct form is lês. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho lido — the correct form is tenho lido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) lia — the correct form is lia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) leremos — the correct form is leremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) lerias — the correct form is lerias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) lera — the correct form is lera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) leiamos — the correct form is leiamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) lendo — the correct form is lendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) lido — the correct form is lido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to read — the correct form is to read. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does ler mean in English?

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

Is ler regular or irregular?

ler is irregular. ler is irregular in presente, pretérito perfeito, pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples, presente do subjuntivo, pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo, futuro do subjuntivo, imperativo afirmativo, imperativo negativo — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of ler?

The gerund is lendo and the past participle is lido. The perfect tenses use ter + lido.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ler?

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

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