Ligar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

ligar — to turn on — 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 turn on and to switch on, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -gar stem keeps its hard g by writing gu before e and i, so the pretérito perfeito eu form is liguei. The present is ligo, ligas, liga, and the participle is ligado. It also means to connect and to phone someone. Do not confuse it with desligar, which means to turn off. On this page you will find ligar 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 ligar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the ligar present tense page.

Example sentences with ligar

In the present tense

  • “Eu ligo a televisão todos os dias.” — “I turn on the television”
  • “Tu ligas a televisão todos os dias.” — “You turn on the television”
  • “Ele liga a televisão todos os dias.” — “He turns on the television”
  • “Nós ligamos a televisão todos os dias.” — “We turn on the television”
  • “Vós ligais a televisão todos os dias.” — “You turn on the television”
  • “Eles ligam a televisão todos os dias.” — “They turn on the television”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu liguei a televisão ontem.” — “I turned on the television”
  • “Tu ligaste a televisão ontem.” — “You turned on the television”
  • “Ele ligou a televisão ontem.” — “He turned on the television”
  • “Nós ligámos a televisão ontem.” — “We turned on the television”
  • “Vós ligastes a televisão ontem.” — “You turned on the television”
  • “Eles ligaram a televisão ontem.” — “They turned on the television”

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 ligava a televisão antigamente.” — “I used to turn on the television”
  • “Tu ligarás a televisão amanhã.” — “You will turn on the television”
  • “Ele ligaria a televisão um dia.” — “He would turn on the television”
  • “É importante que nós liguemos a televisão.” — “It is important that we turn on the television”
  • “Liga a televisão!” — “Turn on the television!”

How ligar is used

The first thing to know about ligar is its core meaning: to turn on. It means to turn on and to switch on, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the -gar stem keeps its hard g by writing gu before e and i, so the pretérito perfeito eu form is liguei. The present is ligo, ligas, liga, and the participle is ligado. It also means to connect and to phone someone. Do not confuse it with desligar, which means to turn off. 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 ligar keeps. The present eu form is ligo, 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 ligado, 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 ligar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need ligo, never ligar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho ligado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle ligado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Ligar in context

Eu ligo a televisão todos os dias. Tu ligas a televisão todos os dias. Ele liga a televisão todos os dias. Nós ligamos a televisão todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of ligar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — ligo, ligas, liga, ligamos — while the meaning stays the same: to turn on. Eu liguei a televisão ontem. Tu ligaste a televisão ontem. Ele ligou a televisão ontem. Nós ligámos a televisão ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of ligar 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 turn on — 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 ligar a televisão.”

✓ Right: “Eu ligo a televisão todos os dias.”

The infinitive ligar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form ligo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu ligas a televisão.”

✓ Right: “Eu ligo a televisão todos os dias.”

ligas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is ligo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu ligo a televisão ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu liguei a televisão ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito liguei here, not the present ligo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou ligado a televisão.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho ligado a televisão esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) ligo
    • B) ligas
    • C) liga
    • D) ligamos

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

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

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

    • A) ligavas
    • B) ligávamos
    • C) ligáveis
    • D) ligava

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

    • A) ligaremos
    • B) ligarei
    • C) ligarás
    • D) ligará

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

    • A) ligaria
    • B) ligarias
    • C) ligaríamos
    • D) ligaríeis

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

    • A) ligaras
    • B) ligáramos
    • C) ligara
    • D) ligáreis

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

    • A) ligue
    • B) ligues
    • C) ligueis
    • D) liguemos

  8. What is the gerund of ligar?

    • A) ligando
    • B) ligado
    • C) ligar
    • D) ligo

  9. What is the past participle of ligar?

    • A) ligando
    • B) ligado
    • C) ligar
    • D) ligo

  10. What does ligar mean in English?

  • A) to ask for
  • B) to receive
  • C) to turn on
  • D) to pay

Answer key

  1. B) ligas — the correct form is ligas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho ligado — the correct form is tenho ligado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) ligava — the correct form is ligava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ligaremos — the correct form is ligaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) ligarias — the correct form is ligarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) ligara — the correct form is ligara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) liguemos — the correct form is liguemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) ligando — the correct form is ligando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) ligado — the correct form is ligado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to turn on — the correct form is to turn on. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does ligar mean in English?

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

Is ligar regular or irregular?

ligar is regular. ligar 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 ligar?

The gerund is ligando and the past participle is ligado. The perfect tenses use ter + ligado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of ligar?

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

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