Limpar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

limpar — to clean — 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 clean, and it is completely regular: limpo, limpas, limpa, limpamos, limpais, limpam. Its pretérito perfeito is limpei, limpaste, limpou, and its participle is limpado. It is the verb for cleaning a house, a room or a car. On this page you will find limpar 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 limpar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the limpar present tense page.

Example sentences with limpar

In the present tense

  • “Eu limpo a casa todos os dias.” — “I clean the house”
  • “Tu limpas a casa todos os dias.” — “You clean the house”
  • “Ele limpa a casa todos os dias.” — “He cleans the house”
  • “Nós limpamos a casa todos os dias.” — “We clean the house”
  • “Vós limpais a casa todos os dias.” — “You clean the house”
  • “Eles limpam a casa todos os dias.” — “They clean the house”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu limpei a casa ontem.” — “I cleaned the house”
  • “Tu limpaste a casa ontem.” — “You cleaned the house”
  • “Ele limpou a casa ontem.” — “He cleaned the house”
  • “Nós limpámos a casa ontem.” — “We cleaned the house”
  • “Vós limpastes a casa ontem.” — “You cleaned the house”
  • “Eles limparam a casa ontem.” — “They cleaned the house”

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 limpava a casa antigamente.” — “I used to clean the house”
  • “Tu limparás a casa amanhã.” — “You will clean the house”
  • “Ele limparia a casa um dia.” — “He would clean the house”
  • “É importante que nós limpemos a casa.” — “It is important that we clean the house”
  • “Limpa a casa!” — “Clean the house!”

How limpar is used

The first thing to know about limpar is its core meaning: to clean. It means to clean, and it is completely regular: limpo, limpas, limpa, limpamos, limpais, limpam. Its pretérito perfeito is limpei, limpaste, limpou, and its participle is limpado. It is the verb for cleaning a house, a room or a car. 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 limpar keeps. The present eu form is limpo, 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 limpado, 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 limpar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need limpo, never limpar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho limpado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle limpado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Limpar in context

Eu limpo a casa todos os dias. Tu limpas a casa todos os dias. Ele limpa a casa todos os dias. Nós limpamos a casa todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of limpar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — limpo, limpas, limpa, limpamos — while the meaning stays the same: to clean. Eu limpei a casa ontem. Tu limpaste a casa ontem. Ele limpou a casa ontem. Nós limpámos a casa ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of limpar 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 clean — 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 limpar a casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu limpo a casa todos os dias.”

The infinitive limpar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form limpo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu limpas a casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu limpo a casa todos os dias.”

limpas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is limpo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu limpo a casa ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu limpei a casa ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito limpei here, not the present limpo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou limpado a casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho limpado a casa esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) limpo
    • B) limpas
    • C) limpa
    • D) limpamos

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

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

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

    • A) limpavas
    • B) limpávamos
    • C) limpáveis
    • D) limpava

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

    • A) limparemos
    • B) limparei
    • C) limparás
    • D) limpará

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

    • A) limparia
    • B) limparias
    • C) limparíamos
    • D) limparíeis

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

    • A) limparas
    • B) limpáramos
    • C) limpara
    • D) limpáreis

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

    • A) limpe
    • B) limpes
    • C) limpeis
    • D) limpemos

  8. What is the gerund of limpar?

    • A) limpando
    • B) limpado
    • C) limpar
    • D) limpo

  9. What is the past participle of limpar?

    • A) limpando
    • B) limpado
    • C) limpar
    • D) limpo

  10. What does limpar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) limpas — the correct form is limpas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho limpado — the correct form is tenho limpado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) limpava — the correct form is limpava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) limparemos — the correct form is limparemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) limparias — the correct form is limparias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) limpara — the correct form is limpara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) limpemos — the correct form is limpemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) limpando — the correct form is limpando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) limpado — the correct form is limpado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to clean — the correct form is to clean. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does limpar mean in English?

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

Is limpar regular or irregular?

limpar is regular. limpar 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 limpar?

The gerund is limpando and the past participle is limpado. The perfect tenses use ter + limpado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of limpar?

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

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