Morrer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

morrer — to die — 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 die, and it is irregular in the present and the pretérito perfeito: morro, morres, morre, and morri, morreste, morreu in the past. Its participle is morto, not a regular -ido form, so learn it as a pair with the infinitive. On this page you will find morrer 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 morrer conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the morrer pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with morrer

In the present tense

  • “Eu morro.” — “I die”
  • “Tu morres.” — “You die”
  • “Ele morre.” — “He dies”
  • “Nós morremos.” — “We die”
  • “Vós morreis.” — “You die”
  • “Eles morrem.” — “They die”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu morri no ano passado.” — “I died”
  • “Tu morreste no ano passado.” — “You died”
  • “Ele morreu no ano passado.” — “He died”
  • “Nós morremos no ano passado.” — “We died”
  • “Vós morrestes no ano passado.” — “You died”
  • “Eles morreram no ano passado.” — “They died”

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 morria antigamente.” — “I used to die”
  • “Tu morrerás.” — “You will die”
  • “Ele morreria.” — “He would die”
  • “É importante que nós morramos.” — “It is important that we die”
  • “Morre!” — “Die!”

How morrer is used

The first thing to know about morrer is its core meaning: to die. It means to die, and it is irregular in the present and the pretérito perfeito: morro, morres, morre, and morri, morreste, morreu in the past. Its participle is morto, not a regular -ido form, so learn it as a pair with the infinitive. 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 morrer keeps. The present eu form is morro, 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 morto, 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 morrer does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need morro, never morrer. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho morto, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle morto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Morrer in context

Eu morro. Tu morres. Ele morre. Nós morremos. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of morrer is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — morro, morres, morre, morremos — while the meaning stays the same: to die. Eu morri no ano passado. Tu morreste no ano passado. Ele morreu no ano passado. Nós morremos no ano passado. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of morrer 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 die — 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 morrer.”

✓ Right: “Eu morro.”

The infinitive morrer never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form morro.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu morres.”

✓ Right: “Eu morro.”

morres is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is morro — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu morro ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu morri no ano passado.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito morri here, not the present morro.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou morto.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho morto esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) morro
    • B) morres
    • C) morre
    • D) morremos

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

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

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

    • A) morrias
    • B) morríamos
    • C) morríeis
    • D) morria

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

    • A) morreremos
    • B) morrerei
    • C) morrerás
    • D) morrerá

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

    • A) morreria
    • B) morrerias
    • C) morreríamos
    • D) morreríeis

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

    • A) morreras
    • B) morréramos
    • C) morrera
    • D) morréreis

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

    • A) morra
    • B) morras
    • C) morrais
    • D) morramos

  8. What is the gerund of morrer?

    • A) morrendo
    • B) morto
    • C) morrer
    • D) morro

  9. What is the past participle of morrer?

    • A) morrendo
    • B) morto
    • C) morrer
    • D) morro

  10. What does morrer mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) morres — the correct form is morres. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho morto — the correct form is tenho morto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) morria — the correct form is morria. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) morreremos — the correct form is morreremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) morrerias — the correct form is morrerias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) morrera — the correct form is morrera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) morramos — the correct form is morramos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) morrendo — the correct form is morrendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) morto — the correct form is morto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to die — the correct form is to die. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does morrer mean in English?

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

Is morrer regular or irregular?

morrer is irregular. morrer is irregular in particípio, pretérito perfeito composto, pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto, futuro do presente composto, futuro do pretérito composto, presente do subjuntivo composto, pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo composto, futuro do subjuntivo composto — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of morrer?

The gerund is morrendo and the past participle is morto. The perfect tenses use ter + morto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of morrer?

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

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