Mudar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

mudar — to change — 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 change, and it is completely regular: mudo, mudas, muda, mudamos, mudais, mudam. Its pretérito perfeito is mudei, mudaste, mudou, and its participle is mudado. It also means to move house. The phrase mudo de ideias means I change my mind. On this page you will find mudar 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 mudar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the mudar present tense page.

Example sentences with mudar

In the present tense

  • “Eu mudo de ideias todos os dias.” — “I change my mind”
  • “Tu mudas de ideias todos os dias.” — “You change my mind”
  • “Ele muda de ideias todos os dias.” — “He changes my mind”
  • “Nós mudamos de ideias todos os dias.” — “We change my mind”
  • “Vós mudais de ideias todos os dias.” — “You change my mind”
  • “Eles mudam de ideias todos os dias.” — “They change my mind”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu mudei de ideias ontem.” — “I changed my mind”
  • “Tu mudaste de ideias ontem.” — “You changed my mind”
  • “Ele mudou de ideias ontem.” — “He changed my mind”
  • “Nós mudámos de ideias ontem.” — “We changed my mind”
  • “Vós mudastes de ideias ontem.” — “You changed my mind”
  • “Eles mudaram de ideias ontem.” — “They changed my mind”

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 mudava de ideias antigamente.” — “I used to change my mind”
  • “Tu mudarás de ideias amanhã.” — “You will change my mind”
  • “Ele mudaria de ideias um dia.” — “He would change my mind”
  • “É importante que nós mudemos de ideias.” — “It is important that we change my mind”
  • “Muda de ideias!” — “Change my mind!”

How mudar is used

The first thing to know about mudar is its core meaning: to change. It means to change, and it is completely regular: mudo, mudas, muda, mudamos, mudais, mudam. Its pretérito perfeito is mudei, mudaste, mudou, and its participle is mudado. It also means to move house. The phrase mudo de ideias means I change my mind. 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 mudar keeps. The present eu form is mudo, 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 mudado, 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 mudar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need mudo, never mudar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho mudado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle mudado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Mudar in context

Eu mudo de ideias todos os dias. Tu mudas de ideias todos os dias. Ele muda de ideias todos os dias. Nós mudamos de ideias todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of mudar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — mudo, mudas, muda, mudamos — while the meaning stays the same: to change. Eu mudei de ideias ontem. Tu mudaste de ideias ontem. Ele mudou de ideias ontem. Nós mudámos de ideias ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of mudar 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 change — 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 mudar de ideias.”

✓ Right: “Eu mudo de ideias todos os dias.”

The infinitive mudar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form mudo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu mudas de ideias.”

✓ Right: “Eu mudo de ideias todos os dias.”

mudas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is mudo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu mudo de ideias ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu mudei de ideias ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito mudei here, not the present mudo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou mudado de ideias.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho mudado de ideias esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) mudo
    • B) mudas
    • C) muda
    • D) mudamos

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

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

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

    • A) mudavas
    • B) mudávamos
    • C) mudáveis
    • D) mudava

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

    • A) mudaremos
    • B) mudarei
    • C) mudarás
    • D) mudará

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

    • A) mudaria
    • B) mudarias
    • C) mudaríamos
    • D) mudaríeis

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

    • A) mudaras
    • B) mudáramos
    • C) mudara
    • D) mudáreis

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

    • A) mude
    • B) mudes
    • C) mudeis
    • D) mudemos

  8. What is the gerund of mudar?

    • A) mudando
    • B) mudado
    • C) mudar
    • D) mudo

  9. What is the past participle of mudar?

    • A) mudando
    • B) mudado
    • C) mudar
    • D) mudo

  10. What does mudar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) mudas — the correct form is mudas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho mudado — the correct form is tenho mudado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) mudava — the correct form is mudava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) mudaremos — the correct form is mudaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) mudarias — the correct form is mudarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) mudara — the correct form is mudara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) mudemos — the correct form is mudemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) mudando — the correct form is mudando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) mudado — the correct form is mudado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to change — the correct form is to change. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does mudar mean in English?

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

Is mudar regular or irregular?

mudar is regular. mudar 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 mudar?

The gerund is mudando and the past participle is mudado. The perfect tenses use ter + mudado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of mudar?

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

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