Nascer Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

nascer — to be born — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a regular -er verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to be born, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the stem-final c becomes ç before a and o, so the eu form is nasço and the subjunctive is nasça. Its pretérito perfeito is nasci, nasceste, nasceu, and its participle is nascido. On this page you will find nascer 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 nascer conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the nascer pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with nascer

In the present tense

  • “Eu nasço em Lisboa.” — “I am born in Lisbon”
  • “Tu nasces em Lisboa.” — “You are born in Lisbon”
  • “Ele nasce em Lisboa.” — “He is born in Lisbon”
  • “Nós nascemos em Lisboa.” — “We are born in Lisbon”
  • “Vós nasceis em Lisboa.” — “You are born in Lisbon”
  • “Eles nascem em Lisboa.” — “They are born in Lisbon”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu nasci em Lisboa em 1990.” — “I was born in Lisbon”
  • “Tu nasceste em Lisboa em 1990.” — “You was born in Lisbon”
  • “Ele nasceu em Lisboa em 1990.” — “He was born in Lisbon”
  • “Nós nascemos em Lisboa em 1990.” — “We was born in Lisbon”
  • “Vós nascestes em Lisboa em 1990.” — “You was born in Lisbon”
  • “Eles nasceram em Lisboa em 1990.” — “They was born in Lisbon”

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 nascia em Lisboa antigamente.” — “I used to be born in Lisbon”
  • “Tu nascerás em Lisboa.” — “You will be born in Lisbon”
  • “Ele nasceria em Lisboa.” — “He would be born in Lisbon”
  • “É importante que nós nasçamos em Lisboa.” — “It is important that we be born in Lisbon”
  • “Nasce em Lisboa!” — “Be born in Lisbon!”

How nascer is used

The first thing to know about nascer is its core meaning: to be born. It means to be born, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the stem-final c becomes ç before a and o, so the eu form is nasço and the subjunctive is nasça. Its pretérito perfeito is nasci, nasceste, nasceu, and its participle is nascido. 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 nascer keeps. The present eu form is nasço, 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 nascido, 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 nascer does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need nasço, never nascer. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho nascido, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle nascido is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Nascer in context

Eu nasço em Lisboa. Tu nasces em Lisboa. Ele nasce em Lisboa. Nós nascemos em Lisboa. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of nascer is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — nasço, nasces, nasce, nascemos — while the meaning stays the same: to be born. Eu nasci em Lisboa em 1990. Tu nasceste em Lisboa em 1990. Ele nasceu em Lisboa em 1990. Nós nascemos em Lisboa em 1990. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of nascer 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 be born — 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 nascer em Lisboa.”

✓ Right: “Eu nasço em Lisboa.”

The infinitive nascer never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form nasço.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu nasces em Lisboa.”

✓ Right: “Eu nasço em Lisboa.”

nasces is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is nasço — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu nasço em Lisboa ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu nasci em Lisboa em 1990.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito nasci here, not the present nasço.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou nascido em Lisboa.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho nascido em Lisboa esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) nasço
    • B) nasces
    • C) nasce
    • D) nascemos

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

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

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

    • A) nascias
    • B) nascíamos
    • C) nascíeis
    • D) nascia

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

    • A) nasceremos
    • B) nascerei
    • C) nascerás
    • D) nascerá

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

    • A) nasceria
    • B) nascerias
    • C) nasceríamos
    • D) nasceríeis

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

    • A) nasceras
    • B) nascéramos
    • C) nascera
    • D) nascéreis

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

    • A) nasça
    • B) nasças
    • C) nasçais
    • D) nasçamos

  8. What is the gerund of nascer?

    • A) nascendo
    • B) nascido
    • C) nascer
    • D) nasço

  9. What is the past participle of nascer?

    • A) nascendo
    • B) nascido
    • C) nascer
    • D) nasço

  10. What does nascer mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) nasces — the correct form is nasces. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho nascido — the correct form is tenho nascido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) nascia — the correct form is nascia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) nasceremos — the correct form is nasceremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) nascerias — the correct form is nascerias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) nascera — the correct form is nascera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) nasçamos — the correct form is nasçamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) nascendo — the correct form is nascendo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) nascido — the correct form is nascido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to be born — the correct form is to be born. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does nascer mean in English?

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

Is nascer regular or irregular?

nascer is regular. nascer is regular: every form follows the standard -er endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of nascer?

The gerund is nascendo and the past participle is nascido. The perfect tenses use ter + nascido.

Where can I see the full conjugation of nascer?

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

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