Olhar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

olhar — to look — 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 look at something and to watch, and it is the verb for looking at a view, a film or a person. It is completely regular, and it is different from ver, which means to see without necessarily looking on purpose. On this page you will find olhar 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 olhar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the olhar present tense page.

Example sentences with olhar

In the present tense

  • “Eu olho para a televisão todos os dias.” — “I look at the television”
  • “Tu olhas para a televisão todos os dias.” — “You look at the television”
  • “Ele olha para a televisão todos os dias.” — “He looks at the television”
  • “Nós olhamos para a televisão todos os dias.” — “We look at the television”
  • “Vós olhais para a televisão todos os dias.” — “You look at the television”
  • “Eles olham para a televisão todos os dias.” — “They look at the television”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu olhei para a televisão ontem.” — “I looked at the television”
  • “Tu olhaste para a televisão ontem.” — “You looked at the television”
  • “Ele olhou para a televisão ontem.” — “He looked at the television”
  • “Nós olhámos para a televisão ontem.” — “We looked at the television”
  • “Vós olhastes para a televisão ontem.” — “You looked at the television”
  • “Eles olharam para a televisão ontem.” — “They looked at 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 olhava para a televisão antigamente.” — “I used to look at the television”
  • “Tu olharás para a televisão amanhã.” — “You will look at the television”
  • “Ele olharia para a televisão um dia.” — “He would look at the television”
  • “É importante que nós olhemos para a televisão.” — “It is important that we look at the television”
  • “Olha para a televisão!” — “Look at the television!”

How olhar is used

The first thing to know about olhar is its core meaning: to look. It means to look at something and to watch, and it is the verb for looking at a view, a film or a person. It is completely regular, and it is different from ver, which means to see without necessarily looking on purpose. 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 olhar keeps. The present eu form is olho, 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 olhado, 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 olhar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need olho, never olhar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho olhado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle olhado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Olhar in context

Eu olho para a televisão todos os dias. Tu olhas para a televisão todos os dias. Ele olha para a televisão todos os dias. Nós olhamos para a televisão todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of olhar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — olho, olhas, olha, olhamos — while the meaning stays the same: to look. Eu olhei para a televisão ontem. Tu olhaste para a televisão ontem. Ele olhou para a televisão ontem. Nós olhámos para a televisão ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of olhar 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 look — 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 olhar para a televisão.”

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

The infinitive olhar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form olho.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu olhas para a televisão.”

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

olhas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is olho — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu olho para a televisão ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu olhei para a televisão ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito olhei here, not the present olho.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou olhado para a televisão.”

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

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) olho
    • B) olhas
    • C) olha
    • D) olhamos

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

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

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

    • A) olhavas
    • B) olhávamos
    • C) olháveis
    • D) olhava

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

    • A) olharemos
    • B) olharei
    • C) olharás
    • D) olhará

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

    • A) olharia
    • B) olharias
    • C) olharíamos
    • D) olharíeis

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

    • A) olharas
    • B) olháramos
    • C) olhara
    • D) olháreis

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

    • A) olhe
    • B) olhes
    • C) olheis
    • D) olhemos

  8. What is the gerund of olhar?

    • A) olhando
    • B) olhado
    • C) olhar
    • D) olho

  9. What is the past participle of olhar?

    • A) olhando
    • B) olhado
    • C) olhar
    • D) olho

  10. What does olhar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) olhas — the correct form is olhas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho olhado — the correct form is tenho olhado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) olhava — the correct form is olhava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) olharemos — the correct form is olharemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) olharias — the correct form is olharias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) olhara — the correct form is olhara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) olhemos — the correct form is olhemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) olhando — the correct form is olhando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) olhado — the correct form is olhado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to look — the correct form is to look. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does olhar mean in English?

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

Is olhar regular or irregular?

olhar is regular. olhar 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 olhar?

The gerund is olhando and the past participle is olhado. The perfect tenses use ter + olhado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of olhar?

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

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