Por Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

por — to put — 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 put, and it is totally irregular: the present is ponho, pões, põe, pomos, pondes, põem, and the pretérito perfeito is pus, puseste, pôs, pusemos, pusestes, puseram. Its participle is posto, and its gerund is pondo. The verb is written pôr, with a circumflex, to distinguish it from the preposition por, which means by or for. The map lists it under both spellings, and this page and its sister page cover the same verb. On this page you will find por 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 por conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the por pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with por

In the present tense

  • “Eu ponho o livro na mesa todos os dias.” — “I put the book on the table”
  • “Tu pões o livro na mesa todos os dias.” — “You put the book on the table”
  • “Ele põe o livro na mesa todos os dias.” — “He puts the book on the table”
  • “Nós pomos o livro na mesa todos os dias.” — “We put the book on the table”
  • “Vós pondes o livro na mesa todos os dias.” — “You put the book on the table”
  • “Eles põem o livro na mesa todos os dias.” — “They put the book on the table”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu pus o livro na mesa ontem.” — “I put the book on the table”
  • “Tu puseste o livro na mesa ontem.” — “You put the book on the table”
  • “Ele pôs o livro na mesa ontem.” — “He put the book on the table”
  • “Nós pusemos o livro na mesa ontem.” — “We put the book on the table”
  • “Vós pusestes o livro na mesa ontem.” — “You put the book on the table”
  • “Eles puseram o livro na mesa ontem.” — “They put the book on the table”

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 punha o livro na mesa antigamente.” — “I used to put the book on the table”
  • “Tu porás o livro na mesa amanhã.” — “You will put the book on the table”
  • “Ele poria o livro na mesa um dia.” — “He would put the book on the table”
  • “É importante que nós ponhamos o livro na mesa.” — “It is important that we put the book on the table”
  • “Põe o livro na mesa!” — “Put the book on the table!”

How por is used

The first thing to know about por is its core meaning: to put. It means to put, and it is totally irregular: the present is ponho, pões, põe, pomos, pondes, põem, and the pretérito perfeito is pus, puseste, pôs, pusemos, pusestes, puseram. Its participle is posto, and its gerund is pondo. The verb is written pôr, with a circumflex, to distinguish it from the preposition por, which means by or for. The map lists it under both spellings, and this page and its sister page cover the same verb. 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 por keeps. The present eu form is ponho, 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 posto, 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 por does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need ponho, never por. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho posto, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle posto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Por in context

Eu ponho o livro na mesa todos os dias. Tu pões o livro na mesa todos os dias. Ele põe o livro na mesa todos os dias. Nós pomos o livro na mesa todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of por is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — ponho, pões, põe, pomos — while the meaning stays the same: to put. Eu pus o livro na mesa ontem. Tu puseste o livro na mesa ontem. Ele pôs o livro na mesa ontem. Nós pusemos o livro na mesa ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of por 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 put — 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 por o livro na mesa.”

✓ Right: “Eu ponho o livro na mesa todos os dias.”

The infinitive por never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form ponho.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu pões o livro na mesa.”

✓ Right: “Eu ponho o livro na mesa todos os dias.”

pões is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is ponho — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu ponho o livro na mesa ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu pus o livro na mesa ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito pus here, not the present ponho.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou posto o livro na mesa.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho posto o livro na mesa esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) ponho
    • B) pões
    • C) põe
    • D) pomos

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

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

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

    • A) punhas
    • B) púnhamos
    • C) púnheis
    • D) punha

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

    • A) poremos
    • B) porei
    • C) porás
    • D) porá

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

    • A) poria
    • B) porias
    • C) poríamos
    • D) poríeis

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

    • A) puseras
    • B) puséramos
    • C) pusera
    • D) puséreis

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

    • A) ponha
    • B) ponhas
    • C) ponhais
    • D) ponhamos

  8. What is the gerund of por?

    • A) pondo
    • B) posto
    • C) por
    • D) ponho

  9. What is the past participle of por?

    • A) pondo
    • B) posto
    • C) por
    • D) ponho

  10. What does por mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) pões — the correct form is pões. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho posto — the correct form is tenho posto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) punha — the correct form is punha. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) poremos — the correct form is poremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) porias — the correct form is porias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) pusera — the correct form is pusera. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ponhamos — the correct form is ponhamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) pondo — the correct form is pondo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) posto — the correct form is posto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to put — the correct form is to put. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does por mean in English?

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

Is por regular or irregular?

por is irregular. por is irregular in presente, pretérito perfeito, pretérito imperfeito, pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples, presente do subjuntivo, pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo, futuro do subjuntivo, imperativo afirmativo, imperativo negativo, particípio, gerúndio, 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 por?

The gerund is pondo and the past participle is posto. The perfect tenses use ter + posto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of por?

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

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