Cantar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

cantar — to sing — 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 sing, and it is completely regular: canto, cantas, canta, cantamos, cantais, cantam. Its pretérito perfeito is cantei, cantaste, cantou, and its participle is cantado. It is the verb for singing a song, in the shower or on a stage. On this page you will find cantar 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 cantar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the cantar present tense page.

Example sentences with cantar

In the present tense

  • “Eu canto uma canção todos os dias.” — “I sing a song”
  • “Tu cantas uma canção todos os dias.” — “You sing a song”
  • “Ele canta uma canção todos os dias.” — “He sings a song”
  • “Nós cantamos uma canção todos os dias.” — “We sing a song”
  • “Vós cantais uma canção todos os dias.” — “You sing a song”
  • “Eles cantam uma canção todos os dias.” — “They sing a song”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu cantei uma canção ontem.” — “I sang a song”
  • “Tu cantaste uma canção ontem.” — “You sang a song”
  • “Ele cantou uma canção ontem.” — “He sang a song”
  • “Nós cantámos uma canção ontem.” — “We sang a song”
  • “Vós cantastes uma canção ontem.” — “You sang a song”
  • “Eles cantaram uma canção ontem.” — “They sang a song”

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 cantava uma canção antigamente.” — “I used to sing a song”
  • “Tu cantarás uma canção amanhã.” — “You will sing a song”
  • “Ele cantaria uma canção um dia.” — “He would sing a song”
  • “É importante que nós cantemos uma canção.” — “It is important that we sing a song”
  • “Canta uma canção!” — “Sing a song!”

How cantar is used

The first thing to know about cantar is its core meaning: to sing. It means to sing, and it is completely regular: canto, cantas, canta, cantamos, cantais, cantam. Its pretérito perfeito is cantei, cantaste, cantou, and its participle is cantado. It is the verb for singing a song, in the shower or on a stage. 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 cantar keeps. The present eu form is canto, 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 cantado, 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 cantar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need canto, never cantar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho cantado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle cantado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Cantar in context

Eu canto uma canção todos os dias. Tu cantas uma canção todos os dias. Ele canta uma canção todos os dias. Nós cantamos uma canção todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of cantar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — canto, cantas, canta, cantamos — while the meaning stays the same: to sing. Eu cantei uma canção ontem. Tu cantaste uma canção ontem. Ele cantou uma canção ontem. Nós cantámos uma canção ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of cantar 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 sing — 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 cantar uma canção.”

✓ Right: “Eu canto uma canção todos os dias.”

The infinitive cantar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form canto.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu cantas uma canção.”

✓ Right: “Eu canto uma canção todos os dias.”

cantas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is canto — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu canto uma canção ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu cantei uma canção ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito cantei here, not the present canto.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou cantado uma canção.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho cantado uma canção esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) canto
    • B) cantas
    • C) canta
    • D) cantamos

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

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

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

    • A) cantavas
    • B) cantávamos
    • C) cantáveis
    • D) cantava

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

    • A) cantaremos
    • B) cantarei
    • C) cantarás
    • D) cantará

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

    • A) cantaria
    • B) cantarias
    • C) cantaríamos
    • D) cantaríeis

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

    • A) cantaras
    • B) cantáramos
    • C) cantara
    • D) cantáreis

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

    • A) cante
    • B) cantes
    • C) canteis
    • D) cantemos

  8. What is the gerund of cantar?

    • A) cantando
    • B) cantado
    • C) cantar
    • D) canto

  9. What is the past participle of cantar?

    • A) cantando
    • B) cantado
    • C) cantar
    • D) canto

  10. What does cantar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) cantas — the correct form is cantas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho cantado — the correct form is tenho cantado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) cantava — the correct form is cantava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) cantaremos — the correct form is cantaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) cantarias — the correct form is cantarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) cantara — the correct form is cantara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) cantemos — the correct form is cantemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) cantando — the correct form is cantando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) cantado — the correct form is cantado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to sing — the correct form is to sing. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does cantar mean in English?

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

Is cantar regular or irregular?

cantar is regular. cantar 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 cantar?

The gerund is cantando and the past participle is cantado. The perfect tenses use ter + cantado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of cantar?

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

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