Esperar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

esperar — to wait — 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 wait, and it is completely regular: espero, esperas, espera, esperamos, esperais, esperam. Its pretérito perfeito is esperei, esperaste, esperou, and its participle is esperado. It also means to hope and to expect. It takes the person waited for with por: espero pela Maria. On this page you will find esperar 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 esperar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the esperar present tense page.

Example sentences with esperar

In the present tense

  • “Eu espero pela Maria todos os dias.” — “I wait for Maria”
  • “Tu esperas pela Maria todos os dias.” — “You wait for Maria”
  • “Ele espera pela Maria todos os dias.” — “He waits for Maria”
  • “Nós esperamos pela Maria todos os dias.” — “We wait for Maria”
  • “Vós esperais pela Maria todos os dias.” — “You wait for Maria”
  • “Eles esperam pela Maria todos os dias.” — “They wait for Maria”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu esperei pela Maria ontem.” — “I waited for Maria”
  • “Tu esperaste pela Maria ontem.” — “You waited for Maria”
  • “Ele esperou pela Maria ontem.” — “He waited for Maria”
  • “Nós esperámos pela Maria ontem.” — “We waited for Maria”
  • “Vós esperastes pela Maria ontem.” — “You waited for Maria”
  • “Eles esperaram pela Maria ontem.” — “They waited for Maria”

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 esperava pela Maria antigamente.” — “I used to wait for Maria”
  • “Tu esperarás pela Maria amanhã.” — “You will wait for Maria”
  • “Ele esperaria pela Maria um dia.” — “He would wait for Maria”
  • “É importante que nós esperemos pela Maria.” — “It is important that we wait for Maria”
  • “Espera pela Maria!” — “Wait for Maria!”

How esperar is used

The first thing to know about esperar is its core meaning: to wait. It means to wait, and it is completely regular: espero, esperas, espera, esperamos, esperais, esperam. Its pretérito perfeito is esperei, esperaste, esperou, and its participle is esperado. It also means to hope and to expect. It takes the person waited for with por: espero pela Maria. 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 esperar keeps. The present eu form is espero, 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 esperado, 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 esperar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need espero, never esperar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho esperado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle esperado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Esperar in context

Eu espero pela Maria todos os dias. Tu esperas pela Maria todos os dias. Ele espera pela Maria todos os dias. Nós esperamos pela Maria todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of esperar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — espero, esperas, espera, esperamos — while the meaning stays the same: to wait. Eu esperei pela Maria ontem. Tu esperaste pela Maria ontem. Ele esperou pela Maria ontem. Nós esperámos pela Maria ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of esperar 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 wait — 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 esperar pela Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu espero pela Maria todos os dias.”

The infinitive esperar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form espero.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu esperas pela Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu espero pela Maria todos os dias.”

esperas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is espero — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu espero pela Maria ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu esperei pela Maria ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito esperei here, not the present espero.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou esperado pela Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho esperado pela Maria esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) espero
    • B) esperas
    • C) espera
    • D) esperamos

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

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

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

    • A) esperavas
    • B) esperávamos
    • C) esperáveis
    • D) esperava

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

    • A) esperaremos
    • B) esperarei
    • C) esperarás
    • D) esperará

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

    • A) esperaria
    • B) esperarias
    • C) esperaríamos
    • D) esperaríeis

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

    • A) esperaras
    • B) esperáramos
    • C) esperara
    • D) esperáreis

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

    • A) espere
    • B) esperes
    • C) espereis
    • D) esperemos

  8. What is the gerund of esperar?

    • A) esperando
    • B) esperado
    • C) esperar
    • D) espero

  9. What is the past participle of esperar?

    • A) esperando
    • B) esperado
    • C) esperar
    • D) espero

  10. What does esperar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) esperas — the correct form is esperas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho esperado — the correct form is tenho esperado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) esperava — the correct form is esperava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) esperaremos — the correct form is esperaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) esperarias — the correct form is esperarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) esperara — the correct form is esperara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) esperemos — the correct form is esperemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) esperando — the correct form is esperando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) esperado — the correct form is esperado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to wait — the correct form is to wait. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does esperar mean in English?

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

Is esperar regular or irregular?

esperar is regular. esperar 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 esperar?

The gerund is esperando and the past participle is esperado. The perfect tenses use ter + esperado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of esperar?

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

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