Mostrar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

mostrar — to show — 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 show, and it is completely regular: mostro, mostras, mostra, mostramos, mostrais, mostram. Its pretérito perfeito is mostrei, mostraste, mostrou, and its participle is mostrado. It takes the thing shown and the person it is shown to. On this page you will find mostrar 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 mostrar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the mostrar present tense page.

Example sentences with mostrar

In the present tense

  • “Eu mostro o livro à Maria todos os dias.” — “I show the book to Maria”
  • “Tu mostras o livro à Maria todos os dias.” — “You show the book to Maria”
  • “Ele mostra o livro à Maria todos os dias.” — “He shows the book to Maria”
  • “Nós mostramos o livro à Maria todos os dias.” — “We show the book to Maria”
  • “Vós mostrais o livro à Maria todos os dias.” — “You show the book to Maria”
  • “Eles mostram o livro à Maria todos os dias.” — “They show the book to Maria”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu mostrei o livro à Maria ontem.” — “I showed the book to Maria”
  • “Tu mostraste o livro à Maria ontem.” — “You showed the book to Maria”
  • “Ele mostrou o livro à Maria ontem.” — “He showed the book to Maria”
  • “Nós mostrámos o livro à Maria ontem.” — “We showed the book to Maria”
  • “Vós mostrastes o livro à Maria ontem.” — “You showed the book to Maria”
  • “Eles mostraram o livro à Maria ontem.” — “They showed the book to 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 mostrava o livro à Maria antigamente.” — “I used to show the book to Maria”
  • “Tu mostrarás o livro à Maria amanhã.” — “You will show the book to Maria”
  • “Ele mostraria o livro à Maria um dia.” — “He would show the book to Maria”
  • “É importante que nós mostremos o livro à Maria.” — “It is important that we show the book to Maria”
  • “Mostra o livro à Maria!” — “Show the book to Maria!”

How mostrar is used

The first thing to know about mostrar is its core meaning: to show. It means to show, and it is completely regular: mostro, mostras, mostra, mostramos, mostrais, mostram. Its pretérito perfeito is mostrei, mostraste, mostrou, and its participle is mostrado. It takes the thing shown and the person it is shown to. 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 mostrar keeps. The present eu form is mostro, 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 mostrado, 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 mostrar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need mostro, never mostrar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho mostrado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle mostrado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Mostrar in context

Eu mostro o livro à Maria todos os dias. Tu mostras o livro à Maria todos os dias. Ele mostra o livro à Maria todos os dias. Nós mostramos o livro à Maria todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of mostrar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — mostro, mostras, mostra, mostramos — while the meaning stays the same: to show. Eu mostrei o livro à Maria ontem. Tu mostraste o livro à Maria ontem. Ele mostrou o livro à Maria ontem. Nós mostrámos o livro à Maria ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of mostrar 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 show — 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 mostrar o livro à Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu mostro o livro à Maria todos os dias.”

The infinitive mostrar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form mostro.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu mostras o livro à Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu mostro o livro à Maria todos os dias.”

mostras is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is mostro — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu mostro o livro à Maria ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu mostrei o livro à Maria ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito mostrei here, not the present mostro.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou mostrado o livro à Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho mostrado o livro à Maria esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) mostro
    • B) mostras
    • C) mostra
    • D) mostramos

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

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

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

    • A) mostravas
    • B) mostrávamos
    • C) mostráveis
    • D) mostrava

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

    • A) mostraremos
    • B) mostrarei
    • C) mostrarás
    • D) mostrará

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

    • A) mostraria
    • B) mostrarias
    • C) mostraríamos
    • D) mostraríeis

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

    • A) mostraras
    • B) mostráramos
    • C) mostrara
    • D) mostráreis

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

    • A) mostre
    • B) mostres
    • C) mostreis
    • D) mostremos

  8. What is the gerund of mostrar?

    • A) mostrando
    • B) mostrado
    • C) mostrar
    • D) mostro

  9. What is the past participle of mostrar?

    • A) mostrando
    • B) mostrado
    • C) mostrar
    • D) mostro

  10. What does mostrar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) mostras — the correct form is mostras. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho mostrado — the correct form is tenho mostrado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) mostrava — the correct form is mostrava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) mostraremos — the correct form is mostraremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) mostrarias — the correct form is mostrarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) mostrara — the correct form is mostrara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) mostremos — the correct form is mostremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) mostrando — the correct form is mostrando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) mostrado — the correct form is mostrado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to show — the correct form is to show. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does mostrar mean in English?

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

Is mostrar regular or irregular?

mostrar is regular. mostrar 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 mostrar?

The gerund is mostrando and the past participle is mostrado. The perfect tenses use ter + mostrado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of mostrar?

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

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