Pedir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

pedir — to ask for — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Portuguese. It is a regular -ir verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It means to ask for something, and it takes a direct object — peço um café. The eu form is peço, with ç, while the other present forms keep the d: pedes, pede, pedimos, pedis, pedem. Its pretérito perfeito is pedi, pediste, pediu, so the past is completely regular. Do not confuse it with perguntar, which means to ask a question of a person. On this page you will find pedir 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 pedir conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the pedir pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with pedir

In the present tense

  • “Eu peço um café todos os dias.” — “I ask for a coffee”
  • “Tu pedes um café todos os dias.” — “You ask for a coffee”
  • “Ele pede um café todos os dias.” — “He asks for a coffee”
  • “Nós pedimos um café todos os dias.” — “We ask for a coffee”
  • “Vós pedis um café todos os dias.” — “You ask for a coffee”
  • “Eles pedem um café todos os dias.” — “They ask for a coffee”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu pedi um café ontem.” — “I asked for a coffee”
  • “Tu pediste um café ontem.” — “You asked for a coffee”
  • “Ele pediu um café ontem.” — “He asked for a coffee”
  • “Nós pedimos um café ontem.” — “We asked for a coffee”
  • “Vós pedistes um café ontem.” — “You asked for a coffee”
  • “Eles pediram um café ontem.” — “They asked for a coffee”

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 pedia um café antigamente.” — “I used to ask for a coffee”
  • “Tu pedirás um café amanhã.” — “You will ask for a coffee”
  • “Ele pediria um café um dia.” — “He would ask for a coffee”
  • “É importante que nós peçamos um café.” — “It is important that we ask for a coffee”
  • “Pede um café!” — “Ask for a coffee!”

How pedir is used

The first thing to know about pedir is its core meaning: to ask for. It means to ask for something, and it takes a direct object — peço um café. The eu form is peço, with ç, while the other present forms keep the d: pedes, pede, pedimos, pedis, pedem. Its pretérito perfeito is pedi, pediste, pediu, so the past is completely regular. Do not confuse it with perguntar, which means to ask a question of a person. 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 pedir keeps. The present eu form is peço, 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 pedido, 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 pedir does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need peço, never pedir. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho pedido, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle pedido is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Pedir in context

Eu peço um café todos os dias. Tu pedes um café todos os dias. Ele pede um café todos os dias. Nós pedimos um café todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of pedir is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — peço, pedes, pede, pedimos — while the meaning stays the same: to ask for. Eu pedi um café ontem. Tu pediste um café ontem. Ele pediu um café ontem. Nós pedimos um café ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of pedir 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 ask for — 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 pedir um café.”

✓ Right: “Eu peço um café todos os dias.”

The infinitive pedir never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form peço.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu pedes um café.”

✓ Right: “Eu peço um café todos os dias.”

pedes is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is peço — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu peço um café ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu pedi um café ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito pedi here, not the present peço.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou pedido um café.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho pedido um café esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) peço
    • B) pedes
    • C) pede
    • D) pedimos

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

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

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

    • A) pedias
    • B) pedíamos
    • C) pedíeis
    • D) pedia

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

    • A) pediremos
    • B) pedirei
    • C) pedirás
    • D) pedirá

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

    • A) pediria
    • B) pedirias
    • C) pediríamos
    • D) pediríeis

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

    • A) pediras
    • B) pedíramos
    • C) pedira
    • D) pedíreis

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

    • A) peça
    • B) peças
    • C) peçais
    • D) peçamos

  8. What is the gerund of pedir?

    • A) pedindo
    • B) pedido
    • C) pedir
    • D) peço

  9. What is the past participle of pedir?

    • A) pedindo
    • B) pedido
    • C) pedir
    • D) peço

  10. What does pedir mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) pedes — the correct form is pedes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho pedido — the correct form is tenho pedido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) pedia — the correct form is pedia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) pediremos — the correct form is pediremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) pedirias — the correct form is pedirias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) pedira — the correct form is pedira. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) peçamos — the correct form is peçamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) pedindo — the correct form is pedindo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) pedido — the correct form is pedido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to ask for — the correct form is to ask for. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does pedir mean in English?

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

Is pedir regular or irregular?

pedir is regular. pedir is regular: every form follows the standard -ir endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem.

What are the gerund and past participle of pedir?

The gerund is pedindo and the past participle is pedido. The perfect tenses use ter + pedido.

Where can I see the full conjugation of pedir?

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

Related pages