Seguir Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

seguir — to follow — 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 follow, and it is a stem-change verb: the present eu form is siguo, with gu, while the tu form keeps e — segues, segue, seguimos, seguis, seguem. Its pretérito perfeito is segui, seguiste, seguiu, and its participle is seguido. It also means to continue, as in following a road or following a story. On this page you will find seguir 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 seguir conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the seguir pretérito perfeito tense page.

Example sentences with seguir

In the present tense

  • “Eu siguo a Maria todos os dias.” — “I follow Maria”
  • “Tu segues a Maria todos os dias.” — “You follow Maria”
  • “Ele segue a Maria todos os dias.” — “He follows Maria”
  • “Nós seguimos a Maria todos os dias.” — “We follow Maria”
  • “Vós seguis a Maria todos os dias.” — “You follow Maria”
  • “Eles seguem a Maria todos os dias.” — “They follow Maria”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu segui a Maria ontem.” — “I followed Maria”
  • “Tu seguiste a Maria ontem.” — “You followed Maria”
  • “Ele seguiu a Maria ontem.” — “He followed Maria”
  • “Nós seguimos a Maria ontem.” — “We followed Maria”
  • “Vós seguistes a Maria ontem.” — “You followed Maria”
  • “Eles seguiram a Maria ontem.” — “They followed 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 seguia a Maria antigamente.” — “I used to follow Maria”
  • “Tu seguirás a Maria amanhã.” — “You will follow Maria”
  • “Ele seguiria a Maria um dia.” — “He would follow Maria”
  • “É importante que nós siguamos a Maria.” — “It is important that we follow Maria”
  • “Segue a Maria!” — “Follow Maria!”

How seguir is used

The first thing to know about seguir is its core meaning: to follow. It means to follow, and it is a stem-change verb: the present eu form is siguo, with gu, while the tu form keeps e — segues, segue, seguimos, seguis, seguem. Its pretérito perfeito is segui, seguiste, seguiu, and its participle is seguido. It also means to continue, as in following a road or following a story. 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 seguir keeps. The present eu form is siguo, 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 seguido, 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 seguir does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need siguo, never seguir. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho seguido, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle seguido is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Seguir in context

Eu siguo a Maria todos os dias. Tu segues a Maria todos os dias. Ele segue a Maria todos os dias. Nós seguimos a Maria todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of seguir is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — siguo, segues, segue, seguimos — while the meaning stays the same: to follow. Eu segui a Maria ontem. Tu seguiste a Maria ontem. Ele seguiu a Maria ontem. Nós seguimos a Maria ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of seguir 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 follow — 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 seguir a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu siguo a Maria todos os dias.”

The infinitive seguir never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form siguo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu segues a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu siguo a Maria todos os dias.”

segues is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is siguo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu siguo a Maria ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu segui a Maria ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito segui here, not the present siguo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou seguido a Maria.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho seguido a Maria esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) siguo
    • B) segues
    • C) segue
    • D) seguimos

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

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

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

    • A) seguias
    • B) seguíamos
    • C) seguíeis
    • D) seguia

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

    • A) seguiremos
    • B) seguirei
    • C) seguirás
    • D) seguirá

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

    • A) seguiria
    • B) seguirias
    • C) seguiríamos
    • D) seguiríeis

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

    • A) seguiras
    • B) seguíramos
    • C) seguira
    • D) seguíreis

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

    • A) sigua
    • B) siguas
    • C) siguais
    • D) siguamos

  8. What is the gerund of seguir?

    • A) seguindo
    • B) seguido
    • C) seguir
    • D) siguo

  9. What is the past participle of seguir?

    • A) seguindo
    • B) seguido
    • C) seguir
    • D) siguo

  10. What does seguir mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) segues — the correct form is segues. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho seguido — the correct form is tenho seguido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) seguia — the correct form is seguia. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) seguiremos — the correct form is seguiremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) seguirias — the correct form is seguirias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) seguira — the correct form is seguira. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) siguamos — the correct form is siguamos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) seguindo — the correct form is seguindo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) seguido — the correct form is seguido. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to follow — the correct form is to follow. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does seguir mean in English?

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

Is seguir regular or irregular?

seguir is regular. seguir 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 seguir?

The gerund is seguindo and the past participle is seguido. The perfect tenses use ter + seguido.

Where can I see the full conjugation of seguir?

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

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