Sentar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

sentar — to sit — 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 sit down and to sit, and it is completely regular: sento, sentas, senta, sentamos, sentais, sentam. In everyday speech it often appears with the reflexive pronoun — sentar-se — but the tables on this page give the plain verb. On this page you will find sentar 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 sentar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the sentar present tense page.

Example sentences with sentar

In the present tense

  • “Eu sento na cadeira todos os dias.” — “I sit on the chair”
  • “Tu sentas na cadeira todos os dias.” — “You sit on the chair”
  • “Ele senta na cadeira todos os dias.” — “He sits on the chair”
  • “Nós sentamos na cadeira todos os dias.” — “We sit on the chair”
  • “Vós sentais na cadeira todos os dias.” — “You sit on the chair”
  • “Eles sentam na cadeira todos os dias.” — “They sit on the chair”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu sentei na cadeira ontem.” — “I sat on the chair”
  • “Tu sentaste na cadeira ontem.” — “You sat on the chair”
  • “Ele sentou na cadeira ontem.” — “He sat on the chair”
  • “Nós sentámos na cadeira ontem.” — “We sat on the chair”
  • “Vós sentastes na cadeira ontem.” — “You sat on the chair”
  • “Eles sentaram na cadeira ontem.” — “They sat on the chair”

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 sentava na cadeira antigamente.” — “I used to sit on the chair”
  • “Tu sentarás na cadeira amanhã.” — “You will sit on the chair”
  • “Ele sentaria na cadeira um dia.” — “He would sit on the chair”
  • “É importante que nós sentemos na cadeira.” — “It is important that we sit on the chair”
  • “Senta na cadeira!” — “Sit on the chair!”

How sentar is used

The first thing to know about sentar is its core meaning: to sit. It means to sit down and to sit, and it is completely regular: sento, sentas, senta, sentamos, sentais, sentam. In everyday speech it often appears with the reflexive pronoun — sentar-se — but the tables on this page give the plain verb. 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 sentar keeps. The present eu form is sento, 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 sentado, 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 sentar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need sento, never sentar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho sentado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle sentado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Sentar in context

Eu sento na cadeira todos os dias. Tu sentas na cadeira todos os dias. Ele senta na cadeira todos os dias. Nós sentamos na cadeira todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of sentar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — sento, sentas, senta, sentamos — while the meaning stays the same: to sit. Eu sentei na cadeira ontem. Tu sentaste na cadeira ontem. Ele sentou na cadeira ontem. Nós sentámos na cadeira ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of sentar 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 sit — 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 sentar na cadeira.”

✓ Right: “Eu sento na cadeira todos os dias.”

The infinitive sentar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form sento.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu sentas na cadeira.”

✓ Right: “Eu sento na cadeira todos os dias.”

sentas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is sento — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu sento na cadeira ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu sentei na cadeira ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito sentei here, not the present sento.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou sentado na cadeira.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho sentado na cadeira esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) sento
    • B) sentas
    • C) senta
    • D) sentamos

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

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

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

    • A) sentavas
    • B) sentávamos
    • C) sentáveis
    • D) sentava

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

    • A) sentaremos
    • B) sentarei
    • C) sentarás
    • D) sentará

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

    • A) sentaria
    • B) sentarias
    • C) sentaríamos
    • D) sentaríeis

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

    • A) sentaras
    • B) sentáramos
    • C) sentara
    • D) sentáreis

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

    • A) sente
    • B) sentes
    • C) senteis
    • D) sentemos

  8. What is the gerund of sentar?

    • A) sentando
    • B) sentado
    • C) sentar
    • D) sento

  9. What is the past participle of sentar?

    • A) sentando
    • B) sentado
    • C) sentar
    • D) sento

  10. What does sentar mean in English?

  • A) to be
  • B) to have
  • C) to sit
  • D) —

Answer key

  1. B) sentas — the correct form is sentas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho sentado — the correct form is tenho sentado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) sentava — the correct form is sentava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) sentaremos — the correct form is sentaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) sentarias — the correct form is sentarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) sentara — the correct form is sentara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) sentemos — the correct form is sentemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) sentando — the correct form is sentando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) sentado — the correct form is sentado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to sit — the correct form is to sit. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does sentar mean in English?

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

Is sentar regular or irregular?

sentar is regular. sentar 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 sentar?

The gerund is sentando and the past participle is sentado. The perfect tenses use ter + sentado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of sentar?

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

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