Tomar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

tomar — to take — 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 take, and it is completely regular: tomo, tomas, toma, tomamos, tomais, tomam. Its pretérito perfeito is tomei, tomaste, tomou, and its participle is tomado. It also means to drink, as in taking a coffee, and to take medicine. On this page you will find tomar 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 tomar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the tomar present tense page.

Example sentences with tomar

In the present tense

  • “Eu tomo um café todos os dias.” — “I take a coffee”
  • “Tu tomas um café todos os dias.” — “You take a coffee”
  • “Ele toma um café todos os dias.” — “He takes a coffee”
  • “Nós tomamos um café todos os dias.” — “We take a coffee”
  • “Vós tomais um café todos os dias.” — “You take a coffee”
  • “Eles tomam um café todos os dias.” — “They take a coffee”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu tomei um café ontem.” — “I took a coffee”
  • “Tu tomaste um café ontem.” — “You took a coffee”
  • “Ele tomou um café ontem.” — “He took a coffee”
  • “Nós tomámos um café ontem.” — “We took a coffee”
  • “Vós tomastes um café ontem.” — “You took a coffee”
  • “Eles tomaram um café ontem.” — “They took 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 tomava um café antigamente.” — “I used to take a coffee”
  • “Tu tomarás um café amanhã.” — “You will take a coffee”
  • “Ele tomaria um café um dia.” — “He would take a coffee”
  • “É importante que nós tomemos um café.” — “It is important that we take a coffee”
  • “Toma um café!” — “Take a coffee!”

How tomar is used

The first thing to know about tomar is its core meaning: to take. It means to take, and it is completely regular: tomo, tomas, toma, tomamos, tomais, tomam. Its pretérito perfeito is tomei, tomaste, tomou, and its participle is tomado. It also means to drink, as in taking a coffee, and to take medicine. 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 tomar keeps. The present eu form is tomo, 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 tomado, 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 tomar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need tomo, never tomar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho tomado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle tomado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Tomar in context

Eu tomo um café todos os dias. Tu tomas um café todos os dias. Ele toma um café todos os dias. Nós tomamos um café todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of tomar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — tomo, tomas, toma, tomamos — while the meaning stays the same: to take. Eu tomei um café ontem. Tu tomaste um café ontem. Ele tomou um café ontem. Nós tomámos um café ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of tomar 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 take — 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 tomar um café.”

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

The infinitive tomar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form tomo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu tomas um café.”

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

tomas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is tomo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu tomo um café ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu tomei um café ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito tomei here, not the present tomo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou tomado um café.”

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

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) tomo
    • B) tomas
    • C) toma
    • D) tomamos

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

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

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

    • A) tomavas
    • B) tomávamos
    • C) tomáveis
    • D) tomava

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

    • A) tomaremos
    • B) tomarei
    • C) tomarás
    • D) tomará

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

    • A) tomaria
    • B) tomarias
    • C) tomaríamos
    • D) tomaríeis

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

    • A) tomaras
    • B) tomáramos
    • C) tomara
    • D) tomáreis

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

    • A) tome
    • B) tomes
    • C) tomeis
    • D) tomemos

  8. What is the gerund of tomar?

    • A) tomando
    • B) tomado
    • C) tomar
    • D) tomo

  9. What is the past participle of tomar?

    • A) tomando
    • B) tomado
    • C) tomar
    • D) tomo

  10. What does tomar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) tomas — the correct form is tomas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho tomado — the correct form is tenho tomado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) tomava — the correct form is tomava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) tomaremos — the correct form is tomaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) tomarias — the correct form is tomarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) tomara — the correct form is tomara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) tomemos — the correct form is tomemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) tomando — the correct form is tomando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) tomado — the correct form is tomado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to take — the correct form is to take. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does tomar mean in English?

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

Is tomar regular or irregular?

tomar is regular. tomar 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 tomar?

The gerund is tomando and the past participle is tomado. The perfect tenses use ter + tomado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of tomar?

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

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