Introduction

Sair means “to go out”, and this page covers exactly one thing: sair in the pretérito perfeito. The pretérito perfeito is the tense Portuguese speakers reach for when they talk about one finished action in the past, especially in conversation. On this page you will find the full pretérito perfeito table for sair, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the pretérito imperfeito, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about sair in the pretérito perfeito. It means to go out and to leave a place, and it is completely regular: saio, sais, sai, saímos, saís, saem. Its pretérito perfeito is saí, saíste, saiu, saímos, saístes, saíram — note the accent on the eu and tu forms. For example: “Ele saiu com a Maria ontem.” — “He went out with Maria.” Everything on this page uses the forms of sair exactly as they are conjugated in the pretérito perfeito, so you can trust every form you see here.

Sair in the Pretérito perfeito — full table

Person Form
eu saí
tu saíste
ele/ela saiu
nós saímos
vós saístes
eles/elas saíram
Gerund: saindo · Past participle: saído
The gerund is saindo, which you use with estar to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Saindo com a Maria, aprendo muito.” — “While going out with Maria, I learn a lot.” The past participle is saído, which you use with ter in the perfect tenses: tenho saído is the pretérito perfeito composto, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the pretérito perfeito is only one part of how sair is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for sair, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the pretérito perfeito of sair is formed

The pretérito perfeito of sair has six forms: eu saí, tu saíste, ele saiu, nós saímos, vós saístes, eles saíram. The participle is given here in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table. sair is regular in the pretérito perfeito: the -ar endings are -ei, -aste, -ou, -ámos, -astes, -aram, and the -er and -ir endings are -i, -este, -eu, -emos, -estes, -eram. Learn the six forms as a set and the tense is yours — the endings never change for a regular verb.

Two things about the pretérito perfeito of sair are worth noticing. First, it is the tense of finished events with a clear result, so it pairs naturally with time words such as ontem, esta semana and no ano passado — those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense. Second, it is a simple tense, built from one word, unlike the pretérito perfeito composto, which needs ter plus the participle saído: tenho saído. When the action is one finished event, reach for the simple form first.

Because the pretérito perfeito of sair is one word per person, it is cheap to learn once the six forms are fixed. Learn them in order — eu, tu, ele, nós, vós, eles — and say each one with a time word, so the tense and its time words are learnt together.

When to use the pretérito perfeito of sair

The pretérito perfeito is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use sair in the pretérito perfeito most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. One finished action

The pretérito perfeito describes a single action that is finished, especially in spoken Portuguese. When the action has a clear end, the pretérito perfeito is the natural choice. Example: “Eu saí com a Maria ontem.” — “I went out with Maria.”

2. Recent events

Use the pretérito perfeito for things that happened recently — today, this week, this morning — where the result is still visible in the present. Example: “Ele saiu com a Maria ontem.” — “He went out with Maria.”

3. A sequence of events

When you tell what happened first, second and third, each step takes the pretérito perfeito. The tense moves the story forward one finished action at a time. Example: “Nós saímos com a Maria ontem.” — “We went out with Maria.”

4. An experience in your life

Use the pretérito perfeito for things you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience as much as of yesterday. Example: “Tu saíste com a Maria ontem.” — “You went out with Maria.”

5. News and results

When you report news or a result, the pretérito perfeito carries it: something happened, and now the situation is different. The result matters more than the process. Example: “Eles saíram com a Maria ontem.” — “They went out with Maria.”

Pretérito Perfeito vs Pretérito Imperfeito: how to choose

The closest tense to the pretérito perfeito is the pretérito imperfeito, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the pretérito perfeito describes one finished action, while the pretérito imperfeito describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past, or the background of a scene. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the pretérito perfeito sentences use words such as ontem or esta semana, while the pretérito imperfeito sentences use antigamente or todos os dias.

  • Pretérito Perfeito: “Ele saiu com a Maria ontem.” — “He went out with Maria”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Ele saía com a Maria antigamente.” — “He used to go out with Maria”
  • The pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event; the pretérito imperfeito sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.
  • Pretérito Perfeito: “Eu saí com a Maria ontem.” — “I went out with Maria”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Eu saía com a Maria antigamente.” — “I used to go out with Maria”
  • The pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event; the pretérito imperfeito sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.
  • Pretérito Perfeito: “Tu saíste com a Maria ontem.” — “You went out with Maria”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Tu saías com a Maria antigamente.” — “You used to go out with Maria”
  • The pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event; the pretérito imperfeito sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.

Example sentences: sair in the pretérito perfeito

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Eu saí com a Maria ontem.” — “I went out with Maria”
  2. “Tu saíste com a Maria ontem.” — “You went out with Maria”
  3. “Ele saiu com a Maria ontem.” — “He went out with Maria”
  4. “Nós saímos com a Maria ontem.” — “We went out with Maria”
  5. “Vós saístes com a Maria ontem.” — “You went out with Maria”
  6. “Eles saíram com a Maria ontem.” — “They went out with Maria”
  7. “Eu saí com a Maria ontem.” — “I went out with Maria”
  8. “Ele saiu com a Maria ontem.” — “He went out with Maria”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Eu saio com a Maria ontem.” Right: “Eu saí com a Maria ontem.” Why: Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito saí for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Eu saía com a Maria ontem.” Right: “Eu saí com a Maria ontem.” Why: The pretérito imperfeito describes an ongoing or habitual past action, not one finished event. For a single finished action yesterday, use the pretérito perfeito saí.
  • Wrong: “Eu saíste com a Maria.” Right: “Eu saí com a Maria ontem.” Why: The eu form is saí, not saíste. saíste is the tu form. Match the verb to the subject every time.
  • Wrong: “Eu sair com a Maria.” Right: “Eu saí com a Maria ontem.” Why: The infinitive sair never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After eu you need the conjugated pretérito perfeito form saí.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

  1. What is the eu form of sair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) saíste
    • B) saí
    • C) saiu
    • D) saímos

  2. What is the tu form of sair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) saí
    • B) saiu
    • C) saíste
    • D) saímos

  3. What is the ele/ela form of sair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) saí
    • B) saíste
    • C) saímos
    • D) saiu

  4. What is the nós form of sair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) saímos
    • B) saí
    • C) saíste
    • D) saiu

  5. What is the vós form of sair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) saí
    • B) saístes
    • C) saíste
    • D) saiu

  6. What is the eles/elas form of sair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) saí
    • B) saíste
    • C) saíram
    • D) saiu

  7. What is the eu form of sair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) saíste
    • B) saiu
    • C) saímos
    • D) saí

  8. What is the tu form of sair in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) saíste
    • B) saí
    • C) saiu
    • D) saímos

Answer key

  1. B) saí — the correct form is saí. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) saíste — the correct form is saíste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) saiu — the correct form is saiu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) saímos — the correct form is saímos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) saístes — the correct form is saístes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) saíram — the correct form is saíram. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) saí — the correct form is saí. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) saíste — the correct form is saíste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does sair mean in English?

sair means “to go out”. It is a regular -ir verb.

How is the pretérito perfeito of sair formed?

The six pretérito perfeito forms are: eu saí, tu saíste, ele saiu, nós saímos, vós saístes, eles saíram.

When do I use the pretérito perfeito instead of the pretérito imperfeito?

Use the pretérito perfeito for one finished action in the past. Use the pretérito imperfeito for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. The time words are your best clue: ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.

What are the gerund and past participle of sair?

The gerund is saindo and the past participle is saído. The perfect tenses use ter + saído.

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