Voltar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Portuguese

voltar — to return — 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 return and to come back, and it is completely regular. It is the verb for going back to a place you have already been, and for returning home at the end of the day. On this page you will find voltar 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 voltar conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the voltar present tense page.

Example sentences with voltar

In the present tense

  • “Eu volto a casa todos os dias.” — “I return home”
  • “Tu voltas a casa todos os dias.” — “You return home”
  • “Ele volta a casa todos os dias.” — “He returns home”
  • “Nós voltamos a casa todos os dias.” — “We return home”
  • “Vós voltais a casa todos os dias.” — “You return home”
  • “Eles voltam a casa todos os dias.” — “They return home”

In the pretérito perfeito

  • “Eu voltei a casa ontem.” — “I returned home”
  • “Tu voltaste a casa ontem.” — “You returned home”
  • “Ele voltou a casa ontem.” — “He returned home”
  • “Nós voltámos a casa ontem.” — “We returned home”
  • “Vós voltastes a casa ontem.” — “You returned home”
  • “Eles voltaram a casa ontem.” — “They returned home”

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 voltava a casa antigamente.” — “I used to return home”
  • “Tu voltarás a casa amanhã.” — “You will return home”
  • “Ele voltaria a casa um dia.” — “He would return home”
  • “É importante que nós voltemos a casa.” — “It is important that we return home”
  • “Volta a casa!” — “Return home!”

How voltar is used

The first thing to know about voltar is its core meaning: to return. It means to return and to come back, and it is completely regular. It is the verb for going back to a place you have already been, and for returning home at the end of the day. 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 voltar keeps. The present eu form is volto, 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 voltado, 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 voltar does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after eu you need volto, never voltar. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the pretérito perfeito composto is tenho voltado, built with ter, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle voltado is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Voltar in context

Eu volto a casa todos os dias. Tu voltas a casa todos os dias. Ele volta a casa todos os dias. Nós voltamos a casa todos os dias. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of voltar is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — volto, voltas, volta, voltamos — while the meaning stays the same: to return. Eu voltei a casa ontem. Tu voltaste a casa ontem. Ele voltou a casa ontem. Nós voltámos a casa ontem. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the pretérito perfeito of voltar 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 return — 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 voltar a casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu volto a casa todos os dias.”

The infinitive voltar never takes a subject. After eu you need the conjugated present form volto.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Eu voltas a casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu volto a casa todos os dias.”

voltas is the tu form, not the eu form. The eu form is volto — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Eu volto a casa ontem.”

✓ Right: “Eu voltei a casa ontem.”

Ontem points to the past, so use the pretérito perfeito voltei here, not the present volto.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Eu sou voltado a casa.”

✓ Right: “Eu tenho voltado a casa esta semana.”

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

Quiz: test yourself

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

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

    • A) volto
    • B) voltas
    • C) volta
    • D) voltamos

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

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

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

    • A) voltavas
    • B) voltávamos
    • C) voltáveis
    • D) voltava

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

    • A) voltaremos
    • B) voltarei
    • C) voltarás
    • D) voltará

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

    • A) voltaria
    • B) voltarias
    • C) voltaríamos
    • D) voltaríeis

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

    • A) voltaras
    • B) voltáramos
    • C) voltara
    • D) voltáreis

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

    • A) volte
    • B) voltes
    • C) volteis
    • D) voltemos

  8. What is the gerund of voltar?

    • A) voltando
    • B) voltado
    • C) voltar
    • D) volto

  9. What is the past participle of voltar?

    • A) voltando
    • B) voltado
    • C) voltar
    • D) volto

  10. What does voltar mean in English?

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

Answer key

  1. B) voltas — the correct form is voltas. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) tenho voltado — the correct form is tenho voltado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) voltava — the correct form is voltava. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) voltaremos — the correct form is voltaremos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) voltarias — the correct form is voltarias. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) voltara — the correct form is voltara. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) voltemos — the correct form is voltemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) voltando — the correct form is voltando. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) voltado — the correct form is voltado. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to return — the correct form is to return. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does voltar mean in English?

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

Is voltar regular or irregular?

voltar is regular. voltar 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 voltar?

The gerund is voltando and the past participle is voltado. The perfect tenses use ter + voltado.

Where can I see the full conjugation of voltar?

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

Related pages