At first glance, ter looks simple enough – it usually translates to ‘to have’ in English. However, ter is one of the most important verbs in Brazilian Portuguese and it shows up everywhere. Once you understand how it works, a lot of everyday language will become much easier.
Conjugating ter in the present tense
First, see below for how to conjugate ter in the present tense (see here for more information on conjugation in Brazilian Portuguese). Ter is an irregular verb, so the following conjugations will need to be learnt:
| eu tenho | I have |
| você tem | you have |
| ele/ela tem | he/she has |
| nós temos | we have |
| vocês têm | you have |
| eles/elas têm | they have |
See below for a couple of examples using the verb conjugation forms outlined above:
| Eu tenho um carro | I have a car |
| Ela tem dois irmãos | She has two brothers |
Using ter for age
In English, people say that they are a certain age. In Brazilian Portuguese, people say that they have years:
| Eu tenho 30 anos | I’m 30 years old |
| Você tem 40 anos | You are 40 years old |
Using ter for physical states and feelings
In Brazilian Portuguese, ter is often used where ‘to be’ or ‘to feel’ would be used in English – e.g. eu tenho fome (I’m hungry).
See below for some common examples:
| ter fome | to be hungry |
| ter sede | to be thirsty |
| ter sono | to be sleepy |
Using ter to say ‘to have to‘
One of the most handy uses of ter is ter que, which means ‘to have to’. This can be constructed using the following structure:
ter (conjugated) + que + verb
See below for a couple of examples of ter que:
| Eu tenho que trabalhar amanhã | I have to work tomorrow |
| Nós temos que sair agora | We have to leave now |
Note that the verb after que does get conjugated, it stays in what is known as the infinitive form.
Ter meaning ‘there is’ or ‘there are’
In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, ter is very commonly used to mean ‘there is’ or ‘there are’.
See below for a couple of examples:
| Tem um restaurante bom aqui perto | There’s a good restaurant nearby |
| Tem muita gente na festa | There are a lot of people at the party |
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| Common irregular verbs | Essential travel verbs |