English uses one verb, ask, for two completely different actions: requesting something ("I asked for water") and posing a question ("I asked what time it was"). Portuguese keeps these apart with two unrelated verbs — pedir and perguntar — and choosing the wrong one is one of the most common mistakes English speakers make. This page gives you a reliable test for picking the right verb every time.
The core distinction
The split is clean once you see it:
- pedir = to ask for / request something or some action. You want to receive a thing or get someone to do something.
- perguntar = to ask a question / inquire. You want information; you expect an answer.
The simplest test: could you rephrase the English with "ask for" or "request"? If yes, it's pedir. Could you rephrase it with "ask a question" or "inquire"? Then it's perguntar.
Pedi um café e um copo de água.
I asked for a coffee and a glass of water.
Perguntei que horas eram.
I asked what time it was.
In the first sentence you want to receive something (a coffee). In the second you want information (the time). Same English verb, two different Portuguese verbs.
Pedir — requesting things and actions
Pedir covers any situation where you want to obtain something. Note that it does not take a preposition before the thing requested — there is no "por" or "para" equivalent to English "for":
Vou pedir a conta, já estamos atrasados.
I'm going to ask for the bill, we're already late.
Ela pediu ajuda aos vizinhos.
She asked the neighbors for help.
The person you ask is introduced with a: pedir algo *a alguém (to ask something *of someone). Watch the structure — the thing requested is the direct object, the person is the indirect object:
Pedi um favor ao meu chefe.
I asked my boss for a favor.
Pedir also appears in several fixed expressions worth memorizing:
- pedir desculpa / pedir desculpas — to apologize
- pedir em casamento — to propose (marriage)
- pedir emprestado — to borrow (literally "ask as a loan")
- pedir demissão — to resign / quit
Ele pediu desculpa por ter chegado tarde.
He apologized for arriving late.
Pedi o carro emprestado ao meu irmão.
I borrowed my brother's car.
Pedir + subjunctive — requesting an action
Here is the construction that trips people up. When you ask someone to do something — not just hand over an object — pedir takes que + subjunctive. This is because you are expressing a desire about someone else's future action, and that action is not yet a fact; it lives in the realm of things you want to happen. That is exactly what the subjunctive marks.
Pedi que ele ficasse mais um pouco.
I asked him to stay a little longer.
A professora pediu que entregássemos o trabalho até sexta.
The teacher asked us to hand in the assignment by Friday.
In informal Brazilian speech, you will very often hear pedir pra (para) + infinitive instead, which feels lighter and more conversational:
Pedi pra ele sair, mas ele não foi embora.
I asked him to leave, but he didn't go.
Both are correct. The subjunctive version (pedi que ele saísse) is slightly more formal and more common in writing; the pra + infinitive version (pedi pra ele sair) dominates everyday speech.
Perguntar — inquiring and asking questions
Perguntar is about seeking information. The person you ask is again introduced with a, and what you ask about can be a noun, a wh-word clause, or a yes/no clause with se ("whether"):
Perguntei a hora a um senhor na rua.
I asked a man on the street for the time.
Ela me perguntou onde ficava a estação.
She asked me where the station was.
Perguntei se ele vinha à festa.
I asked whether he was coming to the party.
Notice that the embedded question stays in the indicative (onde ficava, se ele vinha) — you are reporting a real question about real facts, so no subjunctive appears. This contrasts sharply with pedir que, which needs the subjunctive.
A common collocation is perguntar por alguém, meaning to ask after someone (inquire about how they are):
A sua avó perguntou por você ontem.
Your grandmother was asking after you yesterday.
Fazer uma pergunta — the noun route
Portuguese also expresses "to ask a question" with the noun pergunta plus the verb fazer ("to make"): fazer uma pergunta. English speakers instinctively want to say perguntar uma pergunta, but that is as redundant in Portuguese as "to ask an ask" — avoid it.
Posso fazer uma pergunta?
May I ask a question?
If you want to name the topic, use fazer uma pergunta sobre (a question about):
O aluno fez uma pergunta sobre o exame.
The student asked a question about the exam.
Quick decision summary
| You want to… | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| receive a thing | pedir | pedi água |
| get someone to do something | pedir que + subj. / pedir pra + inf. | pedi que viesse |
| apologize | pedir desculpa | pedi desculpa |
| get information / pose a question | perguntar | perguntei a hora |
| ask whether… | perguntar se | perguntei se ele vinha |
| ask after someone | perguntar por | perguntou por você |
| "ask a question" (noun) | fazer uma pergunta | fiz uma pergunta |
Common Mistakes
The errors below are real transfer errors English speakers make because English collapses both meanings into "ask".
❌ Perguntei um copo de água.
Incorrect — using perguntar to request an object.
✅ Pedi um copo de água.
I asked for a glass of water.
❌ Ele me pediu onde eu morava.
Incorrect — using pedir to ask for information.
✅ Ele me perguntou onde eu morava.
He asked me where I lived.
❌ Pedi por um favor.
Incorrect — adding 'por' after pedir; English 'for' is not translated.
✅ Pedi um favor.
I asked for a favor.
❌ Perguntei ele para sair.
Incorrect — using perguntar to request an action, and wrong structure.
✅ Pedi pra ele sair.
I asked him to leave.
❌ Quero perguntar uma pergunta.
Incorrect — redundant, like 'ask an ask'.
✅ Quero fazer uma pergunta.
I want to ask a question.
Key Takeaways
- pedir = request a thing or an action (you want something to happen); no "por/para" before the object.
- perguntar = inquire / ask a question (you want information); embedded questions stay in the indicative.
- pedir que + subjunctive (formal) or pedir pra + infinitive (informal) = "ask someone to do something".
- Use fazer uma pergunta, never perguntar uma pergunta, for "to ask a question" as a noun phrase.
Now practice Portuguese
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Choosing Between Confusable Pairs: OverviewA2 — A map of the word choices Brazilian Portuguese forces on English speakers — where English uses one word (be, for, know, bring, say) and Portuguese splits it into two or three.
- Subjunctive after Verbs of Desire and WillA2 — Why querer que, pedir que, and other verbs of wanting force the subjunctive — and the English-speaker error to avoid.
- PedirA1 — The irregular -ir verb 'pedir' (to ask for, request, order), including the d→ç change pedi/peço/peça, its object structure ('pedir algo a alguém'), and the crucial difference from 'perguntar'.
- PerguntarA1 — How to conjugate and use perguntar (to ask a question) in Brazilian Portuguese — a regular -ar verb — and how it differs from pedir (to ask for / request), the single biggest source of confusion for English speakers.
- The Subjunctive in BR Portuguese: OverviewA2 — What the subjunctive is, why Brazilian Portuguese keeps all three of its tenses fully alive, and what triggers it.