Correr means to run — literally (run a marathon, run to catch the bus) and figuratively (time runs, news runs around, things run smoothly). It is a completely regular -er verb, so once you know comer you already know how to conjugate it: just swap the stem to corr-. There are no stem changes and no spelling tricks. The value of this page is the cluster of high-frequency idioms — correr atrás, correr risco, tá tudo correndo bem — that make correr one of the most figuratively productive verbs in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.
Core meaning: to run
Eu corro no parque toda manhã antes do trabalho.
I run in the park every morning before work.
Corre, o ônibus já tá chegando!
Run, the bus is already coming!
As crianças saíram correndo pelo quintal.
The kids ran off across the backyard.
Note that correr is intransitive in its core sense — you run, you don't "run something." To say "run a business" or "run a program," Portuguese uses other verbs (administrar uma empresa, rodar um programa), never correr.
Presente do indicativo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | corro |
| tu | corres |
| você / ele / ela | corre |
| nós | corremos |
| vocês / eles / elas | correm |
The double rr is part of the stem and never changes — it is there in every single form. The pronunciation of rr in Brazil is typically a guttural /h/-like sound (so corro sounds roughly like "CO-ho"), unlike the tapped single r of, say, caro.
Pretérito perfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | corri |
| tu | correste |
| você / ele / ela | correu |
| nós | corremos |
| vocês / eles / elas | correram |
As with all -er verbs, the nós form corremos is identical in present and preterite. The third person correu carries the signature -er preterite ending -eu.
Eu corri o máximo que pude, mas perdi o trem.
I ran as fast as I could, but I missed the train.
Pretérito imperfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | corria |
| tu | corrias |
| você / ele / ela | corria |
| nós | corríamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | corriam |
Note the accent on corríamos (stress on the antepenult — cor-rí-a-mos).
Quando criança, eu corria atrás do caminhão de sorvete.
As a kid, I used to run after the ice cream truck.
Futuro do presente
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | correrei |
| tu | correrás |
| você / ele / ela | correrá |
| nós | correremos |
| vocês / eles / elas | correrão |
In speech, Brazilians use vou correr.
Futuro do pretérito (conditional)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | correria |
| tu | correrias |
| você / ele / ela | correria |
| nós | correríamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | correriam |
Eu correria uma maratona se treinasse direito.
I'd run a marathon if I trained properly.
Subjunctive
Presente do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | corra |
| tu | corras |
| você / ele / ela | corra |
| nós | corramos |
| vocês / eles / elas | corram |
Regular -er verbs flip their theme vowel to a in the present subjunctive: corra, corram.
Não quero que você corra nenhum risco.
I don't want you to take any risk.
Imperfeito do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | corresse |
| tu | corresses |
| você / ele / ela | corresse |
| nós | corrêssemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | corressem |
Note the circumflex on corrêssemos (the nós form takes a circumflex on the stressed e).
Se eu corresse mais, talvez chegasse a tempo.
If I ran more, maybe I'd arrive on time.
Futuro do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | correr |
| tu | correres |
| você / ele / ela | correr |
| nós | corrermos |
| vocês / eles / elas | correrem |
The future subjunctive correr is spelled like the infinitive.
Se tudo correr bem, a gente chega antes do almoço.
If everything goes well, we'll get there before lunch.
Imperative
| Pronoun | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | corre | não corras |
| você | corra | não corra |
| nós | corramos | não corramos |
| vocês | corram | não corram |
The spoken urgent command is the tu form Corre! even toward someone you call você: Corre que vai dar tempo! (Run, you'll make it!).
Non-finite forms
| Form | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo pessoal — eu | correr |
| Infinitivo pessoal — tu | correres |
| Infinitivo pessoal — você/ele/ela | correr |
| Infinitivo pessoal — nós | corrermos |
| Infinitivo pessoal — vocês/eles/elas | correrem |
| Gerúndio | correndo |
| Particípio | corrido |
High-frequency idioms
correr atrás (de) — literally "run after," but in everyday BR it means to chase / hustle / go after something you want (a job, a dream, money). This is one of the most-used motivational phrases in Brazil:
Se você quer o emprego, tem que correr atrás.
If you want the job, you have to go after it.
Ele correu atrás dos documentos a semana inteira.
He chased down the documents all week long.
correr risco / correr o risco de — to run a risk, to be in danger of:
Você corre o risco de perder a garantia se abrir o aparelho.
You run the risk of voiding the warranty if you open the device.
correr bem / correr mal — for things to go well / badly (often with weather, events, plans):
A cirurgia correu bem, graças a Deus.
The surgery went well, thank God.
Source-language note for English speakers
English "run" is wildly polysemous — run a company, run a program, run late, run out, a running tap, a run in stockings. Portuguese correr covers far less ground; it stays close to physical and figurative motion. So English speakers must unlearn the reflex to use correr for every "run." "Run a business" is administrar/tocar um negócio; "run out of" is acabar (acabou o leite = we ran out of milk); "run late" is estar atrasado; "the tap is running" is a torneira está aberta/pingando. Keep correr for actual running and for things metaphorically "moving" — time, news, money, events going smoothly. Note also that to "be in a rush" is the fixed estar com pressa / estar correndo (tô correndo, I'm in a hurry / swamped).
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu corro uma empresa de software.
Incorrect — correr never means 'manage'; use administrar/tocar.
✅ Eu administro uma empresa de software.
I run a software company.
❌ Acabei de correr fora de leite.
Incorrect — 'run out of' is acabar, not correr.
✅ Acabou o leite.
We ran out of milk.
❌ Você corre risco de perde tudo.
Incorrect — after 'de' you need the infinitive: perder.
✅ Você corre o risco de perder tudo.
You run the risk of losing everything.
❌ Se você quer, tem que correr atrás dele. (meaning 'hustle for it' generically)
Misleading — bare 'correr atrás' means hustle; adding 'dele' makes it 'chase after him'. Drop the object for the motivational sense.
✅ Se você quer, tem que correr atrás.
If you want it, you've got to go after it.
❌ Se tudo correr bem, a gente chegam cedo.
Incorrect — 'a gente' takes the third-person singular: chega.
✅ Se tudo correr bem, a gente chega cedo.
If all goes well, we'll get there early.
Key Takeaways
- correr is a model-regular -er verb — learn it alongside comer; only the stem differs.
- It is intransitive in its core meaning; you cannot "run" an object the way English does.
- The double rr is part of the stem and stays in every form, pronounced as a guttural /h/ in most of Brazil.
- Master the idioms: correr atrás (de) (hustle/chase), correr (o) risco (de) (run a risk), correr bem/mal (go well/badly).
- Don't import English "run" senses — use administrar, acabar, estar atrasado instead.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Second Conjugation: -er VerbsA1 — The Brazilian Portuguese -er class — regular endings modeled on comer, why so many -er verbs are irregular, and how the imperfect merges -er with -ir.
- Present Indicative: Regular -er VerbsA1 — How to conjugate regular -er verbs in the Brazilian Portuguese present indicative — and why so many common -er verbs are irregular.
- ComerA1 — How to conjugate and use comer (to eat) in Brazilian Portuguese — the model regular -er verb — plus key idioms and a register note on its slang sense.
- AndarA2 — Full conjugation and usage of andar — to walk, to get around by, and the very Brazilian 'andar + gerund' for recent ongoing actions.
- AcabarA2 — Full conjugation and usage reference for 'acabar' (to finish, end, run out) — a regular -ar verb with three essential constructions.