Parar means to stop. The conjugation is the easy part — it is a completely regular -ar verb, no stem change, no spelling trick, regular participle (parado). The real content of this page is the preposition that follows it, because parar de and parar para mean opposite things, and getting them mixed up changes your sentence completely. There is also the bare parar (come to a halt) and the ubiquitous spoken command Para!
Three constructions, three meanings
English collapses several ideas into stop: the bus stopped, stop talking, I stopped to talk. Portuguese keeps them distinct through prepositions:
- parar (bare, intransitive) = to come to a halt / stop moving. O ônibus parou.
- parar de
- infinitive = to stop doing something — cease an ongoing action. Parei de fumar.
- parar para
This de vs. para contrast is the single most important thing on this page, because it's the exact same trap English builds with stop doing vs. stop to do.
parar de + infinitive: to stop doing something
This is the construction you'll use constantly. parar de + infinitive means you were doing something and you ceased.
Parei de fumar faz três anos.
I stopped smoking three years ago.
Para de mexer no celular na mesa, por favor.
Stop messing with your phone at the table, please.
Não para de chover desde ontem.
It hasn't stopped raining since yesterday.
The logic of de here is the same "moving away from" sense seen in desistir de, deixar de — you are separating yourself from the action. Compare its mirror image, começar a (to start doing), which uses a: the language brackets the start and end of an action with different prepositions, começar a fazer … parar de fazer.
parar para + infinitive: to stop in order to do something
Here you interrupt what you're doing so you can do something else. The para is the para of purpose (in order to).
A gente parou para tomar um café na estrada.
We stopped to grab a coffee on the road.
Pare para pensar antes de responder assim.
Stop and think before you answer like that.
Notice parar para pensar — stop to think — is a fixed, very common phrase. The English stop and think maps to Portuguese parar para pensar (stop in-order-to think), not parar e pensar.
parar (bare): to come to a halt
With no preposition, parar means something stops moving or functioning.
O carro parou no meio da avenida e travou o trânsito todo.
The car stopped in the middle of the avenue and jammed up all the traffic.
Meu relógio parou; deve ser a bateria.
My watch stopped; it must be the battery.
The reflexive-ish parar of a person standing still also exists: parar em frente a (stop in front of), parar no sinal (stop at the light).
The command Para! / Pare!
One of the highest-frequency uses of this verb is the bare imperative. In casual Brazilian speech the tu-form Para! (often written Pára! in older orthography, but post-AO90 it is just para, no accent) is the everyday Stop! — for both você and tu addressees, regardless of the prescriptive rule.
Para! Você vai bater no carro da frente!
Stop! You're going to hit the car in front!
Para com isso, não tem graça nenhuma.
Stop that, it's not funny at all.
Note the idiom parar com (algo) = to stop / knock it off with something: Para com isso! is Knock it off! The prescriptive você command is Pare!, heard in (formal) or written contexts (traffic signs read PARE).
Presente do indicativo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | paro |
| tu | paras |
| você / ele / ela | para |
| nós | paramos |
| vocês / eles / elas | param |
A note for the eye: the verb form para (he/she stops) is spelled exactly like the preposition para (for/to). After the AO90 reform there is no accent to tell them apart — context does. (The old spelling pára for the verb was abolished.)
Ela nunca para quieta, está sempre fazendo alguma coisa.
She never stays still, she's always doing something.
Pretérito perfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | parei |
| tu | paraste |
| você / ele / ela | parou |
| nós | paramos |
| vocês / eles / elas | pararam |
A música parou de repente e todo mundo se olhou.
The music stopped suddenly and everyone looked at each other.
Pretérito imperfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | parava |
| tu | paravas |
| você / ele / ela | parava |
| nós | parávamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | paravam |
Quando eu era criança, a gente parava de brincar só quando escurecia.
When I was a kid, we'd only stop playing when it got dark.
Futuro do presente & futuro do pretérito (conditional)
Built on the full infinitive parar-.
| Pronoun | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|
| eu | pararei | pararia |
| tu | pararás | pararias |
| você / ele / ela | parará | pararia |
| nós | pararemos | pararíamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | pararão | parariam |
In speech, vai parar replaces parará. (informal)
Eu pararia de trabalhar amanhã se ganhasse na loteria.
I'd stop working tomorrow if I won the lottery.
Presente do subjuntivo
-ar verbs switch to -e endings.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | pare |
| tu | pares |
| você / ele / ela | pare |
| nós | paremos |
| vocês / eles / elas | parem |
Tomara que essa dor de cabeça pare logo.
I hope this headache stops soon.
Imperfeito & futuro do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|
| eu | parasse | parar |
| tu | parasses | parares |
| você / ele / ela | parasse | parar |
| nós | parássemos | pararmos |
| vocês / eles / elas | parassem | pararem |
Se você parasse de reclamar, sobraria tempo pra resolver.
If you stopped complaining, you'd have time left to solve it.
Quando o ônibus parar, desce pela porta de trás.
When the bus stops, get off through the back door.
Imperativo
| Pronoun | Afirmativo | Negativo |
|---|---|---|
| tu | para | não pares |
| você | pare | não pare |
| nós | paremos | não paremos |
| vocês | parem | não parem |
In real BR speech, Para! (the tu form) is overwhelmingly the spoken Stop!, even when addressing someone as você — the prescriptive Pare! feels (formal) or written.
Parem de brigar, vocês dois!
Stop fighting, you two!
Non-finite forms
| Form | Result |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo | parar |
| Infinitivo pessoal (eu / você / ele) | parar |
| Infinitivo pessoal (nós) | pararmos |
| Infinitivo pessoal (vocês / eles) | pararem |
| Gerúndio | parando |
| Particípio | parado |
The participle/adjective parado is everywhere: o ônibus está parado (the bus is stopped/standing), fiquei parado (I stood still), um projeto parado (a stalled project).
O trânsito está totalmente parado por causa do acidente.
Traffic is completely at a standstill because of the accident.
Common Mistakes
❌ Parei fumar no ano passado.
Missing preposition — to stop DOING something is parar DE + infinitive.
✅ Parei de fumar no ano passado.
I stopped smoking last year.
❌ A gente parou de tomar um café na estrada.
Wrong preposition — this means 'we quit drinking coffee.' To pause IN ORDER TO have a coffee, use parar PARA.
✅ A gente parou para tomar um café na estrada.
We stopped to have a coffee on the road.
❌ Para e pensa antes de falar.
Off — 'stop and think' renders as parar PARA pensar (stop in order to think), not parar e pensar.
✅ Para para pensar antes de falar.
Stop and think before you speak.
❌ Tomara que a chuva para logo.
Wrong mood — after tomara que you need the subjunctive pare.
✅ Tomara que a chuva pare logo.
I hope the rain stops soon.
❌ Pára com isso!
Outdated spelling — after AO90 the verb takes no accent; it's 'Para com isso!'
✅ Para com isso!
Knock it off!
Key Takeaways
- Parar is a fully regular -ar verb; the participle is the regular parado.
- parar (bare) = come to a halt; parar de
- infinitive = stop doing; parar para
- infinitive = stop in order to do.
- infinitive = stop doing; parar para
- The de/para split is the same trap as English stop doing vs. stop to do — drill it.
- Knock it off! = Para com isso!; stop and think = parar para pensar.
- Post-AO90 the verb para carries no accent (the old pára is gone) — it looks identical to the preposition para.
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