Pedir means to ask for, to request, and to order (food, a drink). It is one of the highest-frequency verbs in the language and one that English speakers consistently misuse, because English ask covers both pedir (ask for something) and perguntar (ask a question). On top of that, pedir is irregular: it shows a d → ç change in the first-person singular present (peço) and throughout the present subjunctive (peça, peçamos, peçam). Get those two things right — the form and the pedir/perguntar split — and you have this verb mastered.
Conjugation tables
The irregularity is confined to the present indicative 1sg and the whole present subjunctive, where d → ç before o/a gives the soft sound. The preterite is regular: pedi, pediu, pediram (NOT a pediu-with-stem-change — the stem stays ped-). This is the same pattern as medir and despedir.
Indicative
| Pronoun | Presente | Pretérito perfeito | Pretérito imperfeito | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | peço | pedi | pedia | pedirei | pediria |
| tu/você | pede | pediu | pedia | pedirá | pediria |
| ele/ela | pede | pediu | pedia | pedirá | pediria |
| nós | pedimos | pedimos | pedíamos | pediremos | pediríamos |
| vocês | pedem | pediram | pediam | pedirão | pediriam |
| eles/elas | pedem | pediram | pediam | pedirão | pediriam |
So the full present is peço, pede, pedimos, pedem — only the 1sg is irregular; the rest keep d.
Subjunctive
| Pronoun | Presente do subjuntivo | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | peça | pedisse | pedir |
| tu/você | peça | pedisses / pedisse | pedires / pedir |
| ele/ela | peça | pedisse | pedir |
| nós | peçamos | pedíssemos | pedirmos |
| vocês | peçam | pedissem | pedirem |
| eles/elas | peçam | pedissem | pedirem |
The present subjunctive is built from the irregular 1sg stem peç-, so the ç runs through every person: peça, peçamos, peçam.
Imperative, non-finite
| Pronoun | Imperativo afirmativo | Imperativo negativo |
|---|---|---|
| você | peça | não peça |
| nós | peçamos | não peçamos |
| vocês | peçam | não peçam |
| Form | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo impessoal | pedir |
| Infinitivo pessoal | pedir / pedir / pedir / pedirmos / pedirem / pedirem |
| Gerúndio | pedindo |
| Particípio | pedido |
The object structure: pedir algo a alguém
This is the heart of using pedir well. You pedir the thing (direct object) and ask it a the person (indirect object with a/para). English structures this as "ask someone for something"; Portuguese flips the slots:
pedir [a thing] a/para [a person]
Pedi um favor ao meu chefe.
I asked my boss for a favor.
Vou pedir um café pro garçom.
I'm going to ask the waiter for a coffee.
As crianças pediram dinheiro aos pais.
The kids asked their parents for money.
Note there is no preposition before the thing (no equivalent of "for"). Saying "pedir por um favor" is a classic English-transfer error — pedir already contains the "for".
Ordering food
Pedir is exactly the verb for ordering at a restaurant — both the act and what you choose.
O que você vai pedir? Eu já decidi: vou pedir a moqueca.
What are you going to order? I've already decided: I'll order the moqueca.
pedir para + infinitive vs pedir que + subjunctive
To ask someone to do something, BR offers two structures:
- pedir para + infinitive — colloquial, everyday, by far the most common in speech.
- pedir que + subjunctive — slightly more formal/written; the que-clause takes the subjunctive because a request is a wish about someone's action, not a statement of fact. This is the desire-verb logic from subjunctive with verbs of desire.
Pedi pra ela me ligar quando chegasse.
I asked her to call me when she arrived.
O professor pediu que entregássemos o trabalho até sexta. (formal)
The teacher asked that we hand in the assignment by Friday.
FALSE FRIEND: pedir ≠ to ask a question
This is the single most important point. pedir = ask FOR (request something). To ask a question is perguntar. They are not interchangeable.
Ela me perguntou onde eu morava.
She asked me where I lived. (a question — perguntar)
Ela me pediu o endereço.
She asked me for the address. (a request — pedir)
If you can replace "ask" with "ask for" or "request", use pedir. If you can replace it with "inquire / pose a question", use perguntar. See the dedicated decision guide pedir vs perguntar and the perguntar page.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu pedo um favor.
Incorrect — the 1sg present is irregular: peço (d→ç).
✅ Eu peço um favor.
I'm asking a favor.
❌ Quero que você peda desculpas.
Incorrect — the present subjunctive is peça, not peda.
✅ Quero que você peça desculpas.
I want you to apologize.
❌ Ele me pediu uma pergunta.
Incorrect — you don't 'pedir' a question; you 'fazer uma pergunta' or 'perguntar'.
✅ Ele me fez uma pergunta.
He asked me a question.
❌ Pedi por um copo de água.
Incorrect — 'pedir' already means 'ask for'; no 'por'.
✅ Pedi um copo de água.
I asked for a glass of water.
❌ Vou pedir o garçom um café.
Incorrect — the person takes 'a/para': pedir um café AO garçom.
✅ Vou pedir um café ao garçom.
I'm going to ask the waiter for a coffee.
Key Takeaways
- pedir = ask for / request / order; perguntar = ask a question. Never confuse them.
- Irregular forms: peço (1sg present) and peça/peçamos/peçam (present subjunctive + imperative); preterite is regular pedi, pediu, pediram.
- Structure: pedir [thing — direct object] a/para [person — indirect object]. No "for" before the thing.
- pedir para + infinitive (colloquial) or pedir que + subjunctive (formal) to ask someone to do something.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- 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.
- Pedir vs Perguntar: AskingA2 — How Portuguese splits English 'ask' into pedir (to request something) and perguntar (to ask a question), including the subjunctive after pedir.
- Spelling-Change VerbsA2 — Verbs that change spelling — but not sound — to protect a consonant's pronunciation across the conjugation.
- 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.
- MedirB1 — How to conjugate and use the irregular verb 'medir' (to measure) in Brazilian Portuguese, including the d→ç change in 'meço' and 'meça'.