Precisar means to need. It is one of the first verbs you will ever use in Brazilian Portuguese — "Preciso de ajuda" (I need help) — and it is mechanically easy, because it is a completely regular -ar verb with no stem changes and no spelling traps. The whole difficulty lives in one place: the preposition de. English need takes its object bare ("I need money"), but Portuguese precisar normally reaches for its object through de ("Preciso de dinheiro"). Get the de right and you have mastered this verb.
Conjugation tables
Precisar follows the regular -ar paradigm exactly. There is nothing irregular here — if you can conjugate falar, you can conjugate precisar. Note that precisamos is identical in the present and the preterite; only context tells you whether it means we need or we needed.
Indicative
| Pronoun | Presente | Pretérito perfeito | Pretérito imperfeito | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | preciso | precisei | precisava | precisarei | precisaria |
| tu/você | precisa | precisou | precisava | precisará | precisaria |
| ele/ela | precisa | precisou | precisava | precisará | precisaria |
| nós | precisamos | precisamos | precisávamos | precisaremos | precisaríamos |
| vocês | precisam | precisaram | precisavam | precisarão | precisariam |
| eles/elas | precisam | precisaram | precisavam | precisarão | precisariam |
Subjunctive
| Pronoun | Presente do subjuntivo | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | precise | precisasse | precisar |
| tu/você | precise | precisasse | precisar |
| ele/ela | precise | precisasse | precisar |
| nós | precisemos | precisássemos | precisarmos |
| vocês | precisem | precisassem | precisarem |
| eles/elas | precisem | precisassem | precisarem |
Imperative, non-finite
| Pronoun | Imperativo afirmativo | Imperativo negativo |
|---|---|---|
| você | precise | não precise |
| nós | precisemos | não precisemos |
| vocês | precisem | não precisem |
| Form | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo impessoal | precisar |
| Infinitivo pessoal | precisar / precisar / precisar / precisarmos / precisarem / precisarem |
| Gerúndio | precisando |
| Particípio | precisado |
The core rule: precisar DE + noun
When precisar takes a noun (or pronoun) as its object, it almost always links to it with de. This is the single thing English speakers must drill, because English need attaches its object directly and there is nothing to translate de with.
precisar de + [noun] = to need [noun]
Eu preciso de um tempo pra pensar.
I need some time to think.
A gente precisa de mais leite, acabou tudo.
We need more milk, it's all gone.
Você precisa de ajuda com as malas?
Do you need help with the bags?
When the object is a pronoun, de contracts: de + ele = dele, de + isso = disso, de + você stays de você.
Não precisa disso, eu resolvo.
There's no need for that, I'll handle it.
precisar + infinitive: where 'de' optionally disappears
Here is the construction that surprises learners coming from European Portuguese. When precisar is followed by a verb (an infinitive — "need to do something"), Brazilian Portuguese strongly prefers to drop the de entirely:
Preciso sair agora, senão perco o ônibus.
I need to leave now, otherwise I'll miss the bus.
A gente precisa conversar.
We need to talk.
Você precisa descansar mais.
You need to rest more.
The form "Preciso *de sair" is grammatical and is the standard in Portugal, but it sounds stiff and Lusitanian to Brazilian ears. In BR speech and writing, *bare infinitive wins: Preciso sair.
Impersonal 'precisa' and 'não precisa'
A very BR pattern: precisar is often used impersonally, with no clear subject, to mean one needs to / it's necessary to. The negative não precisa is the everyday way to say there's no need.
Pra entrar no clube, precisa mostrar o documento.
To get into the club, you have to show ID.
Não precisa me agradecer, foi um prazer.
No need to thank me, it was a pleasure.
Precisa de senha pra usar o wi-fi?
Do you need a password to use the wi-fi?
The formal sense: precisar = to specify, to pin down
Less common, but real: precisar can also mean to make precise, to state exactly, to specify. This is the meaning hiding inside the English cognate precise — and it is a useful reminder that precisar and precise share a root. This sense is (formal), found in legal, technical, and journalistic writing.
O laudo não conseguiu precisar a hora da morte. (formal)
The report could not pin down the time of death.
Preciso de tempo para precisar os detalhes do contrato. (formal)
I need time to specify the details of the contract.
Note the playful double use in that last example: the first preciso is I need, the second precisar is to specify.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu preciso ajuda.
Incorrect — a noun object needs 'de': preciso DE ajuda.
✅ Eu preciso de ajuda.
I need help.
❌ Eu preciso de dormir mais.
Marked — grammatical but European; BR drops 'de' before an infinitive.
✅ Eu preciso dormir mais.
I need to sleep more.
❌ Preciso de ele para o trabalho.
Incorrect — 'de + ele' contracts to 'dele'.
✅ Preciso dele para o trabalho.
I need him for the work.
❌ Nós precisavamos de mais tempo.
Incorrect — the imperfect 1pl carries an accent: precisávamos.
✅ Nós precisávamos de mais tempo.
We needed more time.
❌ Eu preciso de que você venha.
Incorrect — with a 'que' clause there is no 'de': preciso que você venha.
✅ Eu preciso que você venha.
I need you to come.
Note that last pair: when precisar governs a whole clause introduced by que, the de drops and the clause verb goes into the subjunctive (venha), because you are expressing a need about something that has not yet happened — it is desired, not factual. This is the same desire-verb logic that drives the subjunctive after querer que and pedir que.
Key Takeaways
- precisar = to need; fully regular -ar verb, no irregular forms.
- Noun object → precisar DE (preciso de água). This is mandatory and English has nothing to translate de with.
- Infinitive object → drop the de in BR (preciso sair), even though Portugal often keeps it.
- Clause object → precisar que + subjunctive (preciso que você ajude), with no de.
- The formal sense to specify (precisar os detalhes) connects the verb to the English cognate precise.
- Mind the accent: precisávamos in the imperfect 1pl.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Verbs and Their Required PrepositionsB1 — A comprehensive reference list of Brazilian Portuguese verbs grouped by the preposition each one requires before its object.
- Present Indicative: Regular -ar VerbsA1 — How to conjugate regular -ar verbs in the Brazilian Portuguese present indicative — plus the mandatory 'de' after gostar.
- 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.
- Stem-Changing -ir VerbsA2 — The predictable e→i and o→u vowel shift in the eu form of many Brazilian Portuguese -ir verbs, and why it reappears throughout the subjunctive.
- QuererA1 — The highly irregular -er verb 'querer' (to want), with the bare 3sg 'quer', the preterite 'quis/quisemos/quiseram', the subjunctive 'queira' and future 'quiser', plus key idioms like 'querer dizer', 'querer bem', 'sem querer', and the polite 'queria'.