Servir means to serve (food, drinks, a customer), and — in a sense English handles with entirely different verbs — to fit (of clothes) and to be good for / useful. It is an -ir verb with an e→i stem change: the stem e raises to i in the eu form of the present (sirvo) and across the whole present subjunctive (sirva, sirvas, sirva...). Elsewhere the e stays. It belongs to the same family as sentir, mentir, preferir, and seguir.
Why the vowel changes
The change is driven by stress. In sirvo and the subjunctive sirva, the stress lands on the stem vowel, and the mid vowel e raises to high i. In servimos or serviu, the stress shifts to the ending and the e is preserved. This is exactly the same mechanism as in sentir → sinto; if you've learned one, you've learned the pattern.
Presente do indicativo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | sirvo |
| tu | serves |
| você / ele / ela | serve |
| nós | servimos |
| vocês / eles / elas | servem |
Only sirvo changes. The wrong-by-analogy form servo doesn't exist as a verb form (it's a noun, servo = a serf/servant), so the contrast is easy to remember once flagged.
Eu sirvo o jantar às oito, então não se atrase.
I serve dinner at eight, so don't be late.
Este restaurante serve o melhor feijão da cidade.
This restaurant serves the best beans in town.
Pretérito perfeito
Completely regular — the stem stays serv-.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | servi |
| tu | serviste |
| você / ele / ela | serviu |
| nós | servimos |
| vocês / eles / elas | serviram |
Servimos (nós) is identical in the present and the preterite — context decides the tense.
Na festa de ontem servimos caipirinha a noite inteira.
At yesterday's party we served caipirinha all night long.
Pretérito imperfeito
Regular, with the -ir/-er imperfect -ia endings.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | servia |
| tu | servias |
| você / ele / ela | servia |
| nós | servíamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | serviam |
Aquele bar antigo servia uma cerveja bem gelada.
That old bar used to serve a really cold beer.
Futuro do presente & futuro do pretérito (conditional)
Both built on the full infinitive servir-.
| Pronoun | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|
| eu | servirei | serviria |
| tu | servirás | servirias |
| você / ele / ela | servirá | serviria |
| nós | serviremos | serviríamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | servirão | serviriam |
In speech the simple future is usually replaced by ir + infinitive: vou servir rather than servirei. (informal)
A gente vai servir o bolo depois do parabéns.
We'll serve the cake after the birthday song.
Presente do subjuntivo
The e→i change spreads to every person, because the subjunctive is built on the eu stem sirv-.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | sirva |
| tu | sirvas |
| você / ele / ela | sirva |
| nós | sirvamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | sirvam |
Even sirvamos ("that we serve") takes the i, unlike the indicative servimos.
O garçom pediu que a gente sirva os mais velhos primeiro.
The waiter asked that we serve the elders first.
Tomara que esse casaco sirva no meu irmão.
I hope this coat fits my brother.
Imperfeito & futuro do subjuntivo
Both are built on the regular preterite stem serv- — no i here.
| Pronoun | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|
| eu | servisse | servir |
| tu | servisses | servires |
| você / ele / ela | servisse | servir |
| nós | servíssemos | servirmos |
| vocês / eles / elas | servissem | servirem |
Se a comida servisse pra mais gente, eu chamaria os vizinhos.
If the food were enough for more people, I'd invite the neighbors.
Imperativo
The você imperative comes from the subjunctive (sirva); the tu affirmative comes from the indicative (serve).
| Pronoun | Afirmativo | Negativo |
|---|---|---|
| tu | serve | não sirvas |
| você | sirva | não sirva |
| nós | sirvamos | não sirvamos |
| vocês | sirvam | não sirvam |
Sirva-se à vontade, tem comida de sobra.
Help yourself, there's plenty of food.
Non-finite forms
All regular.
| Form | Result |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo | servir |
| Infinitivo pessoal (eu / você / ele) | servir |
| Infinitivo pessoal (nós) | servirmos |
| Infinitivo pessoal (vocês / eles) | servirem |
| Gerúndio | servindo |
| Particípio | servido |
Meaning, collocations, and register
Servir covers a wider semantic range than English "serve":
- servir (comida / bebida / um cliente) — to serve food, drinks, or a customer, exactly like English.
- servir-se (de) — to help oneself to something (reflexive): sirva-se = help yourself.
- servir (of clothes/shoes) — to fit. Essa roupa não me serve = "these clothes don't fit me." Note the indirect-object pronoun me: the garment "serves me."
- servir para — to be good for / useful for a purpose: isso serve para abrir latas = "this is for opening cans."
- não serve — it's no good / it won't do: a blunt, common rejection. Esse aqui não serve = "this one won't do."
Esse sapato não me serve, é um número menor.
These shoes don't fit me, they're a size too small.
Um aplicativo desses serve pra quê?
What's an app like that even good for?
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu servo o jantar às oito.
Incorrect — the eu form takes the i: sirvo.
✅ Eu sirvo o jantar às oito.
I serve dinner at eight.
❌ Tomara que esse casaco serve no meu irmão.
Incorrect — after tomara que you need the subjunctive sirva.
✅ Tomara que esse casaco sirva no meu irmão.
I hope this coat fits my brother.
❌ Essa camisa não me cabe, é pequena demais.
Incorrect for clothing size — use servir: não me serve.
✅ Essa camisa não me serve, é pequena demais.
This shirt doesn't fit me, it's too small.
❌ Sirva-te, tem comida de sobra (to a você-addressee).
Incorrect — the você imperative pairs with se, not te.
✅ Sirva-se, tem comida de sobra.
Help yourself, there's plenty of food.
❌ Esse aparelho serve por nada.
Incorrect — the phrase is não serve pra nada, with para/pra.
✅ Esse aparelho não serve pra nada.
This gadget is completely useless.
Key Takeaways
- Servir is an -ir verb with an e→i stem change driven by stress.
- The i appears in sirvo (eu, present) and the entire present subjunctive (sirva, sirvas, sirva, sirvamos, sirvam) — plus the você imperative sirva.
- Everywhere else (serve, servimos, serviu, servia, servir) the e stays.
- Beyond "serve food," servir means to fit (clothes: me serve) and to be useful (servir para).
- Use servir, not caber, for clothing that fits the right size.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- 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.
- SentirA1 — How to conjugate and use sentir (to feel, to sense, to be sorry) in Brazilian Portuguese — an -ir verb with the e→i stem change in the eu form (sinto) and throughout the present subjunctive.
- 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'.
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- Present Indicative: Regular -ir VerbsA1 — How to conjugate regular -ir verbs in the Brazilian Portuguese present indicative, and why they differ from -er verbs in only one form.