Tirar is one of those small, everyday verbs that English splits into a dozen different expressions. Its core meaning is to take out / to remove / to extract, but Brazilians stretch that one idea across taking photos, getting grades, taking off clothes, and taking a vacation. The good news for the conjugation: tirar is a fully regular -ar verb with no stem changes and no spelling traps — the r before the ending never causes any softening or doubling. Learn the meanings, and the forms come for free.
A clean regular -ar verb
Tirar uses the stem tir- plus the standard -ar endings, exactly like falar or amar. Do not confuse it with trazer (to bring), which is wildly irregular — tirar shares no quirks with it.
Presente do indicativo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tiro |
| tu | tiras |
| você / ele / ela | tira |
| nós | tiramos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tiram |
Você tira foto muito bem — virou fotógrafo profissional?
You take photos really well — did you become a professional photographer?
Eu tiro os sapatos sempre que entro em casa.
I take off my shoes whenever I come into the house.
Pretérito perfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tirei |
| tu | tiraste |
| você / ele / ela | tirou |
| nós | tiramos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tiraram |
As with every -ar verb, the nós form tiramos is identical in present and preterite; context tells you which.
Tirei dez na prova de matemática e nem acreditei.
I got a ten on the math test and couldn't even believe it.
A gente tirou um monte de foto na viagem.
We took a ton of photos on the trip.
Pretérito imperfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tirava |
| tu | tiravas |
| você / ele / ela | tirava |
| nós | tirávamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tiravam |
Quando criança, eu sempre tirava cochilo depois do almoço.
As a kid, I always used to take a nap after lunch.
Futuro do presente & futuro do pretérito (conditional)
Both are built on the full infinitive tirar-.
| Pronoun | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|
| eu | tirarei | tiraria |
| tu | tirarás | tirarias |
| você / ele / ela | tirará | tiraria |
| nós | tiraremos | tiraríamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tirarão | tirariam |
In everyday speech the simple future is rare; Brazilians say vou tirar instead of tirarei. (informal)
Vou tirar férias em janeiro, finalmente.
I'm going to take a vacation in January, finally.
Eu tiraria essa mancha com água sanitária.
I'd get that stain out with bleach.
Presente do subjuntivo
-ar verbs switch to -e endings in the subjunctive.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tire |
| tu | tires |
| você / ele / ela | tire |
| nós | tiremos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tirem |
Quero que você tire o carro da garagem antes das oito.
I want you to take the car out of the garage before eight.
Imperfeito & futuro do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|
| eu | tirasse | tirar |
| tu | tirasses | tirares |
| você / ele / ela | tirasse | tirar |
| nós | tirássemos | tirarmos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tirassem | tirarem |
Se eu tirasse uma folga, dormiria o dia inteiro.
If I took a day off, I'd sleep the whole day.
Quando você tirar a carteira de motorista, me avisa.
When you get your driver's license, let me know.
Imperativo
| Pronoun | Afirmativo | Negativo |
|---|---|---|
| tu | tira | não tires |
| você | tire | não tire |
| nós | tiremos | não tiremos |
| vocês | tirem | não tirem |
In casual Brazilian speech the imperative is usually the tu-form tira even with você: Tira uma foto nossa! (informal)
Tira o pé do sofá, por favor.
Get your foot off the couch, please.
Non-finite forms
| Form | Result |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo | tirar |
| Infinitivo pessoal (eu / você / ele) | tirar |
| Infinitivo pessoal (nós) | tirarmos |
| Infinitivo pessoal (vocês / eles) | tirarem |
| Gerúndio | tirando |
| Particípio | tirado |
The many faces of tirar
English has no single verb that covers all of this, which is exactly why tirar is worth a dedicated page.
tirar = take out / remove. The literal core. The thing removed is a direct object; the place it comes out of takes de.
Tira esses pratos sujos da mesa, por favor.
Take these dirty dishes off the table, please.
tirar (uma) foto = to take a photo. Where English "takes" a picture, so does Portuguese — but with tirar, not tomar or fazer. (In PT-PT you will also hear tirar uma fotografia; the verb is the same.)
Tirei uma foto linda do pôr do sol na praia.
I took a beautiful photo of the sunset at the beach.
tirar (uma nota) = to get / earn (a grade). When you score on a test, you tirar the grade — as if you extracted it from the exam.
Ele tirou nota baixa porque não estudou nada.
He got a low grade because he didn't study at all.
tirar (roupa/sapatos) = to take off (clothes). The opposite of vestir (put on) or usar (wear). Note that usar is the verb for wearing; tirar is only the removing.
Tira o casaco, está calor aqui dentro.
Take your coat off, it's hot in here.
tirar férias = to take a vacation. A fixed collocation — you take the vacation, you don't "go on" it as a verb.
Faz dois anos que eu não tiro férias de verdade.
It's been two years since I last took a real vacation.
The preposition de
When you specify the source — where something is taken from — use de (which contracts with articles: de + o = do, de + a = da). This is the one syntactic pattern to internalize. See the verb + preposition list for the broader family of de-verbs.
Tirei o dinheiro do banco para pagar a reforma.
I took the money out of the bank to pay for the renovation.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu fiz uma foto da paisagem.
Incorrect — English 'take' but with fazer; the Brazilian verb for photos is tirar.
✅ Eu tirei uma foto da paisagem.
I took a photo of the landscape.
❌ Tirei o dinheiro de o banco.
Incorrect — de must contract with the article: de + o = do.
✅ Tirei o dinheiro do banco.
I took the money out of the bank.
❌ Ele usou a camisa porque estava com calor.
Incorrect (for removing) — usar means to wear, not to take off; use tirar.
✅ Ele tirou a camisa porque estava com calor.
He took his shirt off because he was hot.
❌ Quero que você tira o lixo.
Incorrect — after quero que you need the subjunctive tire.
✅ Quero que você tire o lixo.
I want you to take out the trash.
❌ Tirei nota dez em a prova.
Incorrect — em must contract with the article: em + a = na.
✅ Tirei nota dez na prova.
I got a ten on the test.
Key Takeaways
- Tirar is a fully regular -ar verb; the stem tir- never changes.
- The unifying idea is extraction: take out, take off, take (a photo), get (a grade).
- The source takes de (contracting to do / da).
- Memorize the fixed phrases: tirar foto, tirar férias, tirar uma dúvida, tirar uma nota.
- Don't confuse it with trazer (to bring), which is highly irregular, or with usar (to wear), which is its opposite for clothing.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- First Conjugation: -ar VerbsA1 — The largest and most regular Brazilian Portuguese verb class — endings across the main tenses, high-frequency verbs, and the gostar de trap.
- Verbs and Their Required PrepositionsB1 — A comprehensive reference list of Brazilian Portuguese verbs grouped by the preposition each one requires before its object.
- TomarA1 — How to conjugate and use tomar in Brazilian Portuguese — a regular -ar verb that is the everyday word for drinking beverages, taking medicine, taking transport, taking a shower, and making decisions.
- UsarA1 — How to conjugate and use usar in Brazilian Portuguese — a regular -ar verb that means both to use and, just as commonly, to wear (clothes, glasses, perfume) — the everyday Brazilian verb for clothing.
- ComprarA1 — How to conjugate and use comprar (to buy) in Brazilian Portuguese — a fully regular -ar verb — including the de/para constructions for buying from and buying for.