Tomar is among the most useful verbs in Brazilian Portuguese precisely because Brazilians lean on it where other languages would reach for several different verbs. You tomar a coffee, tomar a bus, tomar a shower, tomar medicine, and tomar a decision. The single most important fact for a learner: in Brazil, tomar is the everyday verb for drinking any beverage — it has quietly displaced beber in casual speech. The conjugation is mercifully simple: tomar is a completely regular -ar verb.
A clean regular -ar verb
Tomar takes the stem tom- plus the standard -ar endings. The m never softens or doubles, so there is nothing to watch out for in spelling. It conjugates exactly like falar or amar.
Presente do indicativo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tomo |
| tu | tomas |
| você / ele / ela | toma |
| nós | tomamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tomam |
Eu tomo café com leite todo dia de manhã.
I drink coffee with milk every morning.
Você toma esse remédio quantas vezes por dia?
How many times a day do you take this medicine?
Pretérito perfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tomei |
| tu | tomaste |
| você / ele / ela | tomou |
| nós | tomamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tomaram |
The nós form tomamos is identical in present and preterite, as with all -ar verbs; context disambiguates.
Ontem eu tomei um sorvete delicioso na praia.
Yesterday I had a delicious ice cream at the beach.
A gente tomou o ônibus errado e foi parar do outro lado da cidade.
We took the wrong bus and ended up on the other side of the city.
Pretérito imperfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tomava |
| tu | tomavas |
| você / ele / ela | tomava |
| nós | tomávamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tomavam |
Quando morávamos no interior, tomávamos água direto da fonte.
When we lived in the countryside, we used to drink water straight from the spring.
Futuro do presente & futuro do pretérito (conditional)
Built on the full infinitive tomar-.
| Pronoun | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|
| eu | tomarei | tomaria |
| tu | tomarás | tomarias |
| você / ele / ela | tomará | tomaria |
| nós | tomaremos | tomaríamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tomarão | tomariam |
In speech, vou tomar replaces tomarei. (informal)
Vou tomar um banho e já volto.
I'm going to take a shower and I'll be right back.
No seu lugar, eu tomaria mais cuidado com esse pessoal.
If I were you, I'd be more careful with those people.
Presente do subjuntivo
-ar verbs take -e endings in the subjunctive.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | tome |
| tu | tomes |
| você / ele / ela | tome |
| nós | tomemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tomem |
O médico recomendou que ela tome o remédio em jejum.
The doctor recommended that she take the medicine on an empty stomach.
Imperfeito & futuro do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|
| eu | tomasse | tomar |
| tu | tomasses | tomares |
| você / ele / ela | tomasse | tomar |
| nós | tomássemos | tomarmos |
| vocês / eles / elas | tomassem | tomarem |
Se eu tomasse um café agora, não dormiria a noite toda.
If I had a coffee now, I wouldn't sleep all night.
Assim que você tomar a decisão, me conta.
As soon as you make the decision, tell me.
Imperativo
| Pronoun | Afirmativo | Negativo |
|---|---|---|
| tu | toma | não tomes |
| você | tome | não tome |
| nós | tomemos | não tomemos |
| vocês | tomem | não tomem |
The bare toma (tu-form) dominates casual speech even toward você: Toma! on its own means Here, take it! when handing something over. (informal)
Toma seu troco e tenha um bom dia.
Here's your change, and have a good day.
Non-finite forms
| Form | Result |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo | tomar |
| Infinitivo pessoal (eu / você / ele) | tomar |
| Infinitivo pessoal (nós) | tomarmos |
| Infinitivo pessoal (vocês / eles) | tomarem |
| Gerúndio | tomando |
| Particípio | tomado |
Tomar as the Brazilian "drink"
This is the headline use. While the dictionary verb for to drink is beber, in Brazilian everyday speech beber carries a strong undertone of drinking alcohol. So Ele bebe muito will be heard as "He drinks a lot (of alcohol)" — a comment on someone's drinking problem, not their water intake. For neutral, everyday drinking of any beverage, Brazilians say tomar.
Você quer tomar alguma coisa? Tenho suco, refrigerante e cerveja.
Do you want something to drink? I've got juice, soda, and beer.
Tomei dois litros de água hoje, tô tentando me hidratar.
I drank two liters of water today, I'm trying to stay hydrated.
Tomar in fixed expressions
Tomar anchors a large family of collocations. The thread connecting them is taking something on / receiving something:
- tomar banho — to take a shower / bath
- tomar (um) ônibus / táxi / avião — to take a bus / taxi / plane
- tomar uma decisão — to make a decision (note: make in English, take in Portuguese)
- tomar conta de — to take care of, to look after
- tomar cuidado — to be careful
- tomar nota — to take notes
- tomar um susto — to get a fright
Você pode tomar conta das crianças hoje à noite?
Can you look after the kids tonight?
Toma cuidado com o degrau, é fácil tropeçar.
Be careful with the step, it's easy to trip.
Note the two-preposition pattern in tomar conta de — the thing or person cared for follows de (contracting to do / da).
Quem vai tomar conta do cachorro enquanto viajamos?
Who's going to take care of the dog while we travel?
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu bebo café toda manhã.
Understandable but unidiomatic in Brazil — beber suggests alcohol; for everyday coffee use tomar.
✅ Eu tomo café toda manhã.
I drink coffee every morning.
❌ Eu tenho um café de manhã.
Incorrect — ter is to possess, not to consume; English 'have a coffee' becomes tomar.
✅ Eu tomo um café de manhã.
I have a coffee in the morning.
❌ Preciso fazer uma decisão importante.
Incorrect — a decision is taken, not made: tomar uma decisão.
✅ Preciso tomar uma decisão importante.
I need to make an important decision.
❌ Vou tomar uma ducha.
Understandable but unusual — the standard collocation is tomar banho, even for a shower.
✅ Vou tomar banho.
I'm going to take a shower.
❌ Tome conta de as crianças.
Incorrect — de must contract with the article: de + as = das.
✅ Tome conta das crianças.
Take care of the children.
Key Takeaways
- Tomar is a fully regular -ar verb; the stem tom- never changes.
- In Brazil, tomar is the everyday word for drinking any beverage; beber implies alcohol.
- English "have" (a coffee, lunch) and "make" (a decision) both map onto tomar for drinks/decisions.
- Memorize the set phrases: tomar banho, tomar ônibus, tomar uma decisão, tomar conta de, tomar cuidado.
- tomar conta de uses de (contracting to do / da) before what's cared for.
Now practice Portuguese
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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.
- BeberA1 — Conjugation and usage of beber — to drink — the textbook model for regular -er verbs in Brazilian Portuguese.
- TirarA2 — How to conjugate and use tirar in Brazilian Portuguese — a regular -ar verb whose many meanings (take out, take a photo, get a grade, take off, take a vacation) all share one core idea: extraction.
- ComerA1 — How to conjugate and use comer (to eat) in Brazilian Portuguese — the model regular -er verb — plus key idioms and a register note on its slang sense.
- FazerA1 — Full conjugation and usage reference for 'fazer' (to do / to make) — one of the most irregular and highest-frequency verbs in Brazilian Portuguese.