Ver means to see — and, in Brazil, also to watch (TV, a movie, a game). It is one of the most common verbs in the language and one of the most irregular. It belongs to a small club with ler (to read) and crer (to believe) that shares the same odd present-tense shape, and it has surprises in almost every tense: the spiky present vejo / vê / vemos / veem, a short strong preterite vi / viu / viram, the participle visto, and — the trap that catches everyone — a future subjunctive vir that is spelled exactly like the infinitive of the other verb, vir (to come). This page maps all of it.
Why ver is irregular
Ver descends from Latin vidēre, and Portuguese kept the old short stem v- alongside a "strong" stem vej- that surfaces only where you'd least expect it. Most of ver's irregularity is concentrated in the present indicative and the subjunctive, both built on vej-, and in a strong preterite (vi) inherited directly from Latin. There is no clean shortcut — ver simply has to be memorized — but grouping it with ler and crer helps, because all three behave alike (leio/lê/leem, creio/crê/creem).
Presente do indicativo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | vejo |
| tu | vês |
| você / ele / ela | vê |
| nós | vemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | veem |
Three things to nail here. The eu form is vejo (the strong vej- stem with a /zh/ sound — never "veo"). The third-person singular vê keeps its circumflex. And the third-person plural is veem — under the 2009 spelling reform (AO90) it lost the old circumflex it used to carry ("vêem"), so modern Brazilian spelling is plain veem with two e's and no accent. The 3sg vê keeps its hat; the 3pl veem does not.
Eu não vejo a hora de chegar o fim de semana.
I can't wait for the weekend to come.
Daqui a gente vê o mar inteirinho.
From here you can see the whole sea.
Eles não veem problema nenhum nisso.
They don't see any problem with that.
Pretérito perfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | vi |
| tu | viste |
| você / ele / ela | viu |
| nós | vimos |
| vocês / eles / elas | viram |
The preterite is short and strong: vi (I saw), viu (he/she saw), viram (they saw). Watch the nós form vimos — it is a famous homograph: vimos is both "we saw" (preterite of ver) and "we come / we are coming" (present of vir, to come). Only context disambiguates. Brazilians rarely confuse them because the meanings are so different, but learners parsing a sentence need to keep both readings in mind.
Ontem eu vi a Marina no shopping.
Yesterday I saw Marina at the mall.
Você viu como ele ficou bravo?
Did you see how angry he got?
Nós vimos esse filme no cinema mês passado.
We saw that movie at the theater last month.
Pretérito imperfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | via |
| tu | vias |
| você / ele / ela | via |
| nós | víamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | viam |
The imperfect is regular for an -er verb (the -ia endings), built on the short stem: via, víamos, viam. Note the accent on víamos.
Quando eu morava na praia, via o pôr do sol todo dia.
When I lived at the beach, I'd see the sunset every day.
Futuro do presente & futuro do pretérito (conditional)
Both are built on the infinitive ver- and are regular.
| Pronoun | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|
| eu | verei | veria |
| tu | verás | verias |
| você / ele / ela | verá | veria |
| nós | veremos | veríamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | verão | veriam |
Note verão (they will see) is a homograph of the noun o verão ("summer"). In speech the future is usually vou ver. (informal) The set phrase vamos ver / a gente vê ("we'll see") is everywhere.
A gente vê isso amanhã com a cabeça fresca.
We'll look at this tomorrow with a clear head.
Eu nunca veria você passar por isso sozinho.
I'd never watch you go through this alone.
Presente do subjuntivo
Built on the strong stem vej-.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | veja |
| tu | vejas |
| você / ele / ela | veja |
| nós | vejamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | vejam |
Quero que você veja isso com seus próprios olhos.
I want you to see this with your own eyes.
Imperfeito & futuro do subjuntivo — the 'vir' trap
| Pronoun | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|
| eu | visse | vir |
| tu | visses | vires |
| você / ele / ela | visse | vir |
| nós | víssemos | virmos |
| vocês / eles / elas | vissem | virem |
Here is the single most confusing fact about ver: its future subjunctive is vir, vires, vir, virmos, virem — and vir is spelled exactly like the infinitive of the verb vir (to come). So the written form vir can be (a) the infinitive "to come," or (b) the future subjunctive of "to see." A sentence like "Quando eu vir você" almost always means "When I see you" (ver), not "when I come you," because vir (to come) does not take a direct object that way. Context and the surrounding words tell you which verb you're looking at. The imperfect subjunctive visse is built on the strong preterite stem.
Quando eu vir o resultado do exame, te ligo na hora.
When I see the test result, I'll call you right away.
Se você visse o tamanho daquele cachorro, ia se assustar.
If you saw the size of that dog, you'd be scared.
Assim que eles virem a conta, vão reclamar.
As soon as they see the bill, they'll complain.
Imperativo
Affirmative você/negative forms come from the subjunctive (vej-); affirmative tu comes from the present indicative (vê).
| Pronoun | Afirmativo | Negativo |
|---|---|---|
| tu | vê | não vejas |
| você | veja | não veja |
| nós | vejamos | não vejamos |
| vocês | vejam | não vejam |
Veja só que coisa linda!
Just look at that beautiful thing!
Non-finite forms
| Form | Result |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo | ver |
| Infinitivo pessoal (eu / você / ele) | ver |
| Infinitivo pessoal (nós) | vermos |
| Infinitivo pessoal (vocês / eles) | verem |
| Gerúndio | vendo |
| Particípio | visto (irregular) |
Two non-finite traps. The gerund vendo ("seeing") is a homograph of the present-tense vendo ("I sell," from vender). The participle is the irregular visto ("seen") — not "vido" — and it is, in turn, a homograph of visto ("I dress / I put on," the eu-form of vestir). Portuguese is full of these short-word collisions; context always resolves them.
Meaning: see vs. watch vs. assistir
Ver covers both English "see" and a lot of "watch." In Brazil you naturally say ver televisão, ver um filme, ver o jogo — all "watch." The verb assistir also means "to watch" but is more formal and famously requires the preposition a in careful writing (assistir ao filme); in everyday Brazilian speech people drop it (assistir o filme) or just use ver. So for casual conversation, ver is the safe, frequent choice.
Vamos ver o jogo na minha casa hoje?
Want to watch the game at my place today?
Eu vi um documentário ótimo sobre a Amazônia.
I watched a great documentary about the Amazon.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu veo o problema.
Incorrect — the eu-form is the strong vejo, not 'veo'.
✅ Eu vejo o problema.
I see the problem.
❌ Eles vêem o mar daqui.
Incorrect — under AO90 the 3rd-person plural lost its circumflex: veem.
✅ Eles veem o mar daqui.
They can see the sea from here.
❌ Ele veu o acidente.
Incorrect — the 3rd-person preterite is viu, not 'veu'.
✅ Ele viu o acidente.
He saw the accident.
❌ Eu já tinha vido esse filme.
Incorrect — the participle of ver is the irregular visto.
✅ Eu já tinha visto esse filme.
I had already seen that movie.
❌ Quando eu verei você, te conto. (after 'quando', future)
Incorrect — future 'when' clauses take the future subjunctive: vir.
✅ Quando eu vir você, te conto.
When I see you, I'll tell you.
Key Takeaways
- Present: vejo, vês, vê, vemos, veem — strong eu-form vejo; 3sg vê keeps its circumflex; 3pl veem has no circumflex (AO90).
- Preterite: vi, viste, viu, vimos, viram — and vimos is a homograph of vir's present "we come."
- Participle is the irregular visto (not "vido"); the gerund is vendo.
- Future subjunctive is vir / virmos / virem — spelled like the infinitive of vir (to come). "Quando eu vir você" = "When I see you."
- For "watch TV / a movie" in Brazil, ver is the everyday verb.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Present Indicative of Ver, Ler, and CrerA2 — Three short irregular -er verbs — ver (see), ler (read), crer (believe) — that share a -j-/-i- intrusion in the eu form and a double-vowel ending in the third-person plural.
- VirA1 — How to conjugate and use vir (to come) in Brazilian Portuguese — one of the most irregular verbs — including venho/vem/vêm, the preterite veio, and the many homographs it shares with ver (vimos, vir, vindo).
- VestirA2 — How to conjugate and use vestir (to dress/wear) in Brazilian Portuguese — an e→i stem-changing -ir verb — plus the key difference between vestir, usar, and the reflexive vestir-se.
- AssistirA2 — Conjugation and usage of assistir — to watch/attend (with 'a'), a classic false friend that does NOT mean 'to assist'.