Aprender (To Learn) — Full Conjugation

Aprender means to learn. It is one of the first verbs a language learner learns (literally — you may well be learning to learn right now: estou a aprender a aprender português). Mechanically, it is a fully regular second-conjugation (-er) verb with no stem changes, no spelling changes, and a regular past participle aprendido. Every ending is predictable from the -er model.

What makes aprender worth a dedicated page is not its conjugation — it is the set of three prepositional patterns you must know, because learners consistently get them wrong by transferring English or Spanish habits:

1. aprender a + infinitive — to learn to (do something). The a is obligatory.
2. aprender de cor — to learn by heart, to memorize.
3. aprender com (alguém / alguma coisa) — to learn from (someone / something).

Get these three right and your Portuguese will sound markedly more natural.

Header

Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Aprendo português há dois anos = I've been learning Portuguese for two years. (Note: Portuguese uses the simple present with há for ongoing duration, where English would use present perfect continuous.)

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Aprendia muito rapidamente quando era criança = I used to learn very quickly as a child.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Notice: for -er and -ir verbs, the first-person plural preterite (aprendemos) is identical to the present. Unlike -ar verbs, there is no accent to distinguish them (acabámos vs. acabamos, but aprendemos = aprendemos). Context carries the whole weight of disambiguation. Aprendemos português o ano passado (We learned Portuguese last year — preterite) vs. Aprendemos português todos os dias (We learn Portuguese every day — present).

Pluperfect indicative, simple — pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples

Pluperfect indicative, compound — pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

An ongoing/repeated activity up to now. Tenho aprendido muito com este curso = I've been learning a lot from this course.

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Quero que aprendas com os teus erros = I want you to learn from your mistakes.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

Quando aprenderes a conjugar, tudo fica mais fácil = When you learn to conjugate, everything becomes easier.

Present perfect subjunctive — pretérito perfeito do conjuntivo

Pluperfect subjunctive — pretérito mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo

Future perfect subjunctive — futuro perfeito do conjuntivo

Imperative — imperativo

Affirmative:

Negative (uses present subjunctive):

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

The personal infinitive is extremely common with aprender: para aprendermos melhor = so that we learn better.

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

The three essential constructions

1. aprender a + infinitive — "to learn to (do)"

The preposition a is not optional. This is the only way to link aprender to a following infinitive. The pattern is strictly parallel to começar a, ensinar a, ajudar a — all the -ar transitional verbs in Portuguese take a before an infinitive.

2. aprender de cor — "to learn by heart"

The expression de cor (literally "from the heart" — cor here is an archaism related to Latin cor "heart," surviving only in this idiom) means by heart, by memory. You use it with saber (to know something memorized) or aprender (to memorize).

3. aprender com (alguém / alguma coisa) — "to learn from"

To say "to learn from someone" or "to learn from an experience," Portuguese uses com (with), not de (from). This is a systematic difference from English and a consistent trap for Spanish speakers, since Spanish uses de (aprender de sus errores).

Think of it as "learn with someone" in the sense of "through contact with": the Portuguese com captures the idea that learning involves back-and-forth engagement with the source.

Nouns and related vocabulary

• aprendizagem (f.) — learning, the process of learning
• aprendiz (m./f.) — apprentice, learner
• aprendido — learned (past participle, also adjective)
• desaprender — to unlearn (yes, this verb exists and is used)
• reaprender — to relearn

Aprender vs. estudar vs. saber

These three verbs form a semantic system that English does not perfectly parallel.

• estudar — to study: the activity of engaging with material. Estudo português todas as manhãs.
• aprender — to learn: the acquisition of knowledge or a skill. Aprendi muito.
• saber — to know: the state of already possessing knowledge. Sei falar português.

You can estudar for hours without actually aprender anything; you can aprender without much estudar; and saber is the endpoint — what you have after learning.

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Aprender is a fully regular -er verb. Stem: aprend-. No irregularities.
• The 1st-person plural preterite aprendemos is identical to the present — unlike -ar verbs, there is no accent to distinguish them. Context decides.
• Aprender a + infinitive is obligatory: aprender a nadar, never aprender nadar.
• Aprender de cor = to learn by heart. A fixed idiom.
• Aprender com = to learn from (someone or an experience). Not de, not a.
• Aprender (acquire), estudar (engage with material), saber (already know) — these three form a clear system worth mastering as a trio.