Cortar (To Cut) — Full Conjugation

Cortar means to cut — with a knife, with scissors, with a computer command (cortar e colar), or metaphorically (to cut a relationship, cut costs, cut through traffic). It is a fully regular first-conjugation (-ar) verb with no stem changes or spelling alternations. What makes cortar worth a full page is not its morphology but its versatility: it combines with a long list of prepositions and nouns to produce idiomatic expressions you will hear every day in Portugal.

This page gives you every conjugated form of cortar, together with the main constructions and collocations you need.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Note the acute accent on cortámos (1st-person plural preterite) in European Portuguese. Without it, the form is ambiguous with the present cortamos.

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

Formal/literary only.

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

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Tenho cortado lenha para o inverno = I've been chopping firewood for the winter.

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

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:

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive

Reflexive placement: cortei-me vs me cortei

In European Portuguese, clitic pronouns (including reflexive me, te, se, nos, vos) normally attach after the verb in affirmative main clauses. This is enclisis, and it is the default.

There are three main situations where the pronoun moves in front of the verb (proclisis):

1. Negation — Não me cortei (I didn't cut myself), never Não cortei-me.
2. Subordinate clauses — Disse que se cortou (He said he cut himself), not Disse que cortou-se.
3. Certain trigger words — quantifiers (ninguém, nunca, muitos), interrogatives, some adverbs (já, ainda, sempre).

This is one of the biggest differences between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese: Brazilians routinely put the pronoun in front of the verb (Me cortei), which sounds wrong in EP.

Usage and key constructions

cortar + direct object — to cut something

The bread-and-butter usage. Takes a direct object.

cortar em + pieces/manner — to cut INTO

The preposition em introduces the result of the cutting — how the thing ends up.

cortar o cabelo — to cut (one's) hair

In Portuguese, you do not normally say cortar o meu cabelo. The definite article replaces the possessive in references to body parts and personal items.

Note that cortar o cabelo by itself is ambiguous: it can mean "I will cut my hair myself" or (more often) "I will get my hair cut (by a hairdresser)". To be explicit about having it done by someone, use cortar o cabelo no cabeleireiro or mandar cortar o cabelo.

cortar com (alguém) — to break up with someone

A fixed phrase for ending a relationship — romantic or otherwise.

cortar a direito — to take a shortcut

Literally "to cut straight" — to go the direct way instead of the long way around.

Other productive expressions

• cortar pela raiz — to cut off at the root, nip in the bud
• cortar o mal pela raiz — same idea, very common idiom
• cortar as asas a alguém — to clip someone's wings, to restrict them
• cortar relações com — to break off relations with
• cortar a luz / a água — to cut off the electricity / water
• cortar o trânsito — to block traffic (as the police do)
• cortar o barato a alguém — to ruin someone's fun, to bring them down (informal)
• cortar e colar — to cut and paste (computing)
• a direito que nem corta — "sharp as a knife" (regional/informal)

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Cortar is a fully regular first-conjugation (-ar) verb. The EP preterite cortámos takes an accent, distinguishing it from the present cortamos.
• Use the reflexive cortar-se for accidental self-cuts: cortei-me, not cortei-me no dedo only if the finger is relevant; and not cortei o dedo as if it were deliberate.
• In European Portuguese, clitic pronouns attach after the verb in affirmative main clauses. Proclisis (pronoun before) is triggered by negation, subordinate clauses, and certain trigger words.
• Portuguese drops the possessive with body parts and personal items: cortar o cabelo, not cortar o meu cabelo.
• Productive expressions: cortar em (cut into), cortar com (break up with), cortar a direito (take a shortcut), cortar o mal pela raiz (nip in the bud), cortar a luz / o trânsito (cut off power / block traffic).