Enviar (To Send) — Full Conjugation

Enviar is the everyday verb for to send — a letter, an email, a message, a parcel, a file. It is a first-conjugation (-ar) verb, and in every tense its endings are regular. What makes enviar worth its own page is what happens at the boundary between stem and ending: it belongs to the small family of -iar verbs. These verbs come in two patterns, and enviar follows the simpler one — the same pattern as variar, anunciar, copiar, and confiar. The i of the stem stays as a plain i throughout: envio, envias, envia, with no added e and no diphthong shift.

This page gives you every conjugated form of enviar, organized tense by tense, and then explains the -iar pattern, the preposition a that follows enviar, and the subtle contrast with mandar.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Notice that envio keeps the i of the stem. The stress falls on the i in the singular and third-person plural, but no e is inserted — contrast with odiar → odeio.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Used for past habits and ongoing past actions. Antigamente enviávamos cartas = we used to send letters in the old days.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Used for completed past actions. Note the nós form enviámos with the acute accent — this is the European Portuguese spelling that distinguishes the preterite from the present enviamos. In Brazilian Portuguese (post-1990 spelling reform) the accent is optional and often dropped; in Portugal, many speakers and publications maintain it.

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

The synthetic pluperfect — one word meaning had sent. Used mainly in literary and formal writing; spoken Portuguese prefers the compound pluperfect below.

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

The everyday had sent: imperfect of ter plus enviado.

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Remember: this is not the English present perfect. It describes an action that has been happening repeatedly or continuously up to now. Tenho enviado relatórios todas as semanas = I've been sending reports every week (and still am).

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

The synthetic future. In everyday speech, ir + infinitive (vou enviar) is more common, but this form is standard in writing and formal contexts.

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Will have sent — future of ter plus enviado.

Conditional — condicional (futuro do pretérito)

Used for hypothetical actions and polite requests. Enviaria o documento com todo o gosto = I would gladly send the document.

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Would have sent — conditional of ter plus enviado.

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Used in subordinate clauses after verbs of wish, doubt, emotion, or command. Espero que envies a resposta a tempo = I hope you send the reply on time.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Used for hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situations. Se eu enviasse a carta hoje... = if I were to send the letter today...

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

Used for future hypotheticals after se, quando, enquanto, and similar. Quando enviares o ficheiro, avisa-me = when you send the file, let me know.

Present perfect subjunctive — pretérito perfeito do conjuntivo

May have sent (in subjunctive contexts). Espero que já tenhas enviado o e-mail = I hope you have already sent the email.

Pluperfect subjunctive — pretérito mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo

Contrary-to-fact past: had sent, in subjunctive contexts. Se tivesse enviado o convite a tempo... = if I had sent the invitation in time...

Future perfect subjunctive — futuro perfeito do conjuntivo

Will have sent in hypothetical contexts. Quando tiveres enviado o relatório, avisa-me = when you have sent the report, let me know.

Imperative — imperativo

Affirmative:

Negative (subjunctive with não):

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

For regular verbs, the personal infinitive and future subjunctive are identical in form. Context tells you which is meant.

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

The -iar pattern: two subtypes

Portuguese -iar verbs split into two groups in the stressed forms of the present indicative, present subjunctive, and imperative:

• Pattern A — the variar type (no e-insertion): the i of the stem stays as plain i. Enviar belongs here. So do variar (vario), anunciar (anuncio), copiar (copio), confiar (confio), iniciar (inicio), apreciar (aprecio), abreviar (abrevio). The rule of thumb: treat -iar verbs as regular -ar verbs unless the verb is on the short Pattern B list below.
• Pattern B — the odiar type (e-insertion): the stem vowel becomes ei in the stressed forms. Odiar → odeio, odeias, odeia, odiamos, odiais, odeiam. Other verbs: ansiar (anseio), mediar (medeio), remediar (remedeio), incendiar (incendeio), intermediar (intermedeio), negociar — in Portugal negociar traditionally went with pattern A (negocio), but pattern B (negoceio) is also widely accepted today.

The take-away: enviar is pattern A. Say envio, never enveio.

Usage notes

enviar + a + person (send to someone)

The indirect object of enviar is marked with the preposition a, and is frequently replaced by an indirect-object clitic (lhe, lhes, me, te, nos):

enviar + por (via / by means of)

Use por to say how something is sent:

enviar vs mandar

Both verbs can translate as to send. The distinction is mostly one of register and connotation:

• enviar is the more neutral and slightly more formal verb. You will see it on official correspondence, business emails, parcel tracking, and in writing generally.
• mandar is more colloquial and covers more ground: it also means to order (someone to do something) and to command. In casual speech, people routinely say manda-me uma mensagem rather than envia-me uma mensagem — both are correct, but mandar is warmer and more everyday.

For learners: if in doubt in a written or formal context, use enviar. In a text to a friend, mandar is perfectly natural.

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Enviar is a regular -ar verb and follows the variar pattern of -iar verbs: no e is inserted. Say envio, never enveio.
• The preterite nós form is enviámos (with acute accent in EP), distinguishing it from the present enviamos.
• Mark the recipient with a: enviar algo a alguém. Replace with the clitic lhe / lhes when pronominalized.
• Enviar is slightly more formal than mandar. Both are used for to send, but mandar is warmer in everyday speech.
• After quando and se in future contexts, use the future subjunctive: enviares, enviar, enviarmos, enviarem.