Ficar (To Stay/Become) — Full Conjugation

Ficar is one of the most versatile verbs in European Portuguese — so versatile that English needs three or four different verbs to cover its meanings. It can mean to stay, to become, to be (located), to keep, or to end up (in some state). When you say fiquei doente, English says "I got sick." When you say o café fica na praça, English says "the café is on the square." When you say fica-te bem, English says "it suits you." One Portuguese verb; many English translations.

Ficar belongs to the first conjugation (-ar) and is regular in its endings. Its only wrinkle is orthographic: the stem ends in -c-, which must become -qu- before the vowel e to preserve the hard /k/ sound. That is why the first-person preterite is fiquei (not ficei) and the present subjunctive is fique / fiques / fique / fiquemos / fiquem (not fice / fices...). This is a spelling change, not a true irregularity — the sound /k/ is the same, only the letter used to write it changes.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Use this tense for current actions, habits, and general truths. Fico em casa ao domingo = I stay at home on Sundays.

Notice that all six present-indicative forms keep the -c- because the ending begins with -a- or -o-, vowels that preserve the hard /k/ sound.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Use this tense for past habits, background descriptions, and actions in progress in the past. Ficávamos sempre na mesma pensão = we always used to stay at the same guesthouse.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Use this tense for completed past actions. Fiquei doente = I got sick. Note fiquei with -qu- — this is where the spelling change first appears.

Note: in European Portuguese, the nós preterite is written ficámos with an acute accent on the á. This distinguishes it from the present ficamos (no accent). Brazilian Portuguese drops the accent in both spellings.

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

The simple pluperfect is a synthetic form (one word) used mainly in literary and formal writing. In speech, Portuguese uses the compound pluperfect (see below).

The third-person plural ficaram is identical to the preterite; context disambiguates.

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

The compound pluperfect is the everyday way to say had stayed / had become. Formed with the imperfect of ter plus the past participle ficado.

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Despite the name, this tense does not translate as English present perfect. It describes an action that has been happening repeatedly or continuously up to now. Tenho ficado em casa estes dias = I have been staying at home these past few days.

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Use this tense for future actions. In everyday speech, Portuguese often prefers ir + infinitive (vou ficar) over this synthetic future, but you will encounter the synthetic form in writing and formal speech.

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Describes an action that will have been completed by some future moment. Formed with the future of ter plus ficado.

Conditional — condicional (futuro do pretérito)

Expresses hypothetical actions or polite requests. Ficaria com o livro se pudesse = I would keep the book if I could.

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Describes hypothetical past actions: would have stayed / would have become. Formed with the conditional of ter plus ficado.

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Used in subordinate clauses after verbs of wish, doubt, emotion, or command. Note the spelling change: the stem-final -c- becomes -qu- before the subjunctive endings in -e-.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Used for hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situations, and in subordinate clauses triggered by a past-tense main clause. The endings begin with -a-, so the -c- is kept.

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

A living tense in Portuguese (unlike in Spanish, where it is archaic). Used in clauses about future possibilities, especially after se (if), quando (when), and enquanto (while). Here the endings start with -a- (the infinitive ficar plus person markers), so -c- is kept.

Present perfect subjunctive — pretérito perfeito do conjuntivo

Pluperfect subjunctive — pretérito mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo

Future perfect subjunctive — futuro perfeito do conjuntivo

Imperative — imperativo

Used for commands. The affirmative tu form is drawn from the present indicative (ficas → fica, drop the -s), while the remaining forms come from the present subjunctive and therefore show the -qu- spelling.

Affirmative:

Negative (identical to the present subjunctive with não):

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

The five main uses of ficar

Unpacking ficar is as much a vocabulary lesson as a grammar lesson. Here are its five core functions, each with examples.

1. Ficar = to stay, to remain

The literal core meaning: not leaving, remaining in place or in a state.

2. Ficar + adjective = to become, to get, to end up (in some state)

This is where English needs several different verbs. Ficar + adjective describes a change of state, often emotional, physical, or situational.

The pattern is so common that ficar + adjective is often the default way to express "get + adjective" in English (get tired, get angry, get nervous, get sick).

3. Ficar + location = to be (located)

Contrary to what you might expect, ficar — not estar or ser — is the verb of choice when stating where a fixed thing is located, especially buildings, streets, cities, and regions.

Use ficar for permanent locations; use estar for things that could move (a person, a car, a temporary position).

4. Ficar com = to keep, to end up with

Ficar com expresses retention or receipt — the thing stays in the speaker's possession.

5. Ficar bem / ficar mal = to suit / not suit; to look good / bad

Used for clothing, decor, behaviour, and appropriateness. With a dative pronoun: fica-te bem (it suits you).

Other useful collocations

• ficar para — to be put off until (Ficou para a semana que vem = It's been postponed to next week)
• ficar sem — to run out of, to lose (Fiquei sem dinheiro = I ran out of money)
• ficar à espera — to be waiting (Fico à espera da tua resposta = I'll wait for your answer)
• ficar de
  • infinitive — to agree to, to promise to (Ficou de me telefonar = He said he would call me)
• ficar a saber — to find out, to come to know (Fiquei a saber ontem = I found out yesterday)
• ficar por
  • number — to come to (a price) (Ficou por vinte euros = It came to twenty euros)

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Ficar is a regular -ar verb with one spelling wrinkle: -c- becomes -qu- before -e- endings. This gives you fiquei (preterite), fique/fiques/fique/fiquemos/fiquem (present subjunctive), and the negative-imperative / 3rd-person imperative forms.
• Five core uses to memorize: stay, become, be located, keep, suit. Most unfamiliar sentences with ficar fit one of these five slots.
• For fixed locations (shops, streets, buildings, cities), European Portuguese prefers ficar to estar. Reserve estar + location for temporary or mobile subjects.
• Ficar + adjective is the all-purpose change-of-state construction. Where English uses get, become, turn, grow, Portuguese almost always uses ficar.
• In European Portuguese, the nós preterite is ficámos with an acute accent (distinguishing it from the present ficamos). Brazilian Portuguese writes both without the accent.