Limpar (To Clean) — Full Conjugation

Limpar is an ordinary-looking first-conjugation verb with a quirk that trips up almost every learner: it has a double past participle. The regular form limpado exists and is used — mostly in compound tenses with ter — but alongside it there is an irregular short form limpo that serves as an adjective and in passive-like constructions with ser and estar. The split is so productive that in European Portuguese you will even hear limpo used in compound tenses (já tenho limpo a casa), blurring the textbook rule.

This page gives you every conjugated form of limpar (which is regular in every other respect — no stem changes, no spelling changes) and then walks you carefully through the choice between limpado and limpo. Knowing which to use, and when, is the difference between sounding like someone who memorized a table and sounding like someone who has read enough real Portuguese to internalize the pattern.

Header

Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Note the collision: limpo is both the 1st person singular present indicative (eu limpo — I clean) and the irregular past participle / adjective (está limpo — it is clean). Context disambiguates effortlessly, but beginners sometimes get confused.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Note: European Portuguese distinguishes the 1st-person plural present limpamos from the preterite limpámos by the acute accent. Brazilian Portuguese writes both without the accent.

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

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

The everyday way to say had cleaned. Formed with the imperfect of ter plus the participle — and here the choice begins. Classical usage prefers limpado (tinha limpado), but limpo (tinha limpo) is heard and accepted in modern EP.

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

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 — infinitivo pessoal composto

The double participle: limpado vs limpo

The defining peculiarity of limpar (and of several other common verbs like aceitar, pagar, ganhar, gastar, entregar) is that it has two past participles:

• Limpado — the regular, historically "correct" form. Used in active compound tenses with ter (and historically with haver).
• Limpo — the irregular short form, inherited from a Latin variant. Used as an adjective and in constructions with ser and estar.

Traditional distribution

What actually happens in European Portuguese

The modern reality is more fluid. In speech, many educated native speakers use limpo as the participle of choice even with ter:

Both forms are heard and accepted. Writing textbooks, careful style guides, and formal texts tend to keep limpado with ter; informal speech tolerates limpo. The reverse substitution — limpado as an adjective — is almost never heard and would sound unnatural.

Agreement of limpo

Because limpo functions as an adjective, it agrees in gender and number with the subject (or with the noun it modifies):

• masc. sg. — limpo (o chão está limpo)
• fem. sg. — limpa (a cozinha está limpa)
• masc. pl. — limpos (os vidros estão limpos)
• fem. pl. — limpas (as janelas estão limpas)

Limpado (with ter) is invariable, like any past participle in an active compound.

Common uses and expressions

• limpar + direct object — to clean something: limpar a casa, limpar a mesa, limpar o chão.
• limpar + [body part] — to wipe: limpar as mãos, limpar o nariz, limpar os óculos.
• limpar o pó — to dust.
• limpar a cara a alguém — idiomatic: to "save face" for someone, or to clean someone's slate.
• ficar limpo — to end up clean.
• de consciência limpa — with a clear conscience (fixed expression).
• um copo limpo — a clean glass.
• fazer uma limpeza (noun) — to do a cleaning; related to limpar but a separate noun.

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Limpar is fully regular in all its conjugated forms. No stem changes, no spelling changes.
• It has a double past participle: limpado (regular, traditional with ter) and limpo (short, irregular, used with ser, estar, and as adjective).
• Limpo agrees in gender and number: limpo, limpa, limpos, limpas. Limpado (as an auxiliary-tense participle) is invariable.
• In modern European Portuguese speech, limpo is increasingly used with ter too (tenho limpo). This is colloquial but widespread. Formal written style still prefers limpado with ter.
• Watch out for the homograph: limpo is also the 1st person singular present indicative — eu limpo todos os dias means "I clean every day."
• 1st-person plural preterite limpámos carries an acute accent in European Portuguese, distinct from the present limpamos.