Receber (To Receive) — Full Conjugation

Receber means to receive, and in wider use, to welcome or to host. You receber a salary at the end of the month (recebo ao fim do mês), you receber a letter (recebi uma carta do banco), you receber visitors at home (vamos receber uns amigos), and you receber a prize (recebeu o prémio). It is a fully regular second-conjugation (-er) verb — a clean model for the entire -er class, with no stem changes, no spelling quirks, and a regular participle.

Because receber is regular, the main challenge is not conjugation but collocation: what prepositions follow it, what objects it takes, and how it differs from close neighbours like aceitar and acolher.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Note: for -er verbs, unlike -ar verbs, the 1pl present and 1pl preterite are both recebemos — with no accent to distinguish them (whereas -ar verbs distinguish procuramos vs procurámos). Context tells you which is meant.

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

Note the circumflex on recebêramos and recebêreis — this is the regular -er pluperfect pattern (compare comêramos).

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

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional (futuro do pretérito)

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 (identical to the present subjunctive with não):

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

Usage

Receber + direct object

The default construction. The object can be a physical thing (a letter, a parcel, a prize) or an abstract thing (a response, an offer, news, a salary).

Receber de + source

Use de to express "from whom" or "from what source" something was received.

Receber alguém (em casa) — to welcome, to host

Receber with a personal object means to welcome or host. Adding em casa makes the hospitality sense explicit.

Ser bem / mal recebido — to be warmly / poorly received

A very common passive construction with an adverb of manner.

Receber = to get paid / be paid (absolute use)

In working life, receber on its own — with no object — means "to get paid." This is one of the most common everyday uses.

Common collocations

• receber um prémio — to receive a prize
• receber um e-mail / uma chamada / uma mensagem — to receive an email / a call / a message
• receber ordens de — to take orders from
• receber tratamento — to receive treatment (medical)
• receber convidados / visitas — to have guests / visitors
• receber em casa — to entertain at home

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Receber is a fully regular -er verb. Use it as a model for the whole class.
• It takes a direct object (receber algo) and can take de for the source (receber de alguém).
• Receber alguém (often with em casa) means to welcome / to host.
• Ser bem / mal recebido is the idiomatic passive for "well/poorly received."
• Used absolutely (without an object), receber means to get paid: recebo no final do mês.
• No tricky conjugation: if you know comer, you know receber.