Subir (To Go Up/Climb) — Full Conjugation

Subir means to go up, to climb, to rise. You use it when you climb stairs, go up in an elevator, get on a bus or plane, or when prices, temperatures, and floodwaters rise. You also use it in countless figurative expressions: subir de posto (to be promoted), subir à cabeça (to go to one's head, of alcohol or success), subir à tona (to come to the surface).

Grammatically, subir is a third-conjugation (-ir) verb with an o → u stem change — or, more accurately, a u → o change in certain forms, since the underlying stem vowel is u and it opens to o in some places. Either way you think of it, the pattern is: the u of the infinitive stays in most forms, but opens to o in the stressed forms of the present indicative (except the eu form) and in the tu affirmative imperative. This is the same pattern followed by dormir, cobrir, descobrir, tossir, sumir, fugir, and consumir, among others.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

This is where the alternation shows up most visibly. The eu form keeps u; the tu, third-singular, and third-plural open to o; nós keeps u.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Fully regular; the stem stays sub-.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Fully regular.

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

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

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Remember: this tense describes an action happening repeatedly or continuously up to now. Os preços têm subido muito = Prices have been going up a lot (lately).

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Built from the eu form subo — so all forms keep u, unlike the present indicative, which opens to o in most forms.

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:

The tu affirmative sobe has the o-opening because it is drawn from the present indicative third-singular sobe. The você / nós / vocês forms are drawn from the subjunctive, so they keep u.

Negative:

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

Usage patterns

Subir is both transitive and intransitive. Its constructions include:

• subir (intransitive): Os preços subiram. (Prices went up.) A temperatura sobe a cada dia. (The temperature rises every day.)
• subir + directional phrase: Subiu ao sexto andar. (He went up to the sixth floor.) Subimos à torre do castelo. (We climbed up to the castle tower.)
• subir a + transport: to get on / board. Subi ao autocarro na Avenida da Liberdade. (I got on the bus at Avenida da Liberdade.) Note: European Portuguese tends to say entrar no autocarro or apanhar o autocarro in everyday speech; subir a is slightly formal or emphatic.
• subir (transitive) + object: to climb. Subi as escadas a correr. (I climbed the stairs running.) Note: with escadas, speakers also say subir pelas escadas.
• subir de + category: to rise in (rank, position, price). Subiu de categoria em apenas dois anos. (He rose up a level in just two years.) O pão subiu de preço outra vez. (Bread has gone up in price again.)
• subir à cabeça: to go to one's head (alcohol, success). O vinho subiu-lhe à cabeça. (The wine went to his head.)
• subir ao palco: to go on stage. O actor subiu ao palco às oito em ponto. (The actor went on stage at eight sharp.)

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Subir is a third-conjugation (-ir) verb with a u ↔ o alternation: the u of the stem opens to o in the stressed-stem forms of the present indicative except the eu form (subo, sobes, sobe, subimos, sobem) and in the tu affirmative imperative (sobe).
• The present subjunctive — built from eu subo — keeps u throughout (suba, subas, suba, subamos, subais, subam).
• In all other tenses (preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, imperfect subjunctive, future subjunctive), the stem is always sub-. No changes.
• Subir a + noun for climbing up to a place or a bus; subir de + category for rising in rank or price; subir à cabeça for going to one's head.
• The past participle subido is fully regular. No irregularity in compound tenses.
• Subir is both transitive (subir as escadas) and intransitive (os preços sobem).