One of the core uses of the presente do indicativo is describing what you do regularly. Unlike English, which often relies on "do/does" (Do you work?, She does not eat meat), Portuguese simply uses the present tense form on its own. No auxiliaries, no progressive -- just the verb and, optionally, a time expression that signals repetition.
Daily routines
The present tense is perfect for building a "day in the life." Each verb below is in the eu form, since describing your own routine is where most learners begin:
Acordo às sete e tomo o pequeno-almoço às oito.
I wake up at seven and have breakfast at eight.
Trabalho das nove às seis.
I work from nine to six.
Almoço à uma.
I have lunch at one.
Chego a casa às sete e janto com a família.
I get home at seven and have dinner with the family.
Notice that each sentence drops the pronoun eu. In European Portuguese, the verb ending already tells the listener who the subject is, so the pronoun is unnecessary unless you want to add emphasis or contrast.
Time expressions for habits
Certain adverbs and phrases signal that an action is habitual. Pairing them with the present tense removes any ambiguity about whether you mean "right now" or "in general."
Frequency adverbs
| Português | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sempre | always | Bebo sempre água ao almoço. |
| nunca | never | Nunca como carne. |
| geralmente | generally | Geralmente durmo bem. |
| normalmente | normally | Normalmente saio às seis. |
| muitas vezes | often | Muitas vezes leio antes de dormir. |
| às vezes | sometimes | Às vezes corro de manhã. |
| raramente | rarely | Raramente vejo televisão. |
Recurring time expressions
| Português | English |
|---|---|
| todos os dias | every day |
| todas as semanas | every week |
| todos os meses | every month |
| aos domingos | on Sundays |
| de manhã | in the morning |
| à tarde | in the afternoon |
| à noite | at night |
| ao fim de semana | at the weekend |
Todos os dias acordo cedo e corro no parque.
Every day I wake up early and run in the park.
Aos domingos, almoçamos sempre em casa dos avós.
On Sundays, we always have lunch at our grandparents' house.
General truths
The present tense also states facts and permanent truths -- things that are always the case, not tied to any particular moment.
A água ferve a cem graus.
Water boils at 100 degrees.
O Sol nasce a leste (The Sun rises in the east) is another example. These sentences use the same verb forms as habitual actions. The difference is purely semantic: a habit could change, but a general truth is presented as permanent.
Costumo + infinitive
European Portuguese has an especially natural way to express habits: the verb costumar (to be in the habit of) followed by an infinitive. This construction is extremely common in daily speech and is the closest equivalent to English "I usually..."
Costumo almoçar ao meio-dia.
I usually have lunch at noon.
Costumamos ir ao cinema aos sábados.
We usually go to the cinema on Saturdays.
| Person | costumar | Example |
|---|---|---|
| eu | costumo | Costumo ler à noite. |
| tu | costumas | Costumas correr de manhã? |
| ele / ela / você | costuma | Ela costuma chegar cedo. |
| nós | costumamos | Costumamos jantar às oito. |
| eles / elas / vocês | costumam | Costumam sair à sexta à noite. |
Present tense vs estar a + infinitive
In Portuguese, Eu estudo can mean both "I study" (habit) and "I'm studying" (right now). Context and time expressions are what disambiguate. When you specifically want to stress that an action is happening at this very moment, European Portuguese uses estar a + infinitive:
Estudo francês.
I study French. (habitual)
Compare this with the progressive: Estou a estudar francês agora (I'm studying French right now). The simple present covers the habit; estar a + infinitive zooms in on the current moment. For habitual actions, the simple present is always the right choice. See the Present Indicative Overview for more on this distinction.
Asking about routines
To ask someone about their habits, use question words with the present tense. In EP, these questions naturally use the tu form in informal contexts:
O que fazes normalmente ao fim de semana?
What do you normally do at the weekend?
A que horas te levantas?
What time do you get up?
Notice that costumar appears naturally in questions too -- Onde costumas almoçar? (Where do you usually have lunch?). The word order stays the same as in statements; Portuguese does not invert the subject and verb to form questions the way English does. A rising intonation (in speech) or a question mark (in writing) is all you need.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu estou a trabalhar das nove às seis todos os dias.
Incorrect -- the progressive estar a + infinitive describes what is happening at this moment, not a habit.
✅ Trabalho das nove às seis todos os dias.
I work from nine to six every day.
Reserve estar a + infinitive for what is happening right now. Habits take the plain present.
❌ Eu faço café todos os manhãs.
Incorrect -- manhã is feminine (a manhã), and 'every mornings' is not how Portuguese expresses this.
✅ Faço café todas as manhãs.
I make coffee every morning.
✅ Faço café de manhã.
I make coffee in the morning.
Todos os / todas as agree with the noun's gender. Manhã, tarde, noite, semana, hora are all feminine, so you need todas as.
❌ Eu vou sempre ao cinema no final de semana.
Brazilian usage -- ao fim de semana is the European Portuguese phrase.
✅ Vou sempre ao cinema ao fim de semana.
I always go to the cinema at the weekend.
European Portuguese uses ao fim de semana (singular). No final de semana is the Brazilian variant and sounds immediately non-EP.
❌ Normalmente eu toma café da manhã às oito.
Two errors -- café da manhã is Brazilian (EP uses pequeno-almoço), and the verb form toma should be tomo for the eu subject.
✅ Normalmente tomo o pequeno-almoço às oito.
I normally have breakfast at eight.
Check your verb endings against the subject, and use EP vocabulary: pequeno-almoço, not café da manhã.
❌ Eu costumo almoço ao meio-dia.
Incorrect -- costumar is followed by an infinitive, not a conjugated verb.
✅ Costumo almoçar ao meio-dia.
I usually have lunch at noon.
Costumar is the only conjugated verb; the action it describes stays in the infinitive.
Putting it together
With the simple present, a handful of time expressions, and the costumo + infinitive construction, you can describe your entire daily life in European Portuguese. As you expand your vocabulary, this framework grows with you -- new verbs slot right into the same patterns. For the conjugation details behind these forms, see Regular -ar Verbs. For how the present tense can also describe future plans, see Scheduled Future. For a broader map of all the tenses, see Tenses Overview.
Related Topics
- Present Indicative OverviewA1 — Uses and formation of the present tense in Portuguese
- Present Indicative: Regular -ar VerbsA1 — Conjugating regular -ar verbs in the present tense
- Present Tense for Scheduled FutureA2 — Using the present to talk about planned future events
- Tenses at a GlanceA2 — A map of all Portuguese tenses and how they relate to each other
- Imperfect for Habitual Past ActionsA2 — Describing what used to happen or would happen regularly