Expressing Habits with "Costumar"
To describe customary actions, ongoing routines, or things you "usually" do, Portuguese uses the verb costumar followed by the infinitive of the main verb.
| Pronoun | Costumar | Infinitive |
|---|---|---|
| eu | costumo | descansar |
| tu | costumas | descansar |
| ele / ela / você | costuma | descansar |
| nós | costumamos | descansar |
| eles / elas / vocês | costumam | descansar |
This structure is incredibly common in everyday Portuguese and naturally maps to the English word "usually".
| Now that he is retired, my grandfather usually rests. | Agora que está reformado, o meu avô costuma descansar. |
| They usually see the grandson every day. | Eles costumam ver o neto todos os dias. |
| My father usually takes advantage of retirement to rest. | O meu pai costuma aproveitar a reforma para descansar. |
The Impersonal "se"
Sometimes, instead of talking about a specific person's habits, you want to talk about what "one" does or what "people" do in general. In Portuguese, you can express this impersonal "one" by attaching the pronoun se to the third-person singular form of a verb.
In affirmative sentences in European Portuguese, this pronoun is attached to the end of the verb with a hyphen.
| In retirement, one lives calmly. | Na reforma, vive-se calmamente. |
| In the village, one sleeps very calmly. | Na aldeia, dorme-se muito calmamente. |
Hobbies in Retirement
Retirement (a reforma) brings time for peaceful activities. You will often use costumar to talk about taking up new hobbies like knitting (fazer tricô), gardening (jardinagem), or playing chess (jogar xadrez).
| The grandmother usually knits to give to the granddaughter. | A avó costuma fazer tricô para dar à neta. |
| Each grandson usually plays chess with him. | Cada neto costuma jogar xadrez com ele. |
| Every day, the retired man usually feeds the ducks calmly. | Todos os dias, o reformado costuma alimentar os patos calmamente. |