Amar
to love
Presente
Current actions, habits, and general truths.
| eu | amo | Eu amo você de verdade. — I truly love you. |
| você/ele/ela | ama | Ela ama música brasileira. — She loves Brazilian music. |
| nós | amamos | Nós amamos essa cidade. — We love this city. |
| eles/elas | amam | Eles amam viajar juntos. — They love travelling together. |
Everyone has what they love. I love the silence of the early hours. My grandmother loves having the family over on Sundays. We love simple things — hot coffee, sun through the window, good conversation. My parents have loved each other for more than forty years.
Pret. Perfeito
Completed past actions — what happened.
| eu | amei | Eu amei cada momento dessa viagem. — I loved every moment of that trip. |
| você/ele/ela | amou | Ele amou o presente que recebeu. — He loved the gift he received. |
| nós | amamos | Nós amamos o show ontem à noite. — We loved the show last night. |
| eles/elas | amaram | Elas amaram o novo restaurante. — They loved the new restaurant. |
The wedding was beautiful. I loved every detail — the flowers, the music, her father's speech. He loved the party surprise. We loved the moment so much we could barely hold back the tears. The guests loved the whole evening.
Pret. Imperfeito
Ongoing or habitual past — what used to happen or was happening.
| eu | amava | Eu amava ler na infância. — I used to love reading as a child. |
| você/ele/ela | amava | Ela amava aquela música antiga. — She used to love that old song. |
| nós | amávamos | Nós amávamos as férias na praia. — We used to love the beach holidays. |
| eles/elas | amavam | Eles amavam sair juntos todo fim de semana. — They used to love going out together every weekend. |
My grandmother was always talking about the past. I used to love listening to her stories. She used to love dancing forró when she was young. We used to love sitting on the porch with her on hot afternoons. The neighbours used to love when she sang — her voice filled the whole yard.
Futuro Informal
Plans and intentions — "going to." The most common future form in spoken BR Portuguese.
| eu | vou amar | Vou amar esse livro, tenho certeza. — I'm going to love this book, I'm sure of it. |
| você/ele/ela | vai amar | Você vai amar o novo apartamento. — You're going to love the new flat. |
| nós | vamos amar | Vamos amar essa experiência. — We're going to love this experience. |
| eles/elas | vão amar | Eles vão amar a surpresa. — They're going to love the surprise. |
I'm excited about tomorrow's dinner. I'm going to love cooking for everyone. My mum is going to love the dish I'm making — it's her favourite recipe. We're going to love every moment together. I'm sure they're going to love the dessert.
Futuro Formal
Formal future — "shall/will." More common in writing than speech.
| eu | amarei | Amarei você para sempre. — I will love you forever. |
| você/ele/ela | amará | Ela amará este lugar quando chegar. — She will love this place when she arrives. |
| nós | amaremos | Amaremos cada instante desta jornada. — We will love every moment of this journey. |
| eles/elas | amarão | Os leitores amarão este romance. — Readers will love this novel. |
The literary critic was emphatic: "Readers will love this work — it's impossible not to be moved. We will love this author for many decades. He will love the public reception when the book is released. I will personally love following his trajectory."
Condicional
Hypotheticals and polite requests — "would."
| eu | amaria | Eu amaria morar perto do mar. — I would love to live near the sea. |
| você/ele/ela | amaria | Ela amaria conhecer Paris. — She would love to visit Paris. |
| nós | amaríamos | Amaríamos passar um mês na Itália. — We would love to spend a month in Italy. |
| eles/elas | amariam | Eles amariam ter mais tempo livre. — They would love to have more free time. |
Sometimes you daydream. I would love to drop everything and travel the world for a year. My partner would love it too — she talks about it every week. We would love to wake up with no schedule, no commitments. The kids would love that nomadic life, at least for a while.
Amar across the tenses
A short story using amar in multiple tenses
Quando era jovem, Rafael amava a arte acima de tudo. Amava pintar, esculpir, fotografar — qualquer coisa que transformasse sentimento em forma. Os professores amavam o talento dele, mas preocupavam-se com o futuro.
Hoje ama do mesmo jeito — mas com mais maturidade. Ontem, amou cada pincelada que deu na nova tela. Amamos a inauguração da exposição dele na semana passada, todos os amigos e família presentes.
Na próxima temporada, vai amar a residência artística em Ouro Preto. "Se tiver oportunidade, amarei criar uma série inteira dedicada ao cerrado," ele diz, os olhos brilhando.
Perguntei se ele amaria fazer outra coisa se pudesse escolher tudo de novo. Ele sorriu: "Amaria exatamente o mesmo. Arte não é o que eu faço — é o que eu amo. E isso nunca vai mudar."
When he was young, Rafael used to love art above all else. He used to love painting, sculpting, photographing — anything that turned feeling into form. The teachers used to love his talent, but worried about his future. Today he loves in the same way — but with more maturity. Yesterday, he loved every brushstroke on the new canvas. We loved the opening of his exhibition last week, all his friends and family there. Next season, he's going to love the artistic residency in Ouro Preto. "If I get the chance, I will love creating a whole series dedicated to the cerrado," he says, eyes shining. I asked if he would love to do something else if he could choose all over again. He smiled: "I would love exactly the same. Art isn't what I do — it's what I love. And that will never change."
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