Brincar

to play / to joke

-AR Regular

Presente

Current actions, habits, and general truths.

eu	brinco	Eu brinco com minha filha toda tarde. — I play with my daughter every afternoon.
você/ele/ela	brinca	Ele brinca muito no trabalho. — He jokes around a lot at work.
nós	brincamos	Nós brincamos de cartas toda sexta. — We play cards every Friday.
eles/elas	brincam	As crianças brincam no parque. — The children play in the park.

Mini story — Presente

A praça do bairro é viva. Eu brinco com meu sobrinho lá toda tarde de domingo. Meu vizinho Jorge brinca de vôlei com os amigos. Nós brincamos de tudo um pouco — peteca, bola, conversa. As crianças pequenas brincam sem parar até o anoitecer.

The neighbourhood square is lively. I play with my nephew there every Sunday afternoon. My neighbour Jorge plays volleyball with his friends. We play a bit of everything — shuttlecock, football, chat. The little children play non-stop until nightfall.

Pret. Perfeito

Completed past actions — what happened.

eu	brinquei	Eu brinquei muito ontem com as crianças. — I played a lot with the children yesterday.
você/ele/ela	brincou	Ele brincou a tarde toda no quintal. — He played all afternoon in the garden.
nós	brincamos	Nós brincamos de esconde-esconde ontem. — We played hide-and-seek yesterday.
eles/elas	brincaram	Elas brincaram de boneca a tarde toda. — They played with dolls all afternoon.

Mini story — Pret. Perfeito

A festa junina foi um sucesso. Eu brinquei de quadrilha pela primeira vez em anos. Meu pai brincou de pescaria com meu filho — ganhando de mim no entusiasmo. Nós brincamos sem parar até a chuva chegar. As crianças brincaram com fogos de artifício até o fim.

The festa junina was a success. I played quadrilha for the first time in years. My father played the fishing game with my son — beating me in enthusiasm. We played non-stop until the rain arrived. The children played with fireworks right until the end.

Pret. Imperfeito

Ongoing or habitual past — what used to happen or was happening.

eu	brincava	Eu brincava na rua até escurecer. — I used to play in the street until dark.
você/ele/ela	brincava	Ela brincava de professora com as amigas. — She used to play school with her friends.
nós	brincávamos	Nós brincávamos de pega-pega no recreio. — We used to play tag at break time.
eles/elas	brincavam	Eles brincavam de carrinho no chão de terra. — They used to play with toy cars in the dirt.

Mini story — Pret. Imperfeito

A infância tinha outro sabor. Eu brincava na rua com todo mundo do quarteirão. Minha prima Joana brincava de casinha com tampinhas e caixinhas. Nós brincávamos de tudo que a imaginação inventava. Os meninos mais velhos brincavam de bola até a mãe chamar — às vezes três vezes.

Childhood had a different flavour. I used to play in the street with everyone on the block. My cousin Joana used to play house with bottle tops and little boxes. We used to play whatever our imagination invented. The older boys used to play football until their mums called them — sometimes three times.

Futuro Informal

Plans and intentions — "going to." The most common future form in spoken BR Portuguese.

eu	vou brincar	Vou brincar com os netos hoje. — I'm going to play with the grandchildren today.
você/ele/ela	vai brincar	Ela vai brincar no parque amanhã. — She's going to play in the park tomorrow.
nós	vamos brincar	Vamos brincar de tabuleiro hoje à noite. — We're going to play board games tonight.
eles/elas	vão brincar	Eles vão brincar na festa de aniversário. — They're going to play at the birthday party.

Mini story — Futuro Informal

O aniversário do Miguel é sábado. Vou brincar de mestre-mandou com as crianças — sou boa nisso. Minha irmã vai brincar de caça ao tesouro com os maiores. Vamos brincar o dia todo até todo mundo cair de cansaço. Os adultos vão brincar também — fingindo que é só para animar as crianças.

Miguel's birthday is on Saturday. I'm going to play Simon Says with the children — I'm good at it. My sister is going to play treasure hunt with the older ones. We're going to play all day until everyone collapses from tiredness. The adults are going to play too — pretending it's just to entertain the kids.

Futuro Formal

Formal future — "shall/will." More common in writing than speech.

eu	brincarei	Brincarei com eles enquanto puder. — I will play with them for as long as I can.
você/ele/ela	brincará	A criança brincará livremente aqui. — The child will play freely here.
nós	brincaremos	Brincaremos juntos na inauguração do espaço. — We will play together at the opening of the space.
eles/elas	brincarão	Os alunos brincarão no novo pátio. — The pupils will play in the new playground.

Mini story — Futuro Formal

O projeto pedagógico foi aprovado: "As crianças brincarão ao ar livre pelo menos duas horas por dia. Brincaremos com atividades que estimulam a criatividade e a cooperação. Os educadores brincarão junto — não como observadores, mas como participantes. Brincarei pessoalmente na semana de inauguração."

The educational project was approved: "The children will play outdoors for at least two hours a day. We will play with activities that stimulate creativity and cooperation. The educators will play along — not as observers, but as participants. I will personally play during the opening week."

Condicional

Hypotheticals and polite requests — "would."

eu	brincaria	Eu brincaria mais se tivesse tempo. — I would play more if I had time.
você/ele/ela	brincaria	Ela brincaria mais com as crianças se não trabalhasse tanto. — She would play more with the children if she didn't work so much.
nós	brincaríamos	Brincaríamos lá fora, mas está chovendo. — We would play outside, but it's raining.
eles/elas	brincariam	Eles brincariam com mais entusiasmo com um brinquedo novo. — They would play with more enthusiasm with a new toy.

Mini story — Condicional

Às vezes a vida adulta pesa demais. Eu brincaria mais — de verdade, não só com as crianças. Meu marido brincaria também, mas esqueceu como. Brincaríamos como quando éramos pequenos, sem vergonha. Os amigos brincariam mais se alguém tivesse coragem de propor.

Sometimes adult life weighs too heavily. I would play more — genuinely, not just with the kids. My husband would too, but he's forgotten how. We would play like when we were little, without embarrassment. Our friends would play more if someone had the courage to suggest it.

Brincar across the tenses

A short story using brincar in multiple tenses

Quando era criança, Luísa brincava de tudo. Brincava de médica, de astronauta, de chef. Seus irmãos brincavam com ela com paciência — ela mandava em tudo, e eles deixavam.

Hoje é pedagoga. Brinca todos os dias no trabalho — mas agora com propósito. Ontem, brincou de teatro com uma turma de crianças que mal falavam. Brincamos juntas numa oficina de jogos cooperativos — foi a tarde mais leve do mês.

Na próxima semana, vai brincar de novo na formatura dos pequenos. "Se puder, brincarei enquanto tiver fôlego — a vida é muito séria para não brincar," ela diz.

Perguntei se brincaria diferente se pudesse voltar à infância. Ela riu: "Brincaria exatamente igual — mas com menos pressa de crescer."

When she was a child, Luísa used to play at everything. She used to play doctor, astronaut, chef. Her brothers used to play along with her patiently — she was in charge of everything, and they let her be. Today she's a teacher. She plays every day at work — but now with purpose. Yesterday, she played theatre with a class of children who could barely speak. We played together in a cooperative games workshop — it was the lightest afternoon of the month. Next week, she's going to play again at the little ones' graduation. "If I can, I will play for as long as I have breath — life is too serious not to play," she says. I asked if she would play differently if she could go back to childhood. She laughed: "I would play exactly the same — but with less of a rush to grow up."

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