Colocar
to put / to place
Presente
Current actions, habits, and general truths.
| eu | coloco | Eu coloco açúcar no café. — I put sugar in my coffee. |
| você/ele/ela | coloca | Ela coloca os filhos para dormir às nove. — She puts the children to bed at nine. |
| nós | colocamos | Nós colocamos as malas no porta-malas. — We put the bags in the boot. |
| eles/elas | colocam | Eles colocam música alta nos fins de semana. — They put on loud music at weekends. |
In my mum's kitchen, everything has its place. She puts the olive oil always to the left of the hob. I put the spices where I find it most practical — she corrects it afterwards. We set the table together every Sunday, in a dance we know by heart. The grandchildren always put the plates in the wrong place — and she pretends not to notice.
Pret. Perfeito
Completed past actions — what happened.
| eu | coloquei | Eu coloquei os documentos na pasta errada. — I put the documents in the wrong folder. |
| você/ele/ela | colocou | Ela colocou o bebê para dormir. — She put the baby to sleep. |
| nós | colocamos | Nós colocamos tudo no lugar antes de sair. — We put everything in its place before leaving. |
| eles/elas | colocaram | Eles colocaram o quadro torto na parede. — They hung the picture crooked on the wall. |
The move was chaotic. I put the boxes of books in the living room when they should have gone to the bedroom. My husband put the fridge in the wrong corner of the kitchen. We put everything provisionally — and "provisional" lasted six months. The friends who helped put the heavy furniture where we told them, without complaining.
Pret. Imperfeito
Ongoing or habitual past — what used to happen or was happening.
| eu | colocava | Eu colocava mel no iogurte todo dia. — I used to put honey in my yoghurt every day. |
| você/ele/ela | colocava | Ela colocava flores frescas na mesa toda semana. — She used to put fresh flowers on the table every week. |
| nós | colocávamos | Nós colocávamos o lixo para fora às terças. — We used to put the bins out on Tuesdays. |
| eles/elas | colocavam | Eles colocavam música clássica durante o jantar. — They used to play classical music during dinner. |
In the old house, everything had its ritual. I used to set the alarm every night at ten on the dot. My grandmother used to put a glass of water on each bedside table before sleeping. We used to put our shoes on the shoe rack without anyone asking. The cats used to put their toys in the same corner of the living room — their territory.
Futuro Informal
Plans and intentions — "going to." The most common future form in spoken BR Portuguese.
| eu | vou colocar | Vou colocar uma prateleira nova aqui. — I'm going to put a new shelf here. |
| você/ele/ela | vai colocar | Ela vai colocar o filho na escola perto de casa. — She's going to put her son in a school near home. |
| nós | vamos colocar | Vamos colocar o sofá do outro lado. — We're going to put the sofa on the other side. |
| eles/elas | vão colocar | Eles vão colocar ar-condicionado no escritório. — They're going to install air conditioning in the office. |
The flat renovation starts next week. I'm going to put wallpaper in the bedroom — something subtle. The carpenter is going to put the shelves in the living room on Thursday. We're going to put everything in its new place before the end of the month. The electricians are going to install extra sockets in the kitchen — finally.
Futuro Formal
Formal future — "shall/will." More common in writing than speech.
| eu | colocarei | Colocarei os dados em ordem antes da reunião. — I will put the data in order before the meeting. |
| você/ele/ela | colocará | O governo colocará a proposta em votação. — The government will put the proposal to a vote. |
| nós | colocaremos | Colocaremos os recursos onde são mais necessários. — We will place the resources where they are most needed. |
| eles/elas | colocarão | Eles colocarão câmeras em todo o campus. — They will install cameras across the entire campus. |
The master plan is ambitious: "The city hall will install new benches and lighting in all the squares. We will put up bilingual signage in the historic centre. The contractors will lay the new asphalt by December. I will personally lay the first stone of the new municipal school."
Condicional
Hypotheticals and polite requests — "would."
| eu | colocaria | Eu colocaria mais sal se fosse meu prato. — I would put more salt if it were my dish. |
| você/ele/ela | colocaria | Ela colocaria o bebê para dormir mais cedo. — She would put the baby to bed earlier. |
| nós | colocaríamos | Colocaríamos mais mesas se o espaço permitisse. — We would put more tables if the space allowed. |
| eles/elas | colocariam | Eles colocariam o projeto em prática já. — They would put the project into practice right away. |
If the budget were different, the house would be different. I would put wooden floors in every room. My partner would put a bathtub in the main bathroom. We would put a fireplace in the living room — an old dream. The architects would put floor-to-ceiling windows if they could — and we'd let them.
Colocar across the tenses
A short story using colocar in multiple tenses
Minha mãe sempre colocava flores na janela da sala. Colocava um vaso novo toda segunda, sem falta. Era o jeito dela de dizer que a semana tinha recomeçado.
Hoje ela mora num apartamento menor e ainda coloca flores — agora numa jardineira pequena na varanda. Ontem colocou girassóis amarelos que deixaram tudo mais alegre. Colocamos juntas uma hortinha nova no canto da varanda — tomilho, manjericão, cebolinha.
No próximo mês, vai colocar uma trepadeira na grade — já escolheu a muda. "Se der espaço, colocarei mais vasos ainda," ela diz, animada.
Perguntei se colocaria flores mesmo se custasse caro. Ela olhou como se a pergunta não fizesse sentido: "Colocaria. Flor não é luxo — é necessidade."
My mum always used to put flowers on the living room windowsill. She used to put a new vase every Monday, without fail. It was her way of saying the week had begun again. Today she lives in a smaller flat and still puts flowers — now in a small planter on the balcony. Yesterday she put yellow sunflowers that made everything more cheerful. We put a little herb garden together in the corner of the balcony — thyme, basil, chives. Next month she's going to put a climbing plant on the railing — she's already chosen the cutting. "If there's space, I will put even more pots," she says, excitedly. I asked if she would put flowers even if they were expensive. She looked at me as if the question made no sense: "I would. Flowers aren't a luxury — they're a necessity."
Palavra has conjugation flashcards for colocar across all tenses, plus 2,000+ more cards covering vocabulary, grammar, and real-world phrases.
Try Palavra Free →