Encontrar
to find / to meet
Presente
Current actions, habits, and general truths.
| eu | encontro | Eu encontro minha amiga toda quinta no café. — I meet my friend every Thursday at the café. |
| você/ele/ela | encontra | Ela encontra soluções criativas para tudo. — She finds creative solutions for everything. |
| nós | encontramos | Nós encontramos os amigos no parque aos domingos. — We meet friends in the park on Sundays. |
| eles/elas | encontram | Eles encontram dificuldades mas não desistem. — They find difficulties but don't give up. |
The city has its coincidences. I meet the same gentleman reading the newspaper on the park bench every morning. My colleague finds a way to smile even on the worst days — I don't know how. We find each other at the right moments, without planning. Sometimes life finds us before we find it.
Pret. Perfeito
Completed past actions — what happened.
| eu | encontrei | Eu encontrei a carteira que tinha perdido. — I found the wallet I had lost. |
| você/ele/ela | encontrou | Ele encontrou um emprego melhor por acaso. — He found a better job by chance. |
| nós | encontramos | Nós encontramos o restaurante que procurávamos. — We found the restaurant we were looking for. |
| eles/elas | encontraram | Eles encontraram a solução depois de horas. — They found the solution after hours. |
The reunion was emotional. I found my childhood best friend at Guarulhos airport — after fifteen years. She found my number on an old piece of paper and called the night before. We found a café open at that hour and spent four hours talking. The other passengers found strange scenes that night — two friends crying with joy was the best one.
Pret. Imperfeito
Ongoing or habitual past — what used to happen or was happening.
| eu | encontrava | Eu encontrava ele toda tarde no mesmo bar. — I used to meet him every afternoon at the same bar. |
| você/ele/ela | encontrava | Ela encontrava sempre um jeito de se virar. — She always used to find a way to manage. |
| nós | encontrávamos | Nós encontrávamos os colegas na cantina depois da aula. — We used to meet classmates in the canteen after class. |
| eles/elas | encontravam | Eles encontravam moedas antigas no quintal da fazenda. — They used to find old coins in the farm garden. |
In student-house days, everything was a meeting. I used to find friends in the kitchen at ten at night to improvise dinner. My roommate used to find forgotten books on the shelves and read passages aloud. We used to find meaning in small things. The longer-term housemates always used to find a new story to tell.
Futuro Informal
Plans and intentions — "going to." The most common future form in spoken BR Portuguese.
| eu | vou encontrar | Vou encontrar ela no aeroporto amanhã. — I'm going to meet her at the airport tomorrow. |
| você/ele/ela | vai encontrar | Ele vai encontrar a resposta que precisa. — He's going to find the answer he needs. |
| nós | vamos encontrar | Vamos encontrar os amigos no show. — We're going to meet the friends at the concert. |
| eles/elas | vão encontrar | Eles vão encontrar um jeito de resolver juntos. — They're going to find a way to sort it out together. |
The whole group is going to get together on the bank holiday. I'm going to meet Pedro, who's been living in Berlin since last year. My friend Lara is going to meet the boyfriend she met online for the first time in person. We're going to meet everyone at her family's country house on Saturday. Those who can't make it are going to meet the group on a video call — already sorted.
Futuro Formal
Formal future — "shall/will." More common in writing than speech.
| eu | encontrarei | Encontrarei uma solução até o prazo. — I will find a solution by the deadline. |
| você/ele/ela | encontrará | A comissão encontrará os responsáveis. — The commission will find those responsible. |
| nós | encontraremos | Encontraremos um ponto de equilíbrio nas negociações. — We will find a balance point in the negotiations. |
| eles/elas | encontrarão | Os pesquisadores encontrarão os dados que faltam. — The researchers will find the missing data. |
The statement was firm: "The investigation will find those responsible for the misappropriation of funds. We will find sufficient evidence to support the case. The auditors will find the inconsistencies in the accounting records. I will personally meet each of the deponents to ensure impartiality."
Condicional
Hypotheticals and polite requests — "would."
| eu | encontraria | Eu encontraria uma saída se precisasse. — I would find a way out if I needed to. |
| você/ele/ela | encontraria | Ela encontraria a força em momentos difíceis. — She would find the strength in difficult moments. |
| nós | encontraríamos | Encontraríamos mais tempo se organizássemos melhor. — We would find more time if we organised better. |
| eles/elas | encontrariam | Eles encontrariam a resposta com mais pesquisa. — They would find the answer with more research. |
If the world were more generous, we would find what we're looking for more easily. I would find a job that made sense without so much effort. My cousin would find a partner who truly valued her. We would find peace sooner if we stopped running from it. People would find happiness where it has always been — very close by.
Encontrar across the tenses
A short story using encontrar in multiple tenses
Durante anos, minha tia encontrava livros antigos nos sebos da cidade como quem encontra ouro. Encontrava edições raras, autores esquecidos, histórias que ninguém mais lia. Os vendedores encontravam ela toda semana e já separavam as preciosidades.
Hoje ela tem uma biblioteca de dois mil volumes e ainda encontra espaço para mais. Ontem encontrou uma primeira edição de Guimarães Rosa num alfarrabista de Belo Horizonte. Encontramos ela na loja às três da tarde e ela mal nos viu — estava em outro mundo.
No próximo mês, vai encontrar um grupo de bibliófilos em São Paulo. "Se tudo correr bem, encontrarei o livro que falta para completar a coleção," ela diz, os olhos brilhando.
Perguntei se encontraria sentido em parar de procurar um dia. Ela riu: "Nunca. Quem encontra livros não para — porque cada livro encontrado abre dez novos caminhos."
For years, my aunt used to find old books in the city's second-hand bookshops like finding gold. She used to find rare editions, forgotten authors, stories nobody read any more. The sellers used to see her every week and already set aside the treasures for her. Today she has a library of two thousand volumes and still finds space for more. Yesterday she found a first edition of Guimarães Rosa at a second-hand bookseller in Belo Horizonte. We found her in the shop at three in the afternoon and she barely noticed us — she was in another world. Next month she's going to meet a group of bibliophiles in São Paulo. "If all goes well, I will find the book I need to complete the collection," she says, eyes shining. I asked if she would find meaning in stopping one day. She laughed: "Never. Whoever finds books never stops — because every book found opens ten new paths."
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