Escrever
to write
Presente
Current actions, habits, and general truths.
| eu | escrevo | Eu escrevo para entender o que penso. — I write to understand what I think. |
| você/ele/ela | escreve | Ela escreve todo dia — diário, lista, carta. — She writes every day — diary, list, letter. |
| nós | escrevemos | Nós escrevemos juntos um relatório que orgulhou a equipe. — We wrote together a report that made the team proud. |
| eles/elas | escrevem | Eles escrevem bem mas falam melhor ainda. — They write well but speak even better. |
I write so as not to forget — and sometimes to finally remember. My friend writes early in the morning, before any screen or obligation. We write letters to each other on birthdays — a fifteen-year tradition. Writing is one of the most intimate ways of being.
Pret. Perfeito
Completed past actions — what happened.
| eu | escrevi | Eu escrevi a carta que estava na gaveta há dois anos. — I wrote the letter that had been in the drawer for two years. |
| você/ele/ela | escreveu | Ela escreveu o romance em três meses de isolamento voluntário. — She wrote the novel in three months of voluntary isolation. |
| nós | escrevemos | Nós escrevemos para quem não podia ouvir em voz alta. — We wrote for those who couldn't hear out loud. |
| eles/elas | escreveram | Eles escreveram uma história que ainda hoje se conta. — They wrote a story that is still told today. |
The project lasted six months and every word cost something. I wrote the proposal three times until it was right. My co-author wrote the hardest part without complaining once. We wrote something that goes beyond the two of us. Those who wrote with courage were the ones who stayed in the reader's memory.
Pret. Imperfeito
Ongoing or habitual past — what used to happen or was happening.
| eu | escrevia | Eu escrevia cartas para o avô toda semana quando era criança. — I used to write letters to my grandfather every week as a child. |
| você/ele/ela | escrevia | Ela escrevia poemas que não mostrava para ninguém. — She used to write poems that she showed to nobody. |
| nós | escrevíamos | Nós escrevíamos bilhetes secretos em código que só nós entendíamos. — We used to write secret notes in a code only we understood. |
| eles/elas | escreviam | Eles escreviam na parede do quarto e chamavam de arte. — They used to write on the bedroom wall and called it art. |
At school, I used to write essays in draft with very small handwriting to make them seem longer. I used to write letters to fictional characters as if they were real. My teacher used to write in the margins of my notebook comments I kept. We used to write together in shared notebooks that nobody has any more.
Futuro Informal
Plans and intentions — "going to." The most common future form in spoken BR Portuguese.
| eu | vou escrever | Vou escrever o livro que adiei por dez anos. — I'm going to write the book I've been putting off for ten years. |
| você/ele/ela | vai escrever | Ela vai escrever a tese que mudará a área. — She's going to write the thesis that will change the field. |
| nós | vamos escrever | Vamos escrever juntos o projeto de lei. — We're going to write the bill together. |
| eles/elas | vão escrever | Eles vão escrever o capítulo mais difícil do manual. — They're going to write the hardest chapter of the manual. |
The blank page has been waiting since Monday. I'm going to write the first paragraph today — just the first. My writer friend is going to write the second book after the unexpected success of the first. We're going to write the presentation script together this afternoon. Those who are going to write more are going to discover that practice changes the voice.
Futuro Formal
Formal future — "shall/will." More common in writing than speech.
| eu | escreverei | Escreverei enquanto as palavras quiserem vir. — I will write for as long as the words want to come. |
| você/ele/ela | escreverá | Ela escreverá a história da família antes que se perca. — She will write the family history before it is lost. |
| nós | escreveremos | Escreveremos o relatório final na próxima semana. — We will write the final report next week. |
| eles/elas | escreverão | Os pesquisadores escreverão os resultados em revista internacional. — The researchers will write up the results in an international journal. |
The notice was published: Candidates will write an essay of two thousand words. We will write the evaluation report together. Judges will write their opinions independently. I will personally write the preface to the prize-winning volume.
Condicional
Hypotheticals and polite requests — "would."
| eu | escreveria | Eu escreveria mais se o tempo fosse mais generoso. — I would write more if time were more generous. |
| você/ele/ela | escreveria | Ela escreveria um livro de receitas da avó se tivesse paciência para medir tudo. — She would write a book of her grandmother's recipes if she had the patience to measure everything. |
| nós | escreveríamos | Escreveríamos mais cartas se soubéssemos que seriam lidas. — We would write more letters if we knew they would be read. |
| eles/elas | escreveriam | Eles escreveriam melhor com mais tempo de revisão. — They would write better with more time for revision. |
If time were elastic, I would write a letter to every person who changed my life. My friend would write the book living in his head if he had three free months. We would write more history if we had more space for memory. People would write more if they knew that writing doesn't need to be perfect — it needs to be honest.
Escrever across the tenses
A short story using escrever in multiple tenses
Minha avó escrevia cartas com letra redonda e tinta azul. Escrevia sobre o tempo, as plantas, as saudades — coisas que a ligação nunca transmitia do mesmo jeito. Nós escrevíamos de volta e a carta era evento.
Hoje eu escrevo mensagens e às vezes sinto a diferença de peso. Ontem escrevi uma carta de punho ao meu filho — ele ficou olhando como se fosse artefato. Escrevemos assim para o futuro sem saber que é para o futuro.
No próximo natal, vou escrever uma carta para cada pessoa que amo. Se der, escreverei também para quem já foi — as cartas que ficaram por dizer.
Perguntei à minha avó o que escreveria se soubesse que seria lido daqui a cem anos. Ela pensou: Escreveria o cotidiano. O cheiro do pão. O nome dos filhos. O que parece pequeno é o que dura.
My grandmother used to write letters with round handwriting and blue ink. She used to write about the weather, the plants, the longing — things that a phone call never conveyed in the same way. We used to write back and the letter was an event. Today I write messages and sometimes feel the difference in weight. Yesterday I wrote a letter by hand to my son — he looked at it as if it were an artefact. We write like this for the future without knowing it's for the future. This Christmas, I'm going to write a letter to every person I love. If possible, I will also write to those who've already gone — the letters that were left unsaid. I asked my grandmother what she would write if she knew it would be read in a hundred years. She thought: I would write the everyday. The smell of the bread. The names of the children. What seems small is what lasts.
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