Falar
to speak
Presente
Current actions, habits, and general truths.
| eu | falo | Eu falo português. — I speak Portuguese. |
| você/ele/ela | fala | Ela fala muito rápido. — She speaks very fast. |
| nós | falamos | Nós falamos todo dia. — We speak every day. |
| eles/elas | falam | Eles falam inglês em casa. — They speak English at home. |
My family is multilingual. I speak Portuguese and English, my mum only speaks Portuguese, but my siblings speak Spanish too. At home, we speak three languages at the same meal — it's the most beautiful chaos in the world.
Pret. Perfeito
Completed past actions — what happened.
| eu | falei | Eu falei com ele ontem. — I spoke with him yesterday. |
| você/ele/ela | falou | Ela falou por duas horas. — She spoke for two hours. |
| nós | falamos | Nós falamos sobre tudo. — We spoke about everything. |
| eles/elas | falaram | Eles falaram muito alto. — They spoke very loudly. |
After the meeting, I spoke with the director in the corridor. She said the project was approved. We spoke for about fifteen minutes, and the other team members spoke excitedly among themselves in the background.
Pret. Imperfeito
Ongoing or habitual past — what used to happen or was happening.
| eu | falava | Eu falava muito quando criança. — I used to talk a lot as a child. |
| você/ele/ela | falava | Ele falava mansinho. — He used to speak softly. |
| nós | falávamos | Nós falávamos horas ao telefone. — We used to talk for hours on the phone. |
| eles/elas | falavam | Elas falavam todos os dias. — They used to talk every day. |
In the 90s, things were different. I used to talk to my friends on the landline. My mum would say "ten minutes!" but we'd talk for an hour. The neighbours used to complain, but we didn't care.
Futuro Informal
Plans and intentions — "going to." The most common future form in spoken BR Portuguese.
| eu | vou falar | Vou falar com ela hoje. — I'm going to speak to her today. |
| você/ele/ela | vai falar | Ele vai falar na conferência. — He's going to speak at the conference. |
| nós | vamos falar | Vamos falar sobre isso amanhã. — We're going to talk about that tomorrow. |
| eles/elas | vão falar | Eles vão falar com o gerente. — They're going to speak to the manager. |
Tomorrow is the big day. I'm going to speak in front of two hundred people. My teacher is going to speak first to introduce me. Then we're going to talk together in the Q&A session. My parents say they're going to talk about me to everyone they know.
Futuro Formal
Formal future — "shall/will." More common in writing than speech.
| eu | falarei | Falarei com clareza. — I will speak clearly. |
| você/ele/ela | falará | O ministro falará ao meio-dia. — The minister will speak at noon. |
| nós | falaremos | Falaremos em breve. — We will speak soon. |
| eles/elas | falarão | Os especialistas falarão no painel. — The experts will speak on the panel. |
The official communiqué reads: "The president will speak to the nation at eight o'clock. We will speak about the new economic agreements. The ministers involved will speak at the press conference tomorrow, and I will speak personally with the foreign leaders."
Condicional
Hypotheticals and polite requests — "would."
| eu | falaria | Eu falaria mais se soubesse. — I would speak more if I knew. |
| você/ele/ela | falaria | Ela falaria com ele, mas… — She would speak to him, but… |
| nós | falaríamos | Falaríamos antes, mas não deu. — We would have spoken sooner, but it didn't work out. |
| eles/elas | falariam | Eles falariam mais baixo. — They would speak more quietly. |
If things were different, I would speak the truth sooner. We would speak openly, without fear. She would speak to the family, and they would speak more calmly. But sometimes silence speaks too.
Falar across the tenses
A short story using falar in multiple tenses
Quando era pequena, Carolina falava demais. Na escola, os professores sempre diziam: "Carolina, deixa os outros falarem!" Mas ela não conseguia parar.
Com o tempo, aprendeu a ouvir. Hoje, fala com cuidado e propósito. Ontem, falou no congresso de comunicação — foi a palestrante mais aplaudida. Falamos durante o almoço e percebi: ela escolhe cada palavra com precisão.
Na semana que vem, vai falar numa escola pública sobre o poder da linguagem. "Se eu puder, falarei em todas as escolas do país um dia," ela diz, os olhos brilhando.
Perguntei se ela ainda tinha nervosismo antes de subir ao palco. "Falaria com mais confiança se não tivesse," ela riu. "Mas o nervosismo me lembra que o que falo importa."
When she was little, Carolina used to talk too much. At school, teachers always said: "Carolina, let the others speak!" But she couldn't stop. With time, she learned to listen. Today, she speaks with care and purpose. Yesterday, she spoke at a communications congress — she was the most applauded speaker. We spoke over lunch and I noticed: she chooses every word with precision. Next week, she's going to speak at a state school about the power of language. "If I can, I will speak at every school in the country one day," she says, eyes shining. I asked if she still got nervous before going on stage. "I would speak with more confidence if I didn't," she laughed. "But the nerves remind me that what I say matters."
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