Responder
to answer / to respond
Presente
Current actions, habits, and general truths.
| eu | respondo | Eu respondo todos os e-mails antes do meio-dia. — I answer all emails before midday. |
| você/ele/ela | responde | Ela responde rápido quando a mensagem é urgente. — She answers quickly when the message is urgent. |
| nós | respondemos | Nós respondemos às perguntas no final da palestra. — We answer questions at the end of the talk. |
| eles/elas | respondem | Eles respondem por e-mail, nunca por telefone. — They answer by email, never by phone. |
Sometimes the right answer takes time. I answer carefully — I prefer to take my time than say something silly. My friend Helena answers immediately, with surgical precision. We answer the same world in different ways. The difficult questions answer themselves with time — you just have to wait.
Pret. Perfeito
Completed past actions — what happened.
| eu | respondi | Eu respondi sem pensar e me arrependi. — I answered without thinking and regretted it. |
| você/ele/ela | respondeu | Ela respondeu com calma mesmo sendo provocada. — She answered calmly even when provoked. |
| nós | respondemos | Nós respondemos ao formulário dentro do prazo. — We answered the form within the deadline. |
| eles/elas | responderam | Eles responderam a todas as perguntas da imprensa. — They answered all of the press's questions. |
The meeting was tense but productive. I answered the criticism with data — no emotion, just fact. My colleague Marcos answered for the whole team with elegance. We answered every objection before it became a problem. The competitors answered our launch faster than we expected.
Pret. Imperfeito
Ongoing or habitual past — what used to happen or was happening.
| eu | respondia | Eu respondia errado nas provas por ansiedade. — I used to answer wrongly in exams due to anxiety. |
| você/ele/ela | respondia | Ele respondia sempre com uma pergunta — hábito de filósofo. — He always used to answer with a question — a philosopher's habit. |
| nós | respondíamos | Nós respondíamos ao chamado do professor com as mãos levantadas. — We used to answer the teacher's call with raised hands. |
| eles/elas | respondiam | Eles respondiam em coro quando a professora perguntava. — They used to answer in chorus when the teacher asked. |
At school, I used to answer wrongly in my first attempts at everything — and I learned from it. My maths teacher used to answer questions with infinite patience. We used to answer in blue notebooks and it felt serious, important. The hardest questions in life used to answer with silence — and we learned to listen.
Futuro Informal
Plans and intentions — "going to." The most common future form in spoken BR Portuguese.
| eu | vou responder | Vou responder essa mensagem depois do almoço. — I'm going to answer that message after lunch. |
| você/ele/ela | vai responder | Ela vai responder à entrevista por escrito. — She's going to answer the interview in writing. |
| nós | vamos responder | Vamos responder ao questionário juntos. — We're going to answer the questionnaire together. |
| eles/elas | vão responder | Eles vão responder pelos erros cometidos. — They're going to answer for the mistakes made. |
The client is waiting and the answer needs to go out today. I'm going to answer as soon as this meeting ends. My assistant is going to answer the urgent emails while I'm on a call. We're going to respond together — the situation calls for it. The others involved are going to respond individually, each for their own part.
Futuro Formal
Formal future — "shall/will." More common in writing than speech.
| eu | responderei | Responderei ao ofício em até cinco dias úteis. — I will respond to the official letter within five working days. |
| você/ele/ela | responderá | O porta-voz responderá às perguntas dos jornalistas. — The spokesperson will answer the journalists' questions. |
| nós | responderemos | Responderemos a cada item do relatório separadamente. — We will respond to each item in the report separately. |
| eles/elas | responderão | Os acusados responderão pelo crime perante a justiça. — The accused will answer for the crime before the law. |
The communiqué was drafted: "The company will formally respond within the established deadlines. We will respond to each point raised by the regulatory committee. The directors will answer individually to the accusations before the court. I will personally respond to the open letter published yesterday."
Condicional
Hypotheticals and polite requests — "would."
| eu | responderia | Eu responderia com mais cuidado se tivesse mais tempo. — I would answer more carefully if I had more time. |
| você/ele/ela | responderia | Ela responderia se soubesse a resposta. — She would answer if she knew the answer. |
| nós | responderíamos | Responderíamos mais rápido com mais informação. — We would answer faster with more information. |
| eles/elas | responderiam | Eles responderiam por e-mail se o telefone não funcionasse. — They would answer by email if the phone weren't working. |
If there were more time, I would answer with much more care. My boss would respond better if the questions were more direct. We would answer all the pending emails if the day had thirty hours. Companies would respond better to customers if they invested more in training.
Responder across the tenses
A short story using responder in multiple tenses
Minha mãe respondia a tudo com calma — mesmo quando a pergunta era difícil. Respondia devagar, como quem escolhe palavra por palavra. Nós filhos respondíamos às pressas — e ela esperava a gente terminar antes de falar.
Hoje eu respondo como ela — devagar, com cuidado. Ontem respondi a uma crítica difícil sem levantar a voz. Respondemos juntas a um questionário sobre história da família — e ela sabia tudo.
No próximo mês, vou responder a uma pesquisa sobre memória geracional. "Se me perguntarem direito, responderei com honestidade," ela diz.
Perguntei o que responderia se pudesse escolher uma única coisa para dizer ao mundo. Ela pensou: "Responderia: escute antes de falar. Sempre funciona."
My mum used to answer everything calmly — even when the question was difficult. She used to answer slowly, as if choosing each word. We children used to answer quickly — and she used to wait for us to finish before speaking. Today I answer like her — slowly, with care. Yesterday I answered a difficult criticism without raising my voice. We answered a questionnaire about family history together — and she knew everything. Next month, I'm going to answer a survey about generational memory. "If they ask properly, I will answer honestly," she says. I asked what she would answer if she could choose one single thing to say to the world. She thought: "I would answer: listen before you speak. It always works."
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