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Portuguese grammar Part of Chapter 2

CEFR A1

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A Gente, Você and O Senhor: Who Is Who in Brazilian Portuguese

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026

Brazilian Portuguese has several ways to say you and two ways to say we, and most of them take one verb form: the one you already use with and . The short version: for you, for we.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Choose the correct Brazilian Portuguese sentence.

  1. We speak Portuguese. (everyday speech)

  2. Would you like a coffee? (to an older man)

  3. Do you speak English? (to a group of friends)

The whole system on one screen

the verb endingWhat do the colours mean?
WordMeansExample
I .
you (everyday) .
you (polite, to a man) .
you (polite, to a woman) .
, he, she .
we (everyday) .
we (careful) .
you (plural) .
they .
you (EP, regions) .

Five rows share one ending, -. In everyday Brazilian speech three forms of most verbs (, , ) cover almost anyone.

Você: the everyday you

is the normal you for one person in Brazil: friends, colleagues, shop staff and most strangers. It is neither rude nor especially friendly. It takes the form, with no -s:

PortugueseEnglish
?Are you Brazilian?
?Are you all right?
?Do you have time today?
?Are you going tomorrow?
?Would you like a coffee?

alone could mean he, she or you speaks, so Brazilians usually keep the pronoun. In fast speech shrinks to cê: Cê ? - Are you going? Recognise it; no need to say it yet.

O senhor, a senhora: the polite you

(to a man) and (to a woman) mean you, with respect. Use them with:

  • people clearly older than you;
  • customers, if you are serving;
  • officials, doctors and anyone in a formal setting.

They take the form too. Only the respect changes:

EverydayRespectful
  1. cê
  2. você
  3. o senhor, a senhora
  • ? - Would you like a coffee? (to a man)
  • ? - Are you all right? (to a woman)
  • ? - Would you like a coffee? (to a group)

The plural, and , takes the form. If you are unsure, start with : an older person who prefers will tell you, and too much respect is the safer mistake.

On a lawn, a woman with long hair and a bow, a speech bubble above her, gestures towards three others: a young man of her age waving (a friend); an elderly woman with a white bun, glasses and a walking stick (an older stranger); and a group of three: a man with a moustache, a woman and a little girl.

One speaker, three yous: você to the friend her age, a senhora to the older woman, vocês to the group. In Portugal the friend would get tu.

Seu and Dona: titles before a first name

TitleExampleRoughly
(man)Seu JoaquimMr Joaquim
Dona (woman)Dona MariaMrs Maria

This is a spoken form of , not the possessive your. It is how you address a neighbour or the man who runs the corner shop. The two systems combine: Dona Maria, ? - Dona Maria, would you like a coffee?

Vocês: you, plural

For more than one person, use : friends, family or strangers alike. It takes the form, ending in -m:

  • ? - Do you speak English?
  • ? - Are you tired?
  • ? - Do you want to go?
  • ? - Are you from here?

uses as the plural too, including as the plural of . The old plural vós survives mainly in prayers and old texts.

A gente: the everyday we

literally means the people, but in everyday Brazilian Portuguese it means we, and in conversation it is far more common than . is not wrong: it is what you see in writing and hear in careful speech.

Careful, Everyday, English
. .We're going tomorrow.
. .We speak English.
. .We have a car.

There is no special possessive: our is still or , agreeing with the thing owned:

  • . . - We live here. This is our house.
  • . - Our house. (speech, literally the house of us)

Gente still means people

PortugueseEnglish
a lot of people
these people (often dismissive)
!Everyone! Guys! (calling a group)

can also mean people in general, like English you: . - You never know.

A gente takes the ele form

This is the part learners get wrong. means we, but grammatically it is singular, so the verb takes the form:

Verb

The rule in one line: whatever you say after , say after .

Adjectives agree with the real people behind :

  • . - We're tired. (a man speaking)
  • . - We're tired. (a woman speaking)

For a mixed group the singular is the safe choice, though you will also hear .

Tu: Portugal, the south and the north-east

is you for one person you know well. It is the everyday word in , with its own verb forms ending in -s:

Verb (EP) (BR)

In , is for friends, family and children; can sound blunt there, and the polite choice is , , or the verb with no pronoun at all: ? - Would you like a coffee?

In Brazil, lives on in the south (above all do ), parts of the north and north-east, and casual speech in . Most of these speakers use it with the form:

  • ? - Are you going tomorrow? (informal Brazilian speech)

That is everyday speech, not the written standard. Recognise in both forms, and say : nobody in Brazil finds it strange.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
a . takes the form
a . forms belong to only
. takes the form, no -s
. takes the form
o ? takes the form too
Seu Joaquim = yourSeu Joaquimbefore a first name, is a title

What to do next

  1. Say five things about you and a friend with : , , .
  2. See how the endings work in Portuguese verb groups.
  3. For Portugal's and the other differences, read Brazilian vs European Portuguese.

Practise: test yourself

Sort into groups

0/6

Which form of falar goes with each subject?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Pick the right one

0/4

Choose the correct Brazilian Portuguese sentence.

  1. We speak Portuguese. (everyday speech)

  2. Would you like a coffee? (to an older man)

  3. Do you speak English? (to a group of friends)

  4. In Seu Joaquim, the word Seu means...

Spot the mistake

0/3

Tap the wrong verb.

Fill in the blank

0/5

Write the present tense of the verb in brackets.

  1. A gente cansado hoje. (estar) (the same form as ele and ela)

  2. Você inglês? (falar) (você takes the ele form, with no -s)

  3. Vocês um café? (querer) (vocês takes the eles form)

  4. A gente uma casa aqui. (ter) (not temos: a gente is not nós)

  5. A gente mora aqui. Essa é a casa. (our) (the possessive for a gente is the nós one, agreeing with casa)

Translation drill

0/4

Translate into English.

  1. A gente vai amanhã.

  2. O senhor quer um café?

  3. Vocês estão cansados?

  4. A gente tem um carro.

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Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Infographics

  1. Key points infographic
  2. The whole system on one screen
  3. Você: the everyday you
  4. Seu and Dona: titles before a first name
  5. A gente: the everyday we
  6. Gente still means people
  7. A gente takes the ele form
  8. Tu: Portugal, the south and the north-east
  9. Mistakes English speakers make

Other formats

  1. Listicle

More grammar on this course

Frequently asked questions

What does a mean in Portuguese?
In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, means we. is we're going tomorrow. It comes from , people, and that meaning survives too: is a lot of people. In conversation is far more common than , which belongs more to writing and careful speech.
Is it a or a ?
. takes the same verb form as and , so it is , , . You will hear a , but it is a stigmatised form that many Brazilians treat as a mark of poor schooling. Never write it, and do not copy it in speech either.
What is the difference between and o ?
is the everyday you: friends, colleagues, people your age, most strangers. (to a man) and (to a woman) are the respectful you, for older people, customers and formal situations. Both take the verb form: ? and ? differ only in respect.
Do Brazilians use ?
Some do. is common in the south, above all in do , in parts of the north and north-east, and in casual speech in . Most of those speakers put it with the verb form ( , ), which is informal. uses with its own verb forms ( ). As a learner of Brazilian Portuguese, recognise and say .
Why do Brazilians say before a man's name?
Because there is a spoken form of , a title, not the possessive your. Seu Joaquim is roughly Mr Joaquim, and the woman's equivalent is Dona Maria. Both go with a first name and are friendly but respectful: a neighbour, the owner of a corner shop, an older colleague.