experimentar — Portuguese conjugation

to try, to experiment.

Frequency#431IrregularReflexiveexperimentar-se — to try oneself

Indicative

Present (Presente) Regular

The presente covers routines, states, and immediate future with adverbs like hoje or amanhã. One present form covers both English simple and progressive readings in most situations.

Ela estuda português todas as noites.

PronounPortugueseEnglish
euexperimentoI try
tuexperimentasyou try
vocêexperimentayou try
ele/elaexperimentahe/she/it tries
nósexperimentamoswe try
vósexperimentaisyou (pl.) try
vocêsexperimentamyou (pl.) try
eles/elasexperimentamthey try

Preterite (Pretérito perfeito simples) Irregular

The pretérito perfeito simples is a sharp, completed past. In European Portuguese it is the standard story-telling past; Brazilian usage often prefers the compound form in speech while keeping the simple for narrative and writing.

Ontem escreveu a carta inteira de uma vez.

PronounPortugueseEnglish
euexperimenteiI tried
tuexperimentasteyou tried
vocêexperimentouyou tried
ele/elaexperimentouhe/she/it tried
nósexperimentamoswe tried
vósexperimentastesyou (pl.) tried
vocêsexperimentaramyou (pl.) tried
eles/elasexperimentaramthey tried

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfeito) Regular

The imperfeito describes past background, repeated actions, and how things used to be. Contrast it with the simple preterite for the “main event” line of a story.

Quando era criança, brincava na praia.

PronounPortuguese
euexperimentava
tuexperimentavas
vocêexperimentava
ele/elaexperimentava
nósexperimentávamos
vósexperimentáveis
vocêsexperimentavam
eles/elasexperimentavam

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

The condicional is for polite offers, soft questions, and hypothetical “would” outcomes, and it often closes a se + imperfeito do subjuntivo chain in formal style.

Você poderia me explicar outra vez?

PronounPortugueseEnglish
euexperimentariaI would try
tuexperimentariasyou would try
vocêexperimentariayou would try
ele/elaexperimentariahe/she/it would try
nósexperimentaríamoswe would try
vósexperimentaríeisyou (pl.) would try
vocêsexperimentariamyou (pl.) would try
eles/elasexperimentariamthey would try

Future (Futuro do presente) Regular

The futuro do presente states future facts; in everyday conversation you will often hear ir + infinitive or even the present with a time adverb instead of the synthetic future.

Amanhã faremos a reunião mais cedo.

PronounPortugueseEnglish
euexperimentareiI will try
tuexperimentarásyou will try
vocêexperimentaráyou will try
ele/elaexperimentaráhe/she/it will try
nósexperimentaremoswe will try
vósexperimentareisyou (pl.) will try
vocêsexperimentarãoyou (pl.) will try
eles/elasexperimentarãothey will try

Present perfect (Pretérito perfeito composto) Regular

The pretérito perfeito composto uses ter or haver plus the participle for a past that still touches the present or happens repeatedly up to now — a “have done” perfect with strong links to European norms.

Tenho pensado nisso há semanas.

PronounPortugueseEnglish
eutenho experimentadoI have tried
tutens experimentadoyou have tried
vocêtem experimentadoyou have tried
ele/elatem experimentadohe/she/it has tried
nóstemos experimentadowe have tried
vóstendes experimentadoyou (pl.) have tried
vocêstêm experimentadoyou (pl.) have tried
eles/elastêm experimentadothey have tried

Pluperfect (Mais-que-perfeito composto) Regular

The mais-que-perfeito composto is the pluperfect: an action was already finished before another past reference. It mirrors the English “had already”.

Já tinham saído quando chegámos.

PronounPortugueseEnglish
eutinha experimentadoI had tried
tutinhas experimentadoyou had tried
vocêtinha experimentadoyou had tried
ele/elatinha experimentadohe/she/it had tried
nóstínhamos experimentadowe had tried
vóstínheis experimentadoyou (pl.) had tried
vocêstinham experimentadoyou (pl.) had tried
eles/elastinham experimentadothey had tried

Conditional perfect (Condicional composto) Regular

The condicional composto expresses a counterfactual “would have” and appears with the right kind of if-clause in the subjunctive past for unreal conditions.

Teria aceite se tiveses avisado com antecedência.

PronounPortuguese
euteria experimentado
tuterias experimentado
vocêteria experimentado
ele/elateria experimentado
nósteríamos experimentado
vósteríeis experimentado
vocêsteriam experimentado
eles/elasteriam experimentado

Future perfect (Futuro composto) Regular

The futuro composto is the future-in-the-future: something will be finished before a later time. It is less frequent than the simple future but still useful for deadlines.

Até sexta, teremos lido tudo o relatório.

PronounPortugueseEnglish
euterei experimentadoI will have tried
tuterás experimentadoyou will have tried
vocêterá experimentadoyou will have tried
ele/elaterá experimentadohe/she/it will have tried
nósteremos experimentadowe will have tried
vóstereis experimentadoyou (pl.) will have tried
vocêsterão experimentadoyou (pl.) will have tried
eles/elasterão experimentadothey will have tried

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Conjuntivo presente) Regular

The present subjunctive appears after want, hope, fear, and impersonal triggers, and typically requires a new subject in the subordinate clause, just as in the other main Romance languages.

Espero que encontres o caminho fácil.

PronounPortuguese
euexperimente
tuexperimentes
vocêexperimente
ele/elaexperimente
nósexperimentemos
vósexperimenteis
vocêsexperimentem
eles/elasexperimentem

Imperfect subjunctive (Conjuntivo pretérito imperf.) Regular

The imperfect subjunctive in se + subjunctive → condicional is the classic “if I were a rich man” line in European Portuguese, parallel to the Spanish -ra form.

Se tivesse mais tempo, aprenderia outro idioma.

PronounPortuguese
euexperimentasse
tuexperimentasses
vocêexperimentasse
ele/elaexperimentasse
nósexperimentássemos
vósexperimentásseis
vocêsexperimentassem
eles/elasexperimentassem

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Regular

The affirmative imperative in Portuguese is built with tu, você, nós, vós, and vocês forms; Brazilian norms favour você/vocês with third-person present verb shapes.

Diga a verdade, por favor.

PronounPortuguese
tuexperimenta
vocêexperimente
ele/elaexperimente
nósexperimentemos
vósexperimentai
vocêsexperimentem
eles/elasexperimentem

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands require não plus the present subjunctive for each person, which is a distinctive feature compared to other Romance systems that reuse present indicative in some slots.

Não falemos com pressa, está tudo calmo.

PronounPortuguese
tunão experimentes
vocênão experimente
ele/elanão experimente
nósnão experimentemos
vósnão experimenteis
vocêsnão experimentem
eles/elasnão experimentem