ser / estar / ficar / ter

English has one verb to be. Portuguese has three, and they are not interchangeable. This is the core semantic problem of the language and it never fully goes away. ter is here too because it is the fourth pillar and because Brazilians use it where English uses there is.

Grammar

1. The conjugations

Three forms each, per chapter 03. The nós row is greyed for recognition only.

ser — SEHR

	Form	Respelling
eu	sou	soh
você / ele / a gente	é	eh
vocês / eles	são	sowng
(nós somos)	(SOH-moos)

estar — es-TAR · the reduced forms in brackets are what you will actually hear

	Form	Respelling
eu	estou (tô)	es-TOH (toh)
você / ele / a gente	está (tá)	es-TAH (tah)
vocês / eles	estão (tão)	es-TOWNG (towng)
(nós estamos)	(es-TAH-moos)

ter — TEHR

	Form	Respelling
eu	tenho	TEH-nyoo
você / ele / a gente	tem	teng
vocês / eles	têm	teng
(nós temos)	(TEH-moos)

tem and têm sound identical in Brazil. The accent is written-only.

ficar — fee-KAR · fully regular

	Form	Respelling
eu	fico	FEE-koo
você / ele / a gente	fica	FEE-kah
vocês / eles	ficam	FEE-kowng

2. ser vs estar — the rule

The usual explanation is "permanent vs temporary." It is roughly right and it fails often. A better test:

ser tells you what something is. estar tells you what state it is in right now.

Use `ser` for	Use `estar` for
identity — `Eu sou o João`	current state — `Eu estou cansado`
origin — `Ele é do Brasil`	current location — `Ele está no hotel`
profession — `A gente é médico`	mood, health — `Ela está doente`
permanent qualities — `A cidade é grande`	temporary conditions — `A loja está fechada`
price as a fixed fact — `O preço é alto`	today's price — `Está caro hoje`
time and date — `São três horas`	weather right now — `Está frio`
material, possession — `É meu`	ongoing action — `Estou comendo`

3. The pairs that change meaning

Same adjective, different verb, different meaning. These are the payoff for learning the distinction.

With `ser`	With `estar`
`Ele é bom` — he's a good person	`Ele está bom` — he's feeling fine
`Ela é bonita` — she's beautiful	`Ela está bonita` — she looks great today
`A comida é boa` — the food (here) is good	`A comida está boa` — this dish is good
`Ele é doente` — he's chronically ill	`Ele está doente` — he's sick right now
`É caro` — it's an expensive thing	`Está caro` — prices are up
`Ele é livre` — he's a free man	`Ele está livre` — he's available now

4. Location: `ser`, `estar`, or `ficar`?

All three can express location, and Brazilians have a clear preference:

Verb	Used for	Example
`ficar`	fixed, permanent location — buildings, streets, cities	`A farmácia fica na rua`
`estar`	where something is right now — people, movable things	`A chave está na mesa`
`ser`	events taking place	`O almoço é no restaurante`

Onde fica…? is the standard way to ask where a place is. Not onde é. Use ficar for anything that cannot walk away.

5. The three jobs of `ficar`

ficar is one of the most useful verbs in Brazilian Portuguese and English has no equivalent. It does three things:

To be located — O hotel fica perto da praia
To stay / remain — Eu fico aqui, A gente fica dois dias
To become / get — Ele ficou doente, Ela fica cansada

The third one is how Brazilians express change of state, where English uses get or become.

6. `ter` — have, and there is

ter means to have, as expected. But in Brazil it also replaces haver for there is / there are:

tem = there is / there are

Brazilian	Formal / written	English
`Tem um banco aqui?`	`Há um banco aqui?`	Is there a bank here?
`Tem muita gente`	`Há muita gente`	There are a lot of people
`Não tem problema`	`Não há problema`	There's no problem

tem does not change for plural: Tem um carro / Tem dois carros.

ter is also used where English uses be for age and physical states:

Portuguese	Literally	English
`Eu tenho trinta anos`	I have thirty years	I'm thirty
`Eu estou com fome` [+]	I am with hunger	I'm hungry
`Eu estou com sede` [+]	I am with thirst	I'm thirsty
`Eu estou com dor`	I am with pain	I'm in pain
`Eu estou com frio`	I am with cold	I'm cold

Note the pattern estar com + noun for physical states. This is very common and covers hunger, thirst, cold, heat, pain, fear, and sleepiness.

Examples

`ser` — identity, origin, permanent

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Eu sou o João [+]	eh-oo soh oo zhoo-OWNG	I'm João
Qual é o seu nome?	kwaw eh oo SEH-oo NOH-mee	What's your name?
Ele é médico	EH-lee eh MEH-jee-koo	He's a doctor
A cidade é grande	ah see-DAH-jee eh GRAHN-jee	The city is big
O restaurante é bom	oo hes-tow-RAHN-chee eh bong	The restaurant is good
A chave é minha	ah SHAH-vee eh MEE-nyah	The key is mine
Não é meu problema	nowng eh MEH-oo proh-BLEH-mah	It's not my problem
São três horas	sowng trehs OH-rahs	It's three o'clock
Quanto é?	KWAHN-too eh	How much is it?

`estar` — state, right now

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Eu estou cansado	eh-oo toh kahn-SAH-doo	I'm tired
Eu estou pronto	eh-oo toh PRON-too	I'm ready
A loja está fechada	ah LOH-zhah tah feh-SHAH-dah	The shop is closed
O banco está aberto?	oo BAHN-koo tah ah-BEHR-too	Is the bank open?
A chave está na mesa	ah SHAH-vee tah nah MEH-zah	The key is on the table
Está muito quente hoje	tah MWEEN-too KEN-chee OH-zhee	It's very hot today
A gente está no hotel	ah ZHEN-chee tah noo oh-TEW	We're at the hotel
Ela está doente	EH-lah tah doh-EN-chee	She's sick
O quarto está ocupado	oo KWAR-too tah oh-koo-PAH-doo	The room is occupied

`estar com` — physical states

Portuguese	Literally	English
Estou com dor	I'm with pain	I'm in pain
Estou com dor de cabeça	I'm with pain of head	I have a headache
Estou com frio	I'm with cold	I'm cold
Estou com pressa [+]	I'm with hurry	I'm in a hurry
Você está com o passaporte?	you're with the passport	Do you have your passport on you?

`ficar` — all three jobs

Portuguese	Respelling	Job
Onde fica o banheiro?	OHN-jee FEE-kah oo bah-NYAY-roo	location
A farmácia fica perto	ah far-MAH-see-ah FEE-kah PEHR-too	location
O hotel fica na praia	oo oh-TEW FEE-kah nah PRAH-yah	location
Eu fico aqui	eh-oo FEE-koo ah-KEE	stay
A gente fica uma semana	ah ZHEN-chee FEE-kah OO-mah seh-MAH-nah	stay
Eu fico com este [+]	eh-oo FEE-koo kong EHS-chee	I'll take this one
Ela ficou doente	EH-lah fee-KOH doh-EN-chee	become
Fica caro assim [+]	FEE-kah KAH-roo ah-SEENG	it works out expensive that way

`ter` — possession

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Eu tenho a chave	eh-oo TEH-nyoo ah SHAH-vee	I have the key
Você tem dinheiro?	voh-SEH teng jee-NYAY-roo	Do you have money?
A gente tem um problema	ah ZHEN-chee teng oong proh-BLEH-mah	We have a problem
Eles têm dois carros	EH-lees teng doys KAH-hoos	They have two cars
Eu não tenho tempo	eh-oo nowng TEH-nyoo TEM-poo	I don't have time
Eu tenho trinta anos	eh-oo TEH-nyoo TREEN-tah AH-noos	I'm thirty years old

`tem` — there is / there are

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Tem um banheiro aqui?	teng oong bah-NYAY-roo ah-KEE	Is there a bathroom here?
Tem uma farmácia perto?	teng OO-mah far-MAH-see-ah PEHR-too	Is there a pharmacy nearby?
Tem muita gente	teng MWEEN-tah ZHEN-chee	There are a lot of people
Não tem problema	nowng teng proh-BLEH-mah	No problem
Não tem mais	nowng teng mais	There's no more / it's sold out
Tem wi-fi? [+]	teng WAI-fai	Is there wi-fi?
Tem mesa livre?	teng MEH-zah LEE-vree	Is there a free table?

The one-line summary


`ser`	what it is
`estar`	what state it's in
`ficar`	where it sits, how long you stay, what it becomes
`ter`	what you have — and `tem` for there is

Grammar

1. The conjugations

2. ser vs estar — the rule

3. The pairs that change meaning

4. Location: ser, estar, or ficar?

5. The three jobs of ficar

6. ter — have, and there is

Examples

ser — identity, origin, permanent

estar — state, right now

estar com — physical states

ficar — all three jobs

ter — possession

tem — there is / there are