A2 · Fine points and style
The verb ficar: stay, become, be
Where the station is, and what you became — one verb for both.
At a glance
- Remember
- What stays put, fica.
- Form
- fico em casaI am staying at home
- Signal words
- fica
- fico
- ficou
- ficar com
- Trap
- Wrong:O hotel está deitado ao lado da estação.Right:O hotel fica ao lado da estação.
Your turn
5 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Portuguese. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) person ending ending for tense and person
| I am staying at home | fico em casa |
| the station is nearby | a estação fica perto |
| I got ill | fiquei doente |
| it gets dark early | fica escuro cedo |
| that suits you | fica-te bem |
| to keep | ficar com |
| I stay at home (present) | (eu) fico em casa |
| you stay at home | (tu) ficas em casa |
| he / she stays at home, you stay at home (você) | (ele, ela, você) fica em casa |
| we stay at home | (nós) ficamos em casa |
| you stay at home, plural (elevated) | (vós) ficais em casa |
| they stay at home, you stay at home (vocês) | (eles, elas, vocês) ficam em casa |
| I got ill (preterite) | (eu) fiquei doente |
| you got ill | (tu) ficaste doente |
| he / she got ill, you got ill (você) | (ele, ela, você) ficou doente |
| we got ill | (nós) ficámos doentes |
| you got ill, plural (elevated) | (vós) ficastes doentes |
| they got ill, you got ill (vocês) | (eles, elas, vocês) ficaram doentes |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
For a building, ficar is commoner than estar.
Onde fica a farmácia mais próxima?Where is the nearest chemist?
For a state coming about, ficar.
Fiquei surpreendido com a notícia.I was surprised by the news.
ficar com means to keep.
Fica com o troco.Keep the change.
ficar bem means to suit.
Esta camisa fica-te bem.That shirt suits you.
Example sentences
Fico aqui até às seis.I am staying here until six.
O hotel fica ao lado da estação.The hotel is next to the station.
Ela ficou muito contente.She was very pleased.
No inverno fica escuro às cinco.In winter it gets dark at five.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
For a place that does not move, ficar is the usual choice. Onde está a farmácia? is not wrong and is understood, but it rather asks where something happens to be at the moment. Onde fica a farmácia? asks where it is. English gives no help here at all, because « is » covers both. What is really wrong is the literal « lies »: estar deitado is said of people and animals lying down, never of a building.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Ficar means to stay: fico em casa, ficámos três dias. That is the meaning the dictionary gives first, and it is the least useful of the four.
It means to be situated, when a place is being talked about: a estação fica perto, onde fica a farmácia? For a building this is commoner than estar, and English simply uses « to be » in both cases — so this is a distinction to add rather than to translate.
It means to become, when a state comes about: fiquei doente, ficou zangado, fica escuro cedo. Here is the line English draws with two different verbs: « I am ill » describes, « I got ill » narrates the change. Estou doente against fiquei doente.
And it means to suit: esta cor fica-te bem, « that colour suits you ». With com it means to keep: fica com o troco, « keep the change ». Four everyday jobs and one verb, which is why it turns up on almost every page.
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 44 · Perfeito or imperfeito?Back to the learning path
The verbs on this page, in every form: ficar