A2 (Elementary)Lesson 9: Basic Clause Patterns & Everyday Usage
Ficar does jobs that English hands to four different verbs: where a place is, staying somewhere, becoming something, and how clothes look on you. This point separates the senses and settles the ser / estar / ficar question for locations.
Where a fixed place is → ficar, not ser and not estar: O banco fica na esquina. (The bank is on the corner.)
To stay, to remain: Vou ficar em Salvador até quinta. (I'm going to stay in Salvador until Thursday.)
To become, with an adjective: Ela ficou brava. (She got angry.) Fiquei doente. (I got sick.)
ficar com + state noun for feelings that come over you: Fiquei com fome. (I got hungry.) Fiquei com medo. (I got scared.)
ficar com + a thing = to keep it: Pode ficar com o troco. (Keep the change.)
ficar bem em alguém = to suit someone: Essa camisa fica bem em você. (That shirt looks good on you.)
ficar com alguém = to see someone casually: Eles ficaram na festa. (They got together at the party.)
ficar em/na/no + lugar (be located; stay) · ficar + adjetivo (become) · ficar com + substantivo (a state comes over you; keep something) · ficar bem em alguém (suit someone) · ficar com alguém (see someone casually)
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Ask a Brazilian where the pharmacy is and the answer comes back with fica — Fica ali, depois do semáforo. (It's over there, past the traffic light.) A learner who only has ser and estar hears a verb they think means "to stay" and loses the sentence. The becoming sense is just as unavoidable: fiquei com fome (I got hungry) and ela ficou brava (she got angry) mark the moment something changed, which neither ser nor estar can do. And when you pay for something, pode ficar com o troco (keep the change) is the line you need. Skip ficar and roughly half of any conversation about places, moods and money goes past you.
Ficar is a regular -ar verb with one spelling adjustment: the c becomes qu before an e, so the sound stays hard.
| Form | Present | Past (pretérito perfeito) |
|---|---|---|
| eu | fico | fiquei |
| você / ele, ela | fica | ficou |
| nós | ficamos | ficamos |
| vocês / eles, elas | ficam | ficaram |
So eu fico is "I stay" or "I get" or "I am located", and ela ficou is "she stayed" or "she got" — which one depends entirely on what comes after the verb. That is what the rest of this point is about.
| Portuguese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Onde fica a rodoviária? | Where's the bus station? |
| O mercado fica a duas quadras daqui. | The market is two blocks from here. |
| Fiquei no escritório até as nove. | I stayed at the office until nine. |
| Vamos ficar mais um pouco? | Shall we stay a bit longer? |
| Ela ficou nervosa antes da entrevista. | She got nervous before the interview. |
| Fiquei com sono na reunião. | I got sleepy in the meeting. |
| Ficamos sem internet a tarde toda. | We had no internet all afternoon. |
| Esses óculos ficam bem em você. | Those glasses look good on you. |
Using estar for an address. O banco está na esquina is not how directions are given; it is O banco fica na esquina. (The bank is on the corner.) Estar makes it sound as though the bank moved in this morning and might leave.
Dropping the com before a state noun. Fiquei fome is wrong — it is Fiquei com fome. (I got hungry.) Fome (hunger), medo (fear), sono (sleepiness) and raiva (anger) are nouns, and nouns need com.
ficar com someone, innocently. Fiquei com ela ontem does not mean you slept on her couch — it says the two of you got together romantically. For the innocent version, say Fiquei na casa dela. (I stayed at her place.)
Getting the preposition wrong with ficar bem. The person goes after em, not after para: Essa cor fica bem em você. (That color looks good on you.)
Forgetting the qu in the past. eu ficei is wrong; it is eu fiquei (I stayed, I got). The c turns into qu before that -ei ending.
Using ficar for a permanent quality. Ela fica alta says she became tall. If it has always been true, use ser: Ela é alta. (She's tall.) Ficar always carries a change.
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