How to Use “Tomar” in Portuguese for Drinks, Medicine, and Transport

Introduction

The verb tomar is one of the most useful and flexible verbs in Brazilian Portuguese. Learners often see it used for drinks, medicine, and transport, and understanding its range of meanings makes everyday conversations much easier. This article explains how to use tomar correctly, with clear grammar rules, conjugation notes, and natural example sentences.

Why tomar is important

Tomar appears in many common expressions and replaces more specific verbs in casual speech. For beginners and intermediate learners, mastering tomar saves time and helps comprehension, because Brazilians often prefer it over alternatives like beber, pegar, or apanhar in some contexts.

Basic meaning and translations

At its core, tomar means to take. Depending on the context, it translates differently:

• to drink (when speaking about liquids)
• to take medicine (to ingest medication)
• to take transport (to catch or use a bus, taxi, etc.)

Understanding the pattern helps you choose the right translation in English and the right complements in Portuguese.

Conjugation essentials

Before we look at uses, here are a few key conjugations. Tomar is a regular -ar verb, so its patterns are predictable.

Present: eu tomo, você/ele/ela toma, nós tomamos, vocês/eles/elas tomam

Preterite (simple past): eu tomei, você/ele/ela tomou, nós tomamos, vocês/eles/elas tomaram

Imperfect: eu tomava, você/ele/ela tomava, nós tomávamos, vocês/eles/elas tomavam

Future (simple): eu tomarei, você/ele/ela tomará, nós tomaremos, vocês/eles/elas tomarão

Conditional: eu tomaria, você tomaria…

Present continuous (gerund): estou tomando

Using tomar for drinks

When you want to say you are drinking something, Brazilians commonly use tomar. It is interchangeable with beber in most situations, though beber is more specific to drinking and sometimes implies alcohol.

Typical sentence patterns:

Subject + tomar + beverage

Examples:

Eu tomo café todas as manhãs.

Você vai tomar água agora?

Eles tomaram suco na festa.

Notice the direct object is the drink itself: café, água, suco. Use definite or indefinite articles as needed: tomar um café, tomar a água, tomar água dependendo do contexto.

Colloquial and formal differences

In informal speech Brazilians might shorten phrases or use tomar more freely. In formal contexts or written Portuguese, you might prefer beber for clarity, especially when discussing alcohol consumption.

Examples:

Ela vai beber um vinho na reunião. (more formal or specific)

Ela vai tomar um vinho. (casual, common)

Using tomar for medicine

For medicine, tomar means to take or ingest medication. This is a very standard use in health and daily care contexts.

Typical sentence patterns:

Subject + tomar + medicine (often with dosage, frequency, or purpose)

Examples:

Eu tomo remédio para a dor depois do almoço.

Ele tomou três comprimidos ontem à noite.

Você deve tomar o xarope duas vezes por dia.

Notice that when specifying how often, common adverbs and expressions are used: duas vezes por dia, antes de dormir, depois das refeições.

Instructions and prescriptions

Medical instructions often use the infinitive or imperative with tomar and add details:

Tomar uma cápsula a cada oito horas.

Tomar conforme orientação médica.

When discussing prescriptions you will also hear: tomar de 8 em 8 horas (take every 8 hours) or tomar conforme prescrição.

Using tomar for transport

A very common Brazilian usage is to say you take a bus, taxi, train, or metro using tomar. In this context, tomar is similar to English take as in take a bus.

Typical sentence patterns:

Subject + tomar + transport mode

Examples:

Eu tomo o ônibus para ir ao trabalho.

Ela tomou um táxi até o aeroporto.

Nós tomamos o metrô na estação central.

Articles are often included: tomar o ônibus, tomar um táxi, tomar o metrô. You can also add route info: tomar o ônibus 28, tomar o metrô Linha 3.

Regional preferences and casual alternatives

Some regions or speakers might prefer verbs like pegar in place of tomar for transport. Pegar o ônibus is extremely common, and both are correct. Choosing between them often comes down to personal or regional usage.

Examples:

Eu pego o ônibus às sete. (very common)

Eu tomo o ônibus às sete. (also correct, slightly more formal or neutral)

Verb patterns with objects and prepositions

Tomar is transitive when it takes a direct object (tomar café, tomar remédio, tomar o ônibus). Sometimes you will see tomar followed by prepositions, especially when indicating purpose or manner.

Tomar + de/por/em can appear in idiomatic phrases:

Tomar cuidado com algo (to be careful)
Tomar conta de algo (to take care of)
Tomar parte em algo (to take part in)

These idiomatic uses are separate from drinks, medicine, and transport, but they show the verb’s flexibility. Focus first on the three core uses, then expand to idioms as your level improves.

Negation and questions

Forming negatives and questions with tomar follows regular Portuguese patterns.

Negation pattern: Subject + não + tomar + object

Examples:

Eu não tomo refrigerante.

Ela não tomou o remédio ontem.

Question patterns: Use inversion, intonation, or question words.

Você toma café de manhã?
Quando você tomou o remédio?
Como você vai tomar o remédio? (How will you take the medicine?)

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Mistake 1: Confusing tomar with pegar for transport. Both are correct, but pegar is more idiomatic in many regions. Learn both and listen to locals.

Mistake 2: Using tomar only for liquids. Remember it also applies to medicine and transport.

Mistake 3: Omitting articles incorrectly. Some speakers say tomar ônibus without an article; while heard in informal speech, standard Brazilian Portuguese often uses tomar o ônibus or tomar um ônibus depending on specificity.

Examples grouped by use

Drinks:

Eu tomo suco de laranja no café da manhã.
Tomamos cerveja com os amigos no fim de semana.

Medicine:

Ele toma antibiótico por cinco dias.
Você já tomou o comprimido hoje?

Transport:

Nós tomamos o ônibus 45 até a faculdade.
Ela tomou um táxi porque estava atrasada.

Sentence variations with tense and mood

Present progressive emphasizes action in progress: Estou tomando café agora.

Perfect/preterite shows completed action: Ontem eu tomei chá antes de dormir.

Conditional expresses hypothetical or polite requests: Você tomaria um copo de água, por favor?

Subjunctive is used in dependent clauses needing uncertainty: Espero que você tome o remédio direitinho.

Cultural and usage notes

Brazilian social life often revolves around food, coffee breaks, and shared drinks. Saying tomar café or tomar um café commonly implies meeting someone for a chat, not only the act of drinking. When you suggest tomar um café, you may be inviting someone for a conversation or social meeting.

In healthcare conversations, doctors and pharmacists will commonly use the verb when instructing patients: tomar pela manhã, tomar antes das refeições. Pay attention to these time expressions and frequency adverbs.

Regarding transport, informal speech in big cities favors quick verbs like pegar or pegar o ônibus, but you will hear tomar as well on radio and TV. Learn to recognize both forms to understand spoken Portuguese in different settings.

Quick reference table (summary)

Drinks: tomar café, tomar água, tomar suco
Medicine: tomar remédio, tomar comprimido, tomar xarope
Transport: tomar o ônibus, tomar o metrô, tomar um táxi

Conclusion

Mastering tomar gives you a versatile tool in everyday Brazilian Portuguese. Use it for drinks, medicine, and transport, and pay attention to articles, regional alternatives like pegar, and common time expressions. With practice, you will hear and use tomar naturally in conversations, social invitations, and practical instructions.