Introduction
The verb fazer is one of the most common and versatile verbs in Brazilian Portuguese. It can mean to do or to make, but it also plays a key role when talking about time, weather, and a range of actions. This article explains how to use fazer step by step with clear grammar rules, natural example sentences, and helpful usage notes for English-speaking learners.
Overview: Why fazer matters
Fazer is irregular and appears in many fixed expressions. Learning how it behaves will boost your ability to describe everyday situations: saying how long something lasts, describing the weather, or expressing actions that are common in spoken Portuguese. Because the verb shows up in idioms and impersonal constructions, mastering it helps learners sound natural.
Basic conjugation highlights
Here are the forms you will see most often in conversation and descriptions. Memorize these to build a foundation.
Present: eu faço, você/ele/ela faz, nós fazemos, vocês/eles fazem
Past (pretérito perfeito): eu fiz, você/ele/ela fez, nós fizemos, vocês/eles fizeram
Imperfect (pretérito imperfeito): eu fazia, você/ele/ela fazia, nós fazíamos, vocês/eles faziam
Future: eu farei, você/ele/ela fará, nós faremos, vocês/eles farão
Fazer for telling time
In Brazilian Portuguese, fazer is commonly used to talk about how long ago something happened or how long something lasts. This use differs from English structures, so pay attention to patterns and prepositions.
How long ago something happened
To say how long ago an event took place, use fazer + a time expression. The structure is usually fazer + tempo + que + verbo in the past, or simplesmente fazer + tempo in impersonal statements.
Examples:
Faz dois anos que eu moro aqui.
Faz cinco minutos que ele saiu.
Both sentences mean roughly in English it has been two years that I live here and it has been five minutes that he left. Note that Portuguese often uses the present tense after que when the state continues: Faz dois anos que eu moro aqui.
How to talk about duration
When you want to indicate how long a present or past action lasted, you can also use fazer with a time expression. Use the past tense of the main verb when the action is finished.
Examples:
Fiz a lição em uma hora.
Fizemos a viagem em três dias.
Here the pattern is fazer conjugated to match the subject plus the duration introduced by em (in). It is similar to English I did the homework in an hour.
Fazer for weather
One of the most frequent impersonal uses of fazer in Brazilian Portuguese is describing weather. When weather is the topic, fazer is used in the third person singular and does not refer to any person doing the action.
Common weather expressions with fazer
Use fazer + weather noun. These statements are impersonal, so the only conjugation you need is faz for the present.
Examples:
Faz calor hoje.
Fazia frio ontem de manhã.
Vai fazer sol amanhã.
Faz calor hoje means it is hot today. You can use fazia to describe past weather and vai fazer to predict future weather. For more detailed descriptions, combine fazer with adverbs and time phrases: Faz muito calor hoje de tarde.
When to use estar instead
Not every weather description uses fazer. Use estar for temporary conditions that feel like states and when using adjectives directly about the sky or the day.
Examples:
Está nublado.
O céu está azul.
For expressions like it is cloudy or the sky is blue, use estar. For broad impressions like it is hot or it is cold, use fazer.
Fazer for actions and tasks
The most literal meaning of fazer is to do or to make. Here we explain how to use it to talk about actions, habits, instructions, and reported activities.
Doing tasks and making things
Use fazer to describe performing an action, creating something, or completing a task. It is often interchangeable with English do and make, but context determines which translation fits best.
Examples:
Eu faço o jantar todas as noites.
Ela fez um bolo para a festa.
In the first sentence, faço expresses a habitual action I make/cook dinner every night. In the second, fez shows a completed action she made a cake for the party.
Common collocations and verbs that follow fazer
Some nouns and phrases commonly pair with fazer to form fixed expressions. Learn these to sound more natural.
fazer uma pergunta (to ask a question)
fazer uma chamada (to make a phone call)
fazer a lição (to do homework)
fazer compras (to go shopping)
fazer um favor (to do a favor)
Examples in sentences:
Posso fazer uma pergunta?
Ele fez uma chamada para confirmar o horário.
Nós fizemos compras no shopping ontem.
Imperative and polite requests
You can use fazer in commands or polite requests. The imperative forms are irregular, and Brazilian Portuguese often uses conditional or present forms to soften requests.
Examples:
Faça silêncio, por favor.
Poderia fazer isso para mim?
Faça silêncio is a direct command be quiet. Poderia fazer isso para mim uses poderia (could you) to make a polite request.
Combining fazer with other verbs and tenses
Because fazer is versatile, you will often see it combined with other verbs in compound phrases or used in different tenses to change nuance.
Progressive and ongoing actions
Portuguese uses estar + gerund to express ongoing actions rather than a form of fazer. But you might use fazer to describe the act of causing or initiating an ongoing action.
Examples:
Ele está fazendo a lição agora.
Estou fazendo o café.
Here, está fazendo uses the present progressive to say he is doing the homework now and I am making coffee. The gerund fazendo combines with estar to show ongoing action.
Perfect tenses and reported actions
Use the past forms of fazer to report completed actions or to form compound tenses. In narratives and storytelling, the verb helps sequence events.
Examples:
Ela fez tudo que podia antes de sair.
Nós tínhamos feito os preparativos quando a festa começou.
Fiz and tínhamos feito highlight completed actions and actions completed before another past event.
Cultural and usage notes
Understanding how Brazilians use fazer will help you speak more naturally. Below are some cultural tips and frequent pitfalls.
Casual speech and shortcuts
In informal Brazilian Portuguese, people use shortened expressions and regional variations. For example, many Brazilians say Faz tempo to mean It has been a while. This is common in conversation and understood everywhere.
Example:
Faz tempo que não nos vemos.
Politeness and formality
When asking someone to do something, Brazilians often use conditional structures to be polite. Using poderia or você poderia with fazer sounds softer than a direct imperative.
Examples:
Poderia fazer um favor para mim?
Você pode fazer isso depois?
False friends with English
Remember that while fazer often maps to make or do, direct translation can lead to errors. Some English collocations do not accept fazer in Portuguese and require other verbs such as ter, ir, estar, or fazer alternatives.
Example:
To be afraid is ter medo, not fazer medo when you mean to feel fear. Fazer medo means to scare someone.
Quick reference: Patterns at a glance
Here are compact patterns to remember for common uses of fazer.
Time ago: Fazer + tempo + que + verbo (Faz dois anos que trabalho aqui).
Duration of action: Fazer (past) + verbo + em + tempo (Fiz o relatório em duas horas).
Weather: Fazer + calor/frio/sol/vento (Faz calor).
Actions: Fazer + noun or fazer + activity (Faço a limpeza; Fiz um bolo).
Progressive: Estar + fazendo (Estamos fazendo o jantar).
More example sentences with translations
Use these additional examples to reinforce patterns. Each Portuguese sentence is followed by a simple English translation for clarity.
Faz três dias que chove.
It has been raining for three days.
Fiz a matrícula ontem.
I completed the registration yesterday.
Ela faz aula de português duas vezes por semana.
She takes Portuguese classes twice a week.
Fazia muito vento na praia.
It was very windy at the beach.
Faça a lista antes de sair.
Make the list before leaving.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Beginner learners often misuse tenses or confuse fazer with estar or ter in weather and state contexts. Focus on the construction you need: impersonal for weather, fazer + tempo for time references, and estar + gerund for ongoing actions.
Tip: When in doubt whether to use fazer or estar for weather, ask whether the phrase describes an overall condition (use fazer for calor/frio/sol) or a temporary state of the sky (use estar for nublado/ensolarado).
Conclusion
Mastering fazer opens up many everyday possibilities in Brazilian Portuguese. Use fazer for talking about time expressions, describing weather impersonally, and expressing actions like doing or making things. Pay attention to tense and context, and practice with natural sentences to internalize patterns. With these rules and examples, you will quickly sound more natural and confident when using fazer.
