TER (there is/are) - Colloquial

In English, you worry about singular and plural. You say "there is" for one thing. You say "there are" for many things. In colloquial Portuguese, tem does not care about quantity. It stays the same whether you are talking about one coffee or a thousand cars. You are essentially using the third-person singular of ter. You are not saying the place "possesses" the object. You are simply stating that the object exists there. It is like pointing your finger and saying "look, it is here." It works for physical objects, people, and even abstract ideas. For example, tem um problema means "there is a problem." In your head, you might translate it as "has a problem." But in reality, it just means the problem exists. It is the king of efficiency. You only need to memorize one word for everything.

1. 1Using this rule is easier than ordering a pão de queijo. Follow these three simple steps:
2. 2Start your sentence with the word tem.
3. 3Add the thing you are talking about (singular or plural).
4. 4Add the location if you want to be specific.
5. 5That is the whole secret.
6. 6Tem + um gato (There is a cat).
7. 7Tem + muitos gatos (There are many cats).
8. 8Tem + alguém na porta (There is someone at the door).
9. 9You do not need to conjugate anything. You do not need to check for gender agreement. Just drop tem at the start. To make it a question, just raise your voice at the end. Tem café? (Is there coffee?). To make it negative, add não before. Não tem café (There isn't any coffee). It is like a Lego block that fits everywhere.

Use this in every casual situation you can imagine. Are you ordering food? Ask tem pizza de frango?. Are you looking for a bathroom? Ask tem um banheiro por aqui?. It is perfect for texting friends on WhatsApp. Use it when talking to family or colleagues in a relaxed office. It is the standard for social media comments. If you are describe what is in your bag, use tem. If you are at a job interview and the vibe is modern, tem is usually fine. It shows you understand how Brazilians actually speak. It feels warm and approachable. Imagine you are at a party. You want to know if there are more drinks. You just ask tem mais cerveja?. No one will look at you twice. It is the language of the streets and the home.

Every superhero has a weakness. For tem, that weakness is extreme formality. Do not use this in a legal contract. Avoid it in a formal academic thesis. If you are writing a speech for the United Nations, use haver. Some very strict grammar teachers might frown on it in essays. Think of it like wearing a t-shirt. A t-shirt is great for a barbecue. It is not great for a royal wedding. If you are writing a professional email to a very traditional boss, consider há. But honestly, even in many offices, tem is creeping in. Just be aware of your surroundings. If the room feels "stiff," switch to há. If the room feels "friendly," stick with tem. It is all about reading the room.

One big mistake is trying to make it plural. Some learners see many things and want to say têm (the plural form). In colloquial speech, we usually keep it singular: tem. If you say têm, it sounds like you are trying to be formal but missed. Another mistake is using tem for your own age. In Portuguese, we use ter for age, but not in the "there is" sense. Eu tenho 20 anos is correct. Tem 20 anos em mim is weird. Also, do not confuse existence with possession. If you say tem um carro, it means a car exists nearby. If you say ele tem um carro, it means he owns it. Lastly, don't use tem followed by a personal pronoun like eu. Instead of tem eu, say estou aqui (I am here). Tem likes objects and general "people," not specific pronouns like nós or vós.

Let’s compare the three main ways to say "there is."

• Tem: The colloquial champion. Fast, easy, and Brazilian. Use it 90% of the time.
• Há: The formal professor. It is elegant and grammatically "correct" for writing. It sounds a bit distant in a bar.
• Existir: The literal description. You use this when you want to emphasize the fact of existence. Existem muitas razões (Many reasons exist). It is more formal than tem but less rigid than há.

Think of tem as a chat with a friend. Há is a lecture. Existir is a science report. If you are a beginner, just master tem. It will get you through almost any conversation in Brazil without a hitch. It is the Swiss Army knife of verbs.