Têm

Têm is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Portuguese verb ter, meaning "to have." It is used with the subject eles or elas to express possession or necessary conditions, among other uses, and contrasts with tem, the singular form used with ele or ela.

In the present indicative conjugation of ter, the forms are: eu tenho, tu tens, ele tem, nós temos, eles têm. The word têm thus marks both number (plural) and person (third person). It is common in both Brazilian and European Portuguese, though usage patterns can vary regionally.

Spelling and pronunciation notes: the tilde over the e in têm signals nasalization of the vowel. In standard orthography, the final m does not constitute a separate consonant sound; it marks nasalization of the preceding vowel. The pronunciation is a nasalized vowel followed by the usual consonants of the stem, and the exact phonetic realization can vary by dialect.

Etymology and related forms: ter comes from the Latin habere, and its present-tense paradigm is irregular compared with regular -er verbs. The plural form têm parallels other Romance languages’ expressions of possession, such as Spanish tienen, and it is a key marker distinguishing singular tem from plural têm.

Common usage notes: São exemplos comuns: Eles têm três irmãos. Ela tem muito tempo livre. Care should be taken to distinguish tem (singular) from têm (plural) in both speech and writing. The form is widely used in everyday Portuguese to indicate possession, characteristics, or obligations across contexts.