acredita

Acredita is a conjugated form of the Portuguese verb acreditar, meaning to believe or to have trust. It is the third-person singular present indicative form, used for ele acredita (he believes) and, in Brazilian Portuguese, for você acredita (you believe).

Etymology and related forms: Acreditar derives from Latin credere, through the Romance languages, and is related to words such as crédito (credit) and credível (credible). The present tense form acredita shares its root with other forms of acreditar, which follow the regular -ar verb conjugation in the present indicative.

Grammatical use: Acredita is used to express belief, trust, or acceptance in the present. It can take complements with em or que, among others. For example, ele acredita em milagres (he believes in miracles) or ela acredita que vai chover (she believes it will rain). In questions, it can appear with the same structure, as in você acredita nisso? (do you believe this?). The negative form is não acredita, as in ele não acredita.

Usage notes: In Brazilian Portuguese, the form you use with the pronoun você is acreditar in the third-person singular, so acredita aligns with that usage. In European Portuguese, the pronoun you might influence formality and arrangement but acredita remains the standard third-person singular present indicative for você or ele/ela, depending on regional preferences.

See also: acreditar, credibilidade, crédito. These related terms reflect the broader semantic field of belief, trust, and credibility in Portuguese.