assista

Assista is a conjugated form of the Portuguese verb assistir, which has two main senses in common usage: to watch (as in watching television or a film) and to attend (as in being present at a class, meeting, or event). The exact meaning depends on the context and the preposition that follows the verb, typically the preposition a.

In standard Portuguese, assista appears in several grammatical roles. It is the third-person singular present subjunctive form for ele/ela/você (que ele assista), and it is also used as the affirmative formal imperative for você (Assista ao filme). The informal imperative form for tu is usually rendered as assiste in many dialects, though regional variation exists. For the first and third person plural, forms such as assistamos (let us watch/attend) and assistam (you all watch/attend) are used, often in the present subjunctive as well.

A key aspect of its usage is the complement with assistir a, which in Brazilian and European Portuguese marks the sense of watching or attending something: assistir a um filme (watch a film) or assistir a uma aula (attend a class). When the object is definite, contractions occur, such as assistir ao filme or assistir à conferência. The distinction between watching media and attending live events is usually inferred from the object and context, but both senses share the same root meaning of being present or observing.

Etymology traces assistir to Latin assistere, meaning to stand by or to be present, a sense that evolved in Romance languages to include watching or attending events. Related terms include assistir-se (to attend to oneself) and assistente (assistant), reflecting the broader family of words around presence and viewing.