colocou

Colocou is a Portuguese verb form that corresponds to the third-person singular of the verb colocar in the pretérito perfeito (simple past) indicative. It denotes a completed action in which something was placed or set somewhere, or in a broader sense, assigned or caused to be in a certain state. The subject can be ele, ela, or você (when used in the formal sense), as well as other contexts where the third-person singular is appropriate.

Etymology and morphology: colocar comes from Latin collocare, meaning to place together or set up. Colocou is the inflected form used for past narration or reporting past events. It is part of a larger paradigm that includes colocamos (we placed), colocaste (you placed, informal), colocou (he/she/you formal placed), and so on.

Usage: Colocou is versatile and can describe literal placement, such as moving an object to a location, or figurative placement, such as placing blame, placing an object or responsibility on someone, or placing someone in a position. In Brazilian and European Portuguese, it is common in narrative pasts and news reporting. It is often preferred over the synonym pôs in many contexts, though pús, pôs, and related forms of pôr exist and may be used with different nuances.

Examples:

- Ele colocou o livro sobre a mesa.

- Ela colocou as chaves na gaveta.

- O professor colocou a nota na lista de aprovados.

- Ele colocou a culpa no colega.

Related terms include colocar (the infinitive), e colocação (the noun form referring to act of placing or placement). See also pór/ pôr for comparative usage in past tenses.