costuma

Costuma is the third-person singular present indicative form of the Portuguese verb costumar, meaning to tend to or to be in the habit of doing something. It is used to describe habitual actions or general tendencies in the present. The verb costumar is regular for its conjugation and forms, so the other forms in the present are eu costumo, tu costumas, ele costuma, nós costumamos, vós costuais, eles costumam. It can also appear in compound tenses with auxiliary verbs, and its full conjugation follows the standard -ar verb pattern.

Etymology and usage notes: Costumar is built from the noun costume, meaning habit or custom, which in turn derives from Latin consuetudo related to custom. While costumo and its forms describe habitual behavior, the term costumar is widely used in both European and Brazilian Portuguese. In speech, costumar can convey a sense of normality or typical behavior, and it is common to pair it with an infinitive, as in costumar fazer algo.

Examples: Ele costuma chegar atrasado após o almoço. (He tends to arrive late after lunch.) Ela costuma estudar todo sábado. (She usually studies every Saturday.) Eles costumavam viajar todo verão. (They used to travel every summer; imperfect form shows past habit.)

See also: costumar, habitual aspect in Portuguese, comparison with soler in Spanish (a similar construction expressing habitual action in other Romance languages).