Ficar com vs. Ficar sem in Portuguese: Keep, End Up With, or Run Out — Practice

Use ficar com for keeping or ending up with something

Ficar com can mean to keep something, take it, or end up with it. The exact meaning depends on the situation: it can describe a choice, an arrangement, or what remains after sharing.

The phrase can also describe a temporary condition, as in ficar com sono (to get sleepy) or ficar com dúvida (to have a question). Learn it with the noun that follows.

Use ficar sem for being left without something

Ficar sem means to be without something or run out of it. It can describe a temporary lack, a missed item, or a supply that has been used up.

With a person or service, it can also describe losing access: ficar sem internet (to be without internet) or ficar sem bateria (to run out of battery).

Use the preposition to express the outcome

After ficar, com points to what someone retains, chooses, or experiences; sem points to what is absent. The preposition gives you a helpful cue before you translate the sentence.

The same noun can appear in both patterns: fiquei com a chave (I kept the key) versus fiquei sem a chave (I was left without the key).

Remember: Ficar com signals what remains with you or what you choose; ficar sem signals what you lack or lose access to.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. You can keep this book.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Pode ficar com este livro.

2. I’ll take the table near the window.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Eu fico com a mesa perto da janela.

3. After the split, each person ended up with one part.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Depois da divisão, cada pessoa ficou com uma parte.

4. I ran out of money for the taxi.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Fiquei sem dinheiro para o táxi.

5. We lost internet during the meeting.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A gente ficou sem internet durante a reunião.

6. I don’t want to be left without the receipt.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Não quero ficar sem o recibo.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Ficar com signals what remains with you or what you choose; ficar sem signals what you lack or lose access to.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Ficar com vs. Ficar sem in Portuguese: Keep, End Up With, or Run Out lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.