The preterite and the imperfect are verb verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. tensesNo definition set for tensesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. used to describe actions in the past in Brazilian Portuguese. However, they are each used in different circumstances.
The preterite describes a punctual and specific event in the past, as in:
Eu assisti a um filme ontem.
I watched a movie yesterday.
The imperfect, on the other hand, is unspecified in time and is often used to describe the scenario behind past actions:
Chovia muito na cidade onde eu morava.
It rained a lot in the city where I lived.
If you want to tell a story or describe a fact in detail in the past tense, you will likely need to use verbs in both the preterite and the imperfect tenses. Do you want to know more about these past tenses and when to use each? Let’s find out!
While the preterite and the imperfect are used to refer to the past, the main difference between them is that:
The preterite refers to a one-off situation. It’s a completed action that occurred at a particular time in the past.
Eu corri três quilômetros ontem.
I ran three kilometers yesterday.
Marta trabalhou muito na semana passada.
Marta worked a lot last week.
As the example shows, the verb correr(to run) indicates a completed action in the past that occurred at a specific time: ontem(yesterday).
The imperfect refers to a past action that is unspecified in time.
Antes, eu corria dois quilômetros por dia.
Before, I used to run three kilometers per day.
Marta trabalhava muito quando era mais jovem.
Marta used to work a lot when she was younger.
Notice that the imperfect is often used for past habits.
In Brazilian Portuguese it’s also common to use the verb costumar(to accustom) in the imperfect followed by an infinitive verb to refer to past habits. See this structure in the sentence below.
Marta costumava trabalhar muito quando era mais jovem.
Marta used to work a lot when she was younger.
This is the general idea behind the use of the preterite and the imperfect. We'll see more specific contexts below, but if you want to check more uses and examples of each tense, take a look at our posts on the preterite tense and on the imperfect tense in Brazilian Portuguese.
Before reading further, you may want to review forms of preterite and imperfect verbs with these resources:
Now that we know the main idea behind each tense, let's examine their differences in more detail.
We use the preterite to describe an action that happened a limited number of times in the past, whereas the imperfect does not specify how many times we did something.
Eu fui ao Brasil duas vezes.
I went to Brazil twice.
Eu ia ao Brasil muitas vezes quando eu era mais jovem.
I used to go to Brazil many times when I was younger.
When we talk about a prolonged activity within a limited time, we also use the preterite, as in:
Eu morei naquele apartamento por 10 anos.
I lived in that apartment for ten years.
In this case, it’s common to use the prepositions por(for) or durante(during) before the expression of time.
The imperfect can also be used to talk about a prolonged activity within a fixed period of time. However, in this case, the action is still seen as in progress in the past.
Em 2018, eu morei naquele apartamento e ia ao trabalho de carro.
In 2018, I used to live in that apartment and I used to go to work by car.
See in the example above that the verbs morava and ia are seen as in progress and as repeated actions, even though they happened during a determined time in the past (2018).
We use action verbsNo definition set for action verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in the preterite to indicate an action or a sequence of actions that has been completed in the past.
Ontem à tarde eu almocei, tomei banho e fui ao supermercado.
Yesterday afternoon I had lunch, took a shower, and went to the supermarket.
In contrast, we use the non-action verbs ser(to be), estar(to be), ter(to have), haver(there is, there are), and ficar(to be, to stay) in the imperfect if we only want to provide background information about the past.
O supermercado estava cheio.
The supermarket was busy.
We often use these non-action verbs in the imperfect to talk about:
Age → Use the imperfect with the non-action verb ter.
Eu tinha cinco anos em 1995.
I was five years old in 1995.
Time → Use the imperfect with the non-action verb ser.
Eram duas horas da tarde.
It was two o’clock.
Weather → Use the imperfect with the non-action verb estar + noun/adjective.
Ontem estava sol.
Yesterday it was sunny.
Ontem estava nublado.
Yesterday it was cloudy.
When we use an action verb to describe the weather, such as chover(to rain) or fazer(to do, to make), we can use either the preterite or the imperfect. The preterite is used to describe the weather during a limited period in time, whereas the imperfect refers to a general period of time in the past.
Choveu muito hoje de manhã.
It rained a lot this morning.
Antigamente, chovia muito no outono.
Back then, it used to rain a lot in the autumn.
Fez sol hoje de manhã.
It was sunny this morning.
Naquela época, sempre fazia sol no verão.
That time, it was always sunny in the morning.
We can also use the preterite to describe a single and completed action in the recent or distant past, as in:
Ele acordou ao meio-dia.
He woke up at noon.
If you talk about two or more actions occurring at the same time in the past, then we use the imperfect.
Eu preparava o almoço enquanto ele limpava a casa.
I prepared lunch while he cleaned the house.
A useful tip to decide whether to use the preterite or the imperfect is to focus on the time markers used in the sentence, because there are some specific words and introductory expressions that often require one tense or the other. Let’s take a look at them in the examples below.
Ontem eu fui ao trabalho de ônibus.
Yesterday I went to work by bus.
Antigamente eu não fazia yoga.
In the past, I didn't used to do yoga.
Have a look at these longer lists of time markers used with the preterite tense and time markers that trigger the imperfect. Getting familiar with each group will help you determine when to use each tense!
As you’ve seen above, the preterite and imperfect can be used in isolation, but quite often we use them together, in the same context or even in the same sentence. Imagine that you want to talk about a past action in detail. Once you start to give more information or to tell a story, you are most likely to use both past tenses. Let’s check out some examples below!
A common instance where you will combine the two past tenses is when you wish to talk about a specific action in the past (preterite) while also describing the surrounding situation (imperfect).
Imagine that you tell a story in Brazilian Portuguese. You might start by describing the main action with the preterite, as in:
Ontem eu tomei um sorvete de pistache…
Yesterday I had pistachio ice cream…
Once you start to describe a situation in the past, you will need to use the imperfect to add additional context or background details.
Ontem eu tomei um sorvete de pistache porque estava muito calor.
Yesterday I had pistachio ice cream because it was very hot.
We used the preterite to describe the completed action, tomei um sorvete(I had an ice cream), and the imperfect to describe the scenario, estava muito calor(it was very hot).
Let’s continue our short story to see more situations in which we use both tenses:
Eu fui à sorveteria, que estava cheia. Eram duas da tarde e havia muitas crianças na praça. Eu paguei pelo sorvete e me sentei em um banco. O sorvete estava delicioso!
I went to the ice cream shop, which was full. It was two in the afternoon and there were a lot of kids in the square. I paid for the ice cream and sat on a bench. The ice cream was delicious!
Notice that we used both tenses in the paragraph above. We used the preterite to describe punctual actions, as in eu fui(I went), eu paguei(I paid), eu me sentei(I sat down), whereas the imperfect described the situation surrounding these actions: estava cheia(it was full), eram duas da tarde(it was two in the afternoon), havia muitas crianças(there were a lot of kids).
Another case where you’ll use both past tenses is when you are describing an ongoing past action that has been interrupted by a specific past, completed action.
Now, let's imagine that you are describing an action in the past. Then, during this episode, another action interrupts the previous one:
Eu caminhava de manhã quando vi um acidente na rua.
I was walking in the morning when I saw an accident on the street.
It’s also possible to use a continuous form of the imperfect, which is preferred for everyday language.
Eu estava caminhando de manhã quando vi um acidente.
I was walking in the morning when I saw an accident on the street.
Notice that the actions in the example above are linked by the word quando(when). We could also use the phrase de repente(suddenly), either in addition to or instead of quando, if we want to emphasize how suddenly the first action was interrupted by the second one.
Eu estava caminhando de manhã e de repente vi um acidente.
I was walking in the morning and suddenly I saw an accident on the street.
Eu estava caminhando de manhã quando, de repente, vi um acidente.
I was walking in the morning when, suddenly, I saw an accident on the street.
In the last example, these words not only give more emphasis to what happens and how sudden it happened, but also add a more dramatic tone to the sentence.
In this post we highlighted the main differences between the preterite and the imperfect past tenses, and when they are used together:
Preterite | Imperfect |
|---|---|
One-off situation: Eu corri três quilômetros ontem. I ran three kilometers yesterday. | Past action that is unspecified in time: Antes, eu corria dois quilômetros por dia. Before, I used to run three kilometers per day. |
Punctual action: Marta trabalhou muito na semana passada. Marta worked a lot last week. | Past habits: Marta trabalhava muito quando era mais jovem. Marta used to work a lot when she was younger. |
Time-limited repeated events: Eu fui ao Brasil duas vezes. I went to Brazil twice. | Unlimited repeated action: Eu ia ao Brasil muitas vezes quando eu era mais jovem. I used to go to Brazil many times when I was younger. |
Sequence of actions: Eu almocei, tomei banho e fui ao supermercado. I had lunch, took a shower and went to the supermarket. | Background information: O supermercado estava cheio. The supermarket was busy. |
Completed actions: Ele acordou ao meio-dia. He woke up at noon. | Simultaneous actions: Eu preparava o almoço enquanto ele limpava a casa. I prepared lunch while he cleaned the house. |
The preterite and imperfect are used together in two major circumstances:
Past action + scene description:
Ontem eu tomei um sorvete de pistache porque estava muito calor.
Yesterday I had pistachio ice cream because it was very hot.
Ongoing + interrupted actions in the past:
Eu caminhava de manhã quando vi um acidente na rua.
I was walking in the morning when I saw an accident on the street.
Now, are you ready to practice using the preterite and imperfect tenses in Brazilian Portuguese with some exercises? Enjoy!
