Study Resource: Preterite vs. Imperfect in Brazilian Portuguese
The following resources will help you to use the preterite and imperfect tenses correctly in Brazilian Portuguese.
Preterite: Regular verbs
This table illustrates the conjugation of regular verbs in the Brazilian Portuguese preterite tense.
Subject Pronouns | -AR | -ER | -IR |
|---|---|---|---|
falar(to speak) | comer(to eat) | partir(to leave) | |
eu(I) | falei | comi | parti |
tu(you) | falaste | comeste | partiste |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | falou | comeu | partiu |
nós(we) | falamos | comemos | partimos |
vós*(you, formal) | falastes | comestes | partistes |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(they) | falaram | comeram | partiram |
Check out this table of irregular preterite verbs!
Imperfect: Regular verbs
This table illustrates the conjugation of regular verbs in the Brazilian Portuguese imperfect tense.
Subject Pronouns | -AR | -ER | -IR |
|---|---|---|---|
falar(to speak) | comer(to eat) | partir(to leave) | |
eu(I) | falava | comia | partia |
tu(you) | falavas | comias | partias |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | falava | comia | partia |
nós(we) | falávamos | comíamos | partíamos |
vós*(you, formal) | faláveis | comíeis | partíeis |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(they) | falavam | comiam | partiam |
Imperfect: Irregular verbs
This table illustrates the conjugation of irregular verbs in the Brazilian Portuguese imperfect tense.
Subject Pronouns | ser(to be) | ter(to have) | vir(to come) | pôr(to put) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
eu(I) | era | tinha | vinha | punha |
tu(you) | eras | tinhas | vinhas | punhas |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | era | tinha | vinha | punha |
nós(we) | éramos | tínhamos | vínhamos | púnhamos |
vós*(you, formal) | éreis | tínheis | vínheis | púnheis |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(they) | eram | tinham | vinham | punham |
Uses of the imperfect vs. preterite: Summary
The following table summarizes the differences in usage between the preterite and imperfect tenses in Brazilian Portuguese:
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…
Past action + scene description:
preteriteimperfectOntem 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:
preteriteimperfectEu caminhava de manhã quando vi um acidente na rua.
I was walking in the morning when I saw an accident on the street.
