How to use the preterite tense in Brazilian Portuguese?

The Brazilian Portuguese preterite tenseNo definition set for tenseLorem 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. (or “simple past” tense) is used to describe an action, event, or state that was completed at a particular time in the past. This tense is typically formed by removing the ending from an infinitive verbNo definition set for infinitive 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. (-ar, -er, or -ir), and adding one of the preterite endings, as in:

• estudar(to study) → estud- → eu estudei(I studied)

• comer(to eat) → com- → você comeu(you ate)

However, there are some irregularNo definition set for irregularLorem 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. verbs in the preterite, which have forms that must be memorized. In this post, we’ll review how to form the preterite tense of both regular and irregular verbs, as well as when to use this tense. Are you ready to learn more? Let’s start!

To form the preterite tense of regular verbs in Brazilian Portuguese, remove the infinitive ending of the verb and then add the corresponding preterite conjugation endings to the verb stem. We’ll discuss some verbs that do not follow this pattern (the irregular verbs) more below.

There are three conjugation patterns in Brazilian Portuguese, one for each of the three infinitive verb forms:

• Verbs ending in -ar = “first conjugation” (most common)

  trabalhar(to work), estudar(to study), começar(to start)

• Verbs ending in -er = “second conjugation”

  comer(to eat), beber(to drink), viver(to live)

• Verbs ending in -ir = “third conjugation”

  dormir(to sleep), mentir(to lie), sorrir(to smile)

Even though we remove the infinitive ending, the suffixes we add to make the verb preterite will depend on which conjugation pattern a verb belongs to. Have a look!

All the regular verbs in the preterite follow the pattern from the chart above, though there are some regular verbs which require some small changes to their spelling when we add the preterite endings.

Let’s look at some more examples of the preterite in Brazilian Portuguese.

• falar(to talk) → fal-

  estudar(to study) → estud-

  Eu falei com o professor e estudei matemática ontem.

  I spoke to the teacher and studied math yesterday.

• comer(to eat) → com-

  beber(to drink) → beb-

  Eu comi uma salada e bebi chá ontem à noite.

  I ate a salad and drank tea yesterday evening.

• partir(to leave) → part-

  desistir(to give up) → desist-

  Nós não partimos hoje de manhã porque desistimos de viajar.

  We did not leave this morning because we gave up traveling.

The preterite tense in Brazilian Portuguese is mostly equivalent to the English simple past tense; we use the preterite tense to refer to…

• completed actions in the past

• repeated actions over a specific period of time in the past

• sequences of completed actions in the past

• recent past actions with acabar de or the adverb agora

• a first impression

• some imperatives in advertisements or announcements

Now, let’s examine these uses of the preterite in more detail.

The adverbs já(already, yet), nunca(never), and ainda não(not yet) are often used alongside the preterite tense to emphasize that something has already happened, in questions about whether something has happened, or to emphasize that something happened earlier or later than expected. Let’s take a look at these different scenarios.

• To discuss whether something has ever happened:

  In the example below, the adverb já(already, yet) is used to indicate that the action li(read) has already happened:

  Speaker A:

  Você já leu esse livro?

  Have you read this book yet?

  Speaker B:

  Sim, eu já o li.

  Yes, I have already read it.

  This sentence structure can also be used to indicate a first experience of doing something.

  Eu já saltei de paraquedas.

  I have already parachuted.

  Now, imagine that you want to say the opposite: that you have never parachuted. In this case, you would use the adverbs ainda não(not yet) or nunca(never):

  • Você já saltou de paraquedas?

    Have you ever parachuted?

  • Não, eu ainda não saltei de paraquedas.

    No, I have not parachuted yet.

  • Não, eu nunca saltei de paraquedas.

    No, I have never parachuted.

• To discuss whether something that happens regularly has happened yet:

  In questions, we can also use já or ainda não along with the preterite tense to emphasize that we want to know if something has been done yet.

  • Você já almoçou?

    Have you had lunch yet?

  • Você ainda não almoçou?

    Haven’t you had lunch yet?

  Tip

  The most common answer for the questions above would be simply já or ainda não, rather than “yes” or “no.”

  Você já viu esse filme?

  Have you watched this movie?

  Já. / Ainda não.

  Already / Not yet.

• To emphasize that something happened earlier or later than expected:

  In the examples below, the adverbs já and ainda não are used with the preterite tense to indicate that the action cheguei(arrived) has happened earlier (in the first example) or later (in the second) than was expected.

  • Eu já cheguei ao aeroporto.

    I have already arrived at the airport.

  • Eu estou atrasada. Eu ainda não cheguei ao aeroporto.

    I’m late. I haven’t arrived at the airport yet.

In this post, we reviewed how to form the preterite tense in Brazilian Portuguese, along with when to use this tense. We saw that…

• The preterite tense is formed by removing the -ar, -er, or -ir infinitive endings and adding the proper preterite conjugation endings. The correct conjugation of the preterite tense will depend on whether the verb is a regular or irregular verb.

• The preterite tense is used in Brazilian Portuguese to refer to actions that started and/or finished in the past, as well as used to narrate events in the past. Brazilian Portuguese also uses the preterite tense to talk about the recent past (“have just”), to describe a first impression, or to idiomatically express an imperative.

• Sometimes, the preterite is used with the adverbs já, nunca, and ainda não to emphasize whether an action has already been completed or to indicate that something has happened earlier or later than expected.

Now that you’re an expert on the preterite tense in Brazilian Portuguese, try to practice forming and using the preterite with these activities!