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Study Resource: Time markers for the preterite in Brazilian Portuguese

By: Fabiana Dametto Oliveira
Associated Articles

These activities are part of our Brazilian Portuguese Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

The following time markers are often used with the preterite tense in Brazilian Portuguese.

Time marker
Example

ano passado

in order to

Minha irmã se casou no ano passado.

My sister got married last year.

antes de ontem / anteontem

the day before yesterday

Eles chegaram antes de ontem.

They arrived the day before yesterday.

em (1990...)

in (1990...)

Eu comecei a trabalhar aqui em 1990.

I started to work here in 1990.

hoje de manhã

this morning

Eu não tomei café hoje de manhã.

I did not drink coffee this morning.

mês passado

last month

Nós compramos o carro no mês passado.

We bought the car last month.

ontem

yesterday

Você me ligou ontem?

Did you call me yesterday?

ontem à noite

yesterday evening/night

Nós comemos pizza ontem à noite.

We ate pizza yesterday evening.

ontem à tarde

yesterday afternoon

As crianças brincaram em casa ontem à tarde.

The children played at home yesterday afternoon.

ontem de manhã

yesterday morning

Você trabalhou ontem de manhã?

Did you work yesterday morning?

outro dia

the other day

Eu vi a Luana no supermercado outro dia.

I saw Luana at the supermarket the other day.

século passado

last century

As pessoas não tinham celular no século passado.

People did not have cell phones in the last century.

semana passada / última semana

last week

Eles viajaram na semana passada.

They traveled last week.

último mês

last month

Você gastou muito dinheiro no último mês.

You spent a lot of money last month.

último ano

last year

Nós economizamos dinheiro no último ano.

We saved money last year.

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