Verb tenses · Brazilian Portuguese
Portuguese Preterite (Pretérito perfeito)
The preterite is the past tense for finished actions: things that happened once, or are over and done.
Ontem eu comi pizza. Yesterday I ate pizza.
- Used constantly in speech
- Level A2
- Same in Portugal
- -ar
- -ei -ou -amos -aram
- -er
- -i -eu -emos -eram
- -ir
- -i -iu -imos -iram
When to use the preterite
Something that happened at a definite time and is finished.
Ontem eu falei com a minha mãe.
Yesterday I talked to my mother.
A sequence of events, one after the other.
Ele chegou, tomou um banho e dormiu.
He got home, took a shower and went to sleep.
Where English uses “have done” for something already done: Brazil uses the preterite.
Você já comeu? Já, comi agora há pouco.
Have you eaten yet? Yes, I just ate.
Something that lasted a set time and ended.
Morei três anos em Recife.
I lived in Recife for three years.
Something that interrupted another action (which goes in the imperfect).
Eu estava dormindo quando o telefone tocou.
I was sleeping when the phone rang.
Often confused with the imperfect.
Regular verbs
Every regular verb follows one of these three: -ar like falar (to speak), -er like comer (to eat), -ir like partir (to leave). The ending is in bold and underlined. Tu is used in parts of Brazil, and is shown last.
| Person | falar | comer | partir |
|---|---|---|---|
| eueu | falei | comi | parti |
| vocêvocê, ele, ela, a gente | falou | comeu | partiu |
| nósnós | falamos | comemos | partimos |
| vocêsvocês, eles, elas | falaram | comeram | partiram |
| tuturegional | falaste | comeste | partiste |
Spelling changes
Irregular verbs
The most common irregular verbs in the preterite, most used first. Verbs built on the same one change the same way: learn ter and you know manter and obter. Irregular forms are marked (irregular).
estar
- euestive (irregular)
- vocêesteve (irregular)
- nósestivemos (irregular)
- vocêsestiveram (irregular)
- tuestiveste (irregular)
ir
- eufui (irregular)
- vocêfoi (irregular)
- nósfomos (irregular)
- vocêsforam (irregular)
- tufoste (irregular)
ser
- eufui (irregular)
- vocêfoi (irregular)
- nósfomos (irregular)
- vocêsforam (irregular)
- tufoste (irregular)
ter
- eutive (irregular)
- vocêteve (irregular)
- nóstivemos (irregular)
- vocêstiveram (irregular)
- tutiveste (irregular)
poder
- eupude (irregular)
- vocêpôde (irregular)
- nóspudemos (irregular)
- vocêspuderam (irregular)
- tupudeste (irregular)
fazer
- eufiz (irregular)
- vocêfez (irregular)
- nósfizemos (irregular)
- vocêsfizeram (irregular)
- tufizeste (irregular)
Also: desfazer, satisfazer and 9 more
saber
- eusoube (irregular)
- vocêsoube (irregular)
- nóssoubemos (irregular)
- vocêssouberam (irregular)
- tusoubeste (irregular)
querer
- euquis (irregular)
- vocêquis (irregular)
- nósquisemos (irregular)
- vocêsquiseram (irregular)
- tuquiseste (irregular)
Also: maisquerer, malquerer
dizer
- eudisse (irregular)
- vocêdisse (irregular)
- nósdissemos (irregular)
- vocêsdisseram (irregular)
- tudisseste (irregular)
Also: contradizer, bendizer and 4 more
ver
- euvi
- vocêviu (irregular)
- nósvimos (irregular)
- vocêsviram (irregular)
- tuviste (irregular)
haver
- euhouve (irregular)
- vocêhouve (irregular)
- nóshouvemos (irregular)
- vocêshouveram (irregular)
- tuhouveste (irregular)
vir
- euvim (irregular)
- vocêveio (irregular)
- nósviemos (irregular)
- vocêsvieram (irregular)
- tuvieste (irregular)
Any verb in the preterite
How Brazilians use it
Foi is two verbs
Ser and ir share the same preterite: foi means both “was” and “went”. Ela foi ao mercado is “she went to the market”; foi ótimo is “it was great”. The sentence always makes it clear.
Nós falamos: present or past?
For -ar and -ir verbs, the nós form is the same in the present and the preterite: falamos, partimos. Brazilians add a time word when it matters: ontem a gente falou com ele. In everyday speech a gente often replaces nós.
In Portugal
The preterite works the same way in Portugal.
Common mistakes
Not
Quando eu era criança, eu fui à praia todo domingo.ButQuando eu era criança, eu ia à praia todo domingo.
Something you used to do again and again is the imperfect, not the preterite.
Not
Eu tenho comido já.ButEu já comi.
“I have eaten” is the preterite with já. Tenho comido means “I've been eating (lately)”.
Not
Ele fazeu o trabalho.ButEle fez o trabalho.
The most common verbs are irregular in the preterite: fazer → fez, ter → teve, ser and ir → foi.
Practise the preterite
Ten questions on the most common verbs. Type the form; you'll see right or wrong at once.
Cheat sheet
The endings and the most common irregular verbs on one printable page.
Preterite cheat sheet (PDF)Questions
What is the preterite in Portuguese?
The pretérito perfeito, the past tense for finished actions: comi (I ate), falamos (we talked), ela chegou (she arrived). It's the most used past tense in Brazilian Portuguese, alongside the imperfect for what used to happen or was going on.
How do you form the past tense in Portuguese?
Take the infinitive's -ar, -er or -ir off and add the endings: for falar, falei, falou, falamos, falaram; for comer, comi, comeu, comemos, comeram; for partir, parti, partiu, partimos, partiram. The most common verbs (ser, ir, ter, fazer, estar) are irregular.
What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect in Portuguese?
The preterite is for something finished (eu comi, I ate); the imperfect for what used to happen or was going on (eu comia, I used to eat, I was eating).
Is the present perfect used in Portuguese?
Not the way English uses it. “I have eaten” is eu já comi, in the preterite. The Portuguese tenho comido means something done lately or again and again: “I've been eating”.
Related tenses: the imperfect, the present perfect, the pluperfect
See the preterite in real books
Tables teach the forms; stories teach when to use them. Read Brazilian books and stories at your level, tap any verb for its meaning in that sentence, and press Listen to hear the page in a Brazilian voice.
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