Verbs: Past Tense

01

Pretérito Perfeito: Completed Past Actions

The pretérito perfeito (simple past) describes actions that were started and completed at a specific point in the past. It focuses on the event itself as a whole, finished unit.

Use it for:

• Single, completed events.
• A sequence of completed actions.
• Actions that occurred within a defined past time frame (e.g., ontem - yesterday, na semana passada - last week).

• Eu comprei um carro novo ontem.

  I bought a new car yesterday.

• Ela leu o livro em apenas dois dias.

  She read the book in just two days.

• Nós jantamos e depois fomos ao cinema.

  We had dinner and then we went to the movies.

Regular Verb Endings (Pretérito Perfeito)

For regular verbs, the endings are consistent based on whether the verb ends in -ar, -er, or -ir.

-ar verbs (e.g., falar - to speak): falei, falou, falamos, falaram

-er verbs (e.g., beber - to drink): bebi, bebeu, bebemos, beberam

-ir verbs (e.g., abrir - to open): abri, abriu, abrimos, abriram

Many of the most common verbs are irregular in this tense. For example, ser (to be) and ir (to go) share the same conjugation.

• Eu fui o primeiro a chegar.

  I was the first to arrive. (ser)

• Você foi à praia no domingo?

  Did you go to the beach on Sunday? (ir)

02

Pretérito Imperfeito: Ongoing or Habitual Past Actions

The pretérito imperfeito (imperfect past) is used for actions that were ongoing, repeated, or to describe settings, feelings, and conditions in the past. It focuses on the background or the duration of an action, not its completion.

Use it for:

• Habitual or repeated actions in the past ("used to").
• Descriptions of people, places, and situations in the past.
• Actions that were in progress when another action interrupted them.

• Quando eu era criança, eu sempre visitava meus avós.

  When I was a child, I always used to visit my grandparents.

• O céu estava azul e fazia calor.

  The sky was blue and it was hot.

• Ele estudava quando a mãe dele chamou.

  He was studying when his mother called.

Regular Verb Endings (Pretérito Imperfeito)

This tense is much more regular than the pretérito perfeito.

-ar verbs (e.g., falar - to speak): falava, falava, falávamos, falavam

-er and -ir verbs (e.g., beber/abrir): bebia, bebia, bebíamos, bebiam

03

Comparing Perfeito and Imperfeito

The key difference is perspective. The perfeito narrates the main events of a story (what happened), while the imperfeito sets the scene and provides background details (what was happening).

Compare these two sentences:

• Ele comeu a pizza.

  He ate the pizza. (A completed action.)

• Ele comia a pizza.

  He was eating the pizza / He used to eat pizza. (An ongoing or habitual action.)

Often, both tenses are used together in the same sentence to show an action in progress being interrupted by another.

• Nós assistíamos a um filme quando a energia acabou.

  We were watching a movie when the power went out.

• Eu andava na rua quando encontrei minha amiga.

  I was walking on the street when I met my friend.

In the examples above, the imperfeito (assistíamos, andava) describes the background action, while the perfeito (acabou, encontrei) describes the interrupting event.