All of the past tenses in Brazilian Portuguese are used to describe actions that happened before the moment you are speaking, but each tense is unique and refers to a different type of past action or event. The past tense you choose will tell someone, for example, that you are describing a finished situation, unfinished situation, or a situation further in the past than another past event. There are also some common cases in which you need to combine one tense with another. For instance, we often use the imperfect and preterite in sentences like the one below:
There are five major past tenses in Brazilian Portuguese, some of them are simple tenses (the preterite or the imperfect) or and others are compound tenses (the past perfect and preterite continuous, and imperfect continuous). Do you want to know how to use and combine these and other past tenses more effectively? Keep on reading this post and master the past tenses in Brazilian Portuguese!
What are the past tenses in Brazilian Portuguese?
The main past tenses in Brazilian Portuguese are the preterite tense, the imperfect tense, the past perfect tense, the preterite continuous tense, and the imperfect continuous tense.
These can be grouped into two types of tenses, depending on their structure: simple or compound tenses.
Simple tenses → Simple tenses are formed by a single verb.
trabalhei meaning worked
The Brazilian Portuguese simple past tenses are summarized below:
Tense Main use Example Preterite
To refer to completed actions in the past
Eu trabalhei ontem.Translation: I worked yesterday.Imperfect
To give background description and to talk about past habits
Eu estudava em uma escola pequena.Translation: I studied in a small school.Compound tenses → Compound tenses are formed by combining an auxiliary verb — ter meaning to have, haver meaning to have, or estar meaning to be – with a main verb in its past participle or gerund form.
auxiliary verbmain verbestava estudandoTranslation: was/were studyingThe Brazilian Portuguese compound past tenses are summarized below:
Tense Main use Example Past perfect
To refer to an event or situation that happened before another one in the past
Eu já tinha falado com ele antes.Translation: I had already spoken to him before.Preterite continuous
To emphasize an ongoing situation that started and finished at a particular time in the past
Eu estive pensando em viajar.Translation: I've been thinking about traveling.Imperfect continuous
To express an action or event that was in progress in the past and has no clear beginning or end
(It can be replaced by the imperfect)Eu estava dormindo.Translation: I was sleeping.
In addition to the past tenses above, some sentences in the present perfect and in the simple present are used to talk about the past too. You’ll see these usages in the sections below!
When to use each past tense in Brazilian Portuguese?
In this section, we’ll go through some different situations where you might use a past tense in Brazilian Portuguese, and give you some tips on which one you should use in each situation. In some cases you might need to use a combination of two different tenses! Let’s have a look!
Which past tense to use for completed past events?
When talking about completed past events, we use the preterite, which is used with punctual events that started and ended in the past. It’s common to use time markers, such as dates or periods of the day, with a completed past event, as in:
When referring to completed past events in Brazilian Portuguese, it is also possible to use the preterite with the imperfect. In this case, you will use the preterite to mention the completed event and the imperfect to give its context and describe the reason it happened.
The non-action verbs ser meaning to be, estar meaning to be, and ter meaning to have are very often used as the imperfect verb in this type of construction. to describe a scenario in the past.
Which past tenses to use for interrupted actions in the past?
To describe a past action that was interrupted by another past action, we can use either (1) the imperfect and the preterite or (2) the imperfect continuous and the preterite. Let’s look at both:
The imperfect and the preterite:
The imperfect tense describes the ongoing action that has been interrupted, and the preterite describes the interrupting action.
imperfectpreteriteEu caminhava no parque quando vi um gatinho perdido.Translation: I was walking in the park when I saw a lost kitten.The imperfect action (eu caminhava) is interrupted by the punctual, preterite action (eu vi um gatinho).The imperfect continuous and the preterite:
As with the pair above, the imperfect continuous describes the ongoing action that has been interrupted, and the preterite describes the interrupting action. This pair is very common in everyday language.
imperfect continuousimperfectEu estava caminhando no parque quando vi um gatinho perdido.Translation: I was walking in the park when I saw a lost kitten.Like the imperfect, the imperfect continuous describes an action that was in progress in the past. However, we use the imperfect continuous instead of the imperfect to emphasize the continuation of the action.
How to talk about the amount of time since a past action?
When we talk about the amount of time elapsed since a completed action, we use the preterite to refer to the event, in combination with há followed by a time phrase.
How to talk about actions that you have done already or haven’t done yet?
To talk about an action that someone has already done or hasn’t done yet, we use the adverbs já meaning already, yet, ainda não meaning not yet, or nunca meaning never along with the preterite or past perfect tense. There are three contexts in which you will likely use these adverbs with the preterite or past perfect:
To say that something has or hasn’t happened before:
Use the preterite tense and the adverbs já meaning already, yet, ainda não meaning not yet, or nunca meaning never to talk about whether someone has had a first experience of something
You’ll use já meaning already, yet is in affirmative statements, to say that something has happened before, or happened already
preteriteEu já estive no Brasil.Translation: I have already been to Brazil.You’ll use ainda não meaning not yet or nunca meaning never in negative sentences, to say that something hasn’t happened before, or hasn’t happened yet.
preteriteEu nunca estive no Brasil.Translation: I have never been to Brazil.Eu ainda não estive no Brasil.Translation: I have never been to Brazil.
To say that something had or hadn’t happened before some past moment:
Use the past perfect tense and these same expressions já meaning already, yet, ainda não meaning not yet, and nunca meaning never to talk about whether someone had experienced something before some past moment.
past perfectEu nunca tinha visto o mar — até hoje.Translation: I had never seen the sea — until today.In the example above, the relation between the past and the present moment is also highlighted by the expression até hoje meaning until today, which contrasts a past action (never having seen the sea) with the present status of that (until today).
To talk about whether a common action is complete already or isn’t complete yet:
The preterite can also be used with these same adverbs to talk about actions that are repeated regularly, but may or not be already complete this time around. For example:
preteriteSpeaker A:Você já chegou ao trabalho?Translation: Have you already arrived at work?Speaker A is not asking if Speaker B has ever arrived at work, they are asking if it has happened today.Speaker B:Não, eu ainda não cheguei ao trabalho.Translation: No, I haven't arrived at work yet.Speaker B arrived at work before, but today they haven’t arrived yet.
What tense to use to talk about past habits or long-term actions?
We use the imperfect tense to describe habitual or repeated actions that took place at an unspecified period of time in the past. This use corresponds to the English simple past (verb-ed) or to the expression “used to” + verb.
Notice that the example above refers to a routine in the past, but the time period is not specific. This means we conjugate the verb in the imperfect!
How to use ‘acabar de’ for actions that just happened?
In Brazilian Portuguese we use the expression acabar de meaning understood: just + infinitive to describe actions that just took place, had just taken place, or were just taking place. We say that this describe the “immediate past.”
- acabar de
preterite
infinitive
Acabar de conjugated in the preterite states that some action just happened or was just finished, as in:
preteriteinfinitiveEu acabei de acordar.Translation: I just woke up. / I’ve just woken up. - acabar de
past perfect
infinitive
When acabar de is in the past perfect tense, it means that some action had just happened or had just finished when another past action, given in the preterite, took place:
past perfectinfinitivepreteriteEu tinha acabado de acordar quando as crianças entraram.Translation: I had just woken up when the kids came in. - acabar de
imperfect continuous
infinitive
Conjugating acabar de in the imperfect continuous means that an action was just happening and was usually in the process of ending, as in:
imperfect continuousinfinitiveEu estava acabando de conferir os pagamentos do mês.Translation: I was just checking the monthly payments.
What tenses to use for progressive past actions?
When we talk about progressive actions in the past, we can use the preterite continuous or the imperfect continuous.
The preterite continuous is used to emphasize an ongoing situation that started and finished at a particular time in the past. It is formed from the auxiliary verb estar meaning to be in the preterite + a main verb in the gerund (-ndo) form.
This tense is not often used in Brazilian Portuguese, and, instead, Brazilians tend to use the simple preterite. See below:
- preterite continuousEu estive pensando sobre o que você me falou.Translation: I was thinking about what you told me.uncommon
- preteriteEu pensei sobre o que você me falou.Translation: I was thinking about what you told me.more common in Brazil
The imperfect continuous is formed with the auxiliary verb estar meaning to be in the imperfect + a main verb in the gerund (-ndo) form. As mentioned above, it can be used in combination with a verb in the preterite to talk about an interrupted action.
imperfect continuouspreteritePedro estava assistindo televisão quando alguém bateu na porta.Translation: Pedro was watching television when someone knocked on the door.Remember that the imperfect continuous may also be replaced by the imperfect, as in:
imperfectpreteritePedro assistia televisão quando alguém bateu na porta.Translation: Pedro was watching television when someone knocked on the door.However, the imperfect continuous highlights the ongoing nature of the action.
What tense to use for something that happened before another past event?
We use the past perfect tense to refer to an action that occurred before another past event or moment. For example:
In summary
In this post, we described the forms and main uses of each of the past tenses in Brazilian Portuguese. In addition, we reviewed the common contexts and situations in which we use these tenses, along with when they may be used together. Review what you’ve learned with this summary chart, or head straight to practice of the past tenses in Brazilian Portuguese with our activities!
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