The English simple past tense (e.g. “I went”, “We ate”, “You finished”) corresponds to the Portuguese pretĂ©rito perfeitosimple past .
As with the present tense, conjugating regular Portuguese verbs in this tense is easier once you learn the patterns for each verb group.
Examples of some regular verbs in the -AR group include falarto speak , gostarto like , and andarto walk .
Let’s see the conjugations for the latter:
Indicativo
Nós andåmos até ao topo da montanhaWe walked up to the top of the mountain.
- eu andeiI walkedindicativo > pret. perfeito tu andasteyou sing.,inf. walkedindicativo > pret. perfeito ele / ela andouhe / she walkedindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘ andouyou walkedindicativo > pret. perfeito nĂłs andĂĄmoswe walkedindicativo > pret. perfeito eles / elas andaramthey walkedindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘs andaramyou walkedindicativo > pret. perfeito
To conjugate other regular -AR verbs in this tense, you just have to figure out the verb stem (in this case, and-) and then add the correct endings (-ei, -aste, -ou, -ĂĄmos, -aram). Remember, the verb stem ends just before the last vowel of the verb in its infinitive form. For example, the verb stem of passearto walk is passe-, not pass-.
To conjugate the verb comprarto buy , we would take the verb stem compr-Â and add the regular endings to get the following:
Indicativo
Tu compraste o tamanho erradoYou bought the wrong size.
- eu compreiI boughtindicativo > pret. perfeito tu comprasteyou sing.,inf. boughtindicativo > pret. perfeito ele / ela comprouhe / she boughtindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘ comprouyou boughtindicativo > pret. perfeito nĂłs comprĂĄmoswe boughtindicativo > pret. perfeito eles / elas compraramthey boughtindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘs compraramyou boughtindicativo > pret. perfeito
A Note on Pronunciation
You’ll notice with -AR verbs that there is a subtle difference between the 1st person plural conjugations in the present tense versus the simple past tense. The spellings are the same, except for an accent on the a (-amos vs. -ĂĄmos). The accent tells you that it’s in the simple past tense and that you need to open the vowel.
The a (without an accent) sounds similar to the vowel sound in the English word cut, whereas the ĂĄ (with an accent) is open and sounds more like the “ah” sound in the English word father. (Note: We’re referring to “standard” American English with these comparisons, and they are just approximations. Rely on the audio examples for more precise Portuguese pronunciation. 😉)
Listen to these examples a few times to try to hear the distinction between the present and past tense pronunciations:
falamoswe speak
falĂĄmoswe spoke
NĂłs ficamos aquiWe stay here
FicĂĄmos muito zangadosWe got very angry
More Examples of Regular -AR Verbs in the Simple Past
Indicativo
Ela olhou para mim na festaShe looked at me at the party.
- eu olheiI lookedindicativo > pret. perfeito tu olhasteyou sing.,inf. lookedindicativo > pret. perfeito ele / ela olhouhe / she lookedindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘ olhouyou lookedindicativo > pret. perfeito nĂłs olhĂĄmoswe lookedindicativo > pret. perfeito eles / elas olharamthey lookedindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘs olharamyou lookedindicativo > pret. perfeito
Indicativo
Eles perguntaram por tiThey asked about you.
- eu pergunteiI askedindicativo > pret. perfeito tu perguntasteyou sing.,inf. askedindicativo > pret. perfeito ele / ela perguntouhe / she askedindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘ perguntouyou askedindicativo > pret. perfeito nĂłs perguntĂĄmoswe askedindicativo > pret. perfeito eles / elas perguntaramthey askedindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘs perguntaramyou askedindicativo > pret. perfeito
Indicativo
- eu ajudeiI helpedindicativo > pret. perfeito tu ajudasteyou sing.,inf. helpedindicativo > pret. perfeito ele / ela ajudouhe / she helpedindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘ ajudouyou helpedindicativo > pret. perfeito nĂłs ajudĂĄmoswe helpedindicativo > pret. perfeito eles / elas ajudaramthey helpedindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘs ajudaramyou helpedindicativo > pret. perfeito
Indicativo
Eu ensinei a minha irmĂŁ a contarI taught my sister how to count.
- eu ensineiI taughtindicativo > pret. perfeito tu ensinasteyou sing.,inf. taughtindicativo > pret. perfeito ele / ela ensinouhe / she taughtindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘ ensinouyou taughtindicativo > pret. perfeito nĂłs ensinĂĄmoswe taughtindicativo > pret. perfeito eles / elas ensinaramthey taughtindicativo > pret. perfeito vocĂȘs ensinaramyou taughtindicativo > pret. perfeito
Comments
Nice and logical (so far … I know the irregular verbs will come and bite us on the bum one day!).
To combat rising panic when learning new stuff in Portuguese, I try to focus on understanding it rather than remembering it — on the basis that remembering it will come eventually through practice.
Thank you, as always, for the clear explanations.
For plural, -amos vs. -ĂĄmos, I suspect additional exercises will be needed… unless you simply don’t use it as much as the others and thus the inaccuracy isn’t a major communications problem.
Thank you for your feedback! It’s important to know the difference between the two, because it’s transversal to a huge amount of verbs and involves two fundamental tenses (simple present, simple past). At the same time, this never really causes any significant communication problems.
In writing, the accent mark makes things truly simple. Once you memorize that accent = simple past, you’re all set. In verbal communication, native/very fluent speakers will generally be aware of which tense makes more sense in context and if they hear the wrong thing, they can easily overwrite it mentally or just ask the person to clarify. In Brazil, they don’t use the accent in the past tense and they pronounce everything the same. They still do just fine đ The struggle is bigger for Portuguese learners – and we’ll keep you in mind.
Thx, easy intellectually. I still think we need 50 to 100 examples, back-to-back for easy comparisons. Perhaps you could record a shorty…We are, then we were
What’s the difference between eu sabia and eu soube?
“Sabia” is a conjugation of the pretĂ©rito imperfeito (past imperfect), while “soube” is in the pretĂ©rito perfeito (simple past). We tend to use “soube” more to refer to the moment where you learn something new, and “sabia” more for already acquired (or not) knowledge.
– Eu soube que tu costumavas desenhar. Eu nĂŁo sabia disso antes! (I’ve found out that you used to draw. I didn’t know this before!)
– Eu sabia que ele ia ganhar! (I knew that he was going to win!)
– Eu sĂł soube daquilo ontem. (I’ve only found out about that yesterday)
Obrigado
Interesting that Spanish uses the same ending for first person plural conjugations for both simple present and simple past for AR verbs (-amos) and IR verbs (-imos), while ER verbs get different endings (-emos for present and -imos for past). You have to wonder what the language police were thinking when they came up with all their rules! đ
In the singular first and third person, which syllable is being emphasized in the verb? I know the rule is “generally the penultimate syllable unless there’s an accent,” but I keep listening and think I’m hearing that in some, the -ou or -ei are getting more emphasis. Perhaps it’s just that they are more open vowel sounds. Any insight you have would be appreciated. Thanks!!
OlĂĄ, Bob. In this tense, the singular first and third person conjugations are stressed on the last syllable, which goes against the rule of thumb you mentioned (don’t hold it to heart, as you’ll probably find many other cases where it doesn’t apply!) đ
I don’t know the rules of syllabification in Portuguese yet, but is it possible that the ei and ou aren’t diphthongs, but the words are being accented on a penultimate syllable e and o?
Good thinking! Here’s a link to our Learning Note on vowel pronunciation where you can see the exceptions to the rule (under the “Stress” section). Diphthongs are one of the exceptions, and I believe the examples here would indeed be considered diphthongs (but occasionally two vowels together will be pronounced separately, like in the word rainha). It’s possible that this is the reason for the exception, though. Pronunciation changes over time, so in the past maybe some of these diphthongs were actually pronounced as separate vowels.
Joseph, I’m glad to hear I wasn’t imagining what I thought I heard! Having studied Spanish, this is actually familiar â the singular forms use the same endings (aurally not orthographically) and the emphasis is in the sample place in both languages as well. I’m delighted when I find something is easy. Thanks.
You’re welcome! I believe your Spanish knowledge will come in handy many more times in the future đ
This might be because I’m ancient (70) and not hearing properly. Is the first person singular ending for regular AR verbs pronounced like a long A sound in English as in BAY or more like the sound of the English word “eye?” Or a combination of the two? I’ve imagined I’ve heard it both ways. Can you clarify for this old man? Obrigado/merci/thanks/gura mile maith agat, et al. None of my other nine languages help me much, but I’m determined to learn and speak properly before we move.
OlĂĄ, Patrick. In general, we can describe it as a combination of the two. Closer to “eye” in the typical Lisbon accent (which is what you hear the most on this website and on Portuguese media), but more similar to “ay” in certain regional accents (e.g. Northern Portugal), or sounding simply like “eh” in others (e.g. Alentejo). So, it’s normal if you’ve heard it with varying pronunciations – they’re all possible! We’ve also talked about this on our forum: Help with pronunciation of âeiâ
Obrigado, O Senhor Lambert. Eu aprendi bastante! These lessons are the best! We will settle in Tomar in January, if all goes well; I’ll listen and learn carefully.
De nada, Patrick. Small correction: it’s just “senhor Lambert” (and with me, just Joseph is absolutely fine). Tomar is a lovely town, great choice!
I don’t know if i am the only one but I don’t get well the difference of pronunciation between the verb FALAR conjuguate at the 1st person of the plural (NOS). I can hear there is a difference but I don’t manage to do it đ it seems to be FALEMOS (with the “e” like “eu” for french speaker) and FALAMOS….but it sounds strange when I try to repeat as well….
DO you have any tricks that could help me?
Thanks a lot!
You’re referring to falamos vs falĂĄmos. The main difference is that the 2nd is more open than the 1st!
Trying to use french words to compare both sounds I’d say that the a in falAmos could be similar to the eu sound in “bEUrre”. The ĂĄ in falĂmos sounds more like the french preposition “Ă ”. The e in FalEmos sounds like the french “et”.
Ola
For ajudaram and the others 3rd person plural, is the ending pronunciation similar to that of French word âballonâ?
Thanks for your excellent site
Les
OlĂĄ!
Not exactly. Ballon as a different sound. The sound -am is very similar (if not the same) to our -ĂŁo except that the stress is not on the -am sound as it is in the words ending with -ĂŁo.
The main thing to remember is that you donât pronounce the âmâ like you would if you were to read it like an English word. Instead, that -am ending is replaced with a nasal vowel. To get the nasal sound to come through itâs almost as you were are about to say -am with an m sound, but you just donât actually close your lips at the end. (The air is directed through your mouth AND nose.)
Hereâs a pronunciation guide that might be helpful – scroll down to the m and listen to the examples listed: https://www.practiceportuguese.com/learning-notes/pronunciation-guide-for-european-portuguese-consonants/
This Shorty also uses a lot of words ending in m to give you some more examples: https://www.practiceportuguese.com/shorties/aula-de-edicao-de-imagem/
Obrigado RelĂłgio
Eu vou trabalher isso.
Les
P.S. i appreciated the rapid response.
Strange that the s is lost for the second person singular. I wonder why.
Could you clarify what verb/tense you’re referring to?
Like the present tense the pattern of simple past is simple to figure out, now to putting in to actual practice should be interesting. I’d comment for the american english that the ” a ” versus the “ĂĄ ” would be more like our ” am” for the unaccented “a” as in lamb rather than the “cut” example.
I agree with this. That’s how I hear it.
What is the difference between “achar” and “pensar”
Thanks
ACHAR is more associated with an opinion/consideration or judgment thinking (Ex.: Eu acho que sim = I think so). It can also mean “to find” as in finding someone or something that was lost or even as in finding an opinion on something (Ex.: Eu acho que Ă© divertido = I find it interesting).
PENSAR is mostly thinking, and may be related to opinion making as well (Eu penso que sim = I think so).
In English you can either say, for example, “I think it’s funny” or “I find it funny”.
So, within this meaning ACHAR and PENSAR work the same way, with the same meaning. Verbs like CONSIDERAR (to consider) or JULGAR (to judge) can also be used in order to translate an opinion.
Example: Eu considero que sim / Eu julgo que sim / Eu penso que sim / Eu acho que sim. They all have the same meaning: I think so.
Hiya, thank you for this website you created. I wanted to inquire if you have a section or resource dedicated to all the tenses in European Portuguese? A table showing all the tenses in one place with short explanations and rules?
I believe that apart from the tenses mentioned in the verbs section (Indicativo: Presente, Pretérito, Imperfeito, Futuro; Conjuntivo: Presente, Imperfeito, Futuro, and Imperativo), there are more tenses. If yes, what are those? Thank you.
OlĂĄ! Thank you for your comment đ We do have a Verbs section, with a selection of hundreds of the most useful verbs. You’ll see their conjugations and also drill them through exercises. All the moods & tenses you mentioned are covered – the only one missing from your list (and also from this section) is the conditional mood, which has its own unit: The Conditional Mood. For additional explanations & rules for some of the tenses, you should also take a look at their dedicated units. The Verbs section is more focused on drilling the conjugations themselves.
I’ve been looking for this lesson for so long! It will make practice conversations much easier.
Thank you for clarifying the past tense and also I had wondered about Achar and pensar.This helps a lot.
I am confused for âacharâ and âpensarâ, both are meaning âthinkingâ. Could you please advise what is the difference between them? Thank you.
“Achar” and “pensar” both relate to the act of thinking, but they are used in slightly different contexts.
“Achar” is usually used when expressing an opinion or belief, often based on intuition or a quick judgment. For example, “Eu acho que vai chover hoje” (I think it’s going to rain today).
On the other hand, “pensar” is mostly used for the process of thinking in a more deliberate or reasoned way. It’s often used when considering something carefully or planning. For example, “Eu penso viajar no prĂłximo ano” (I’m thinking of traveling next year).
Both verbs are important and choosing between them depends on the context and the nuance you want to convey. đ
Are there exercises for the simple past tense somewhere? Maybe I havenât gotten far enough into this excellent course to come across them, but I could definitely use some drilling to master the past tense forms.
Yes, we have these 2 units: Simple Past & Simple Past 2. You can also drill past tense forms in the Verbs section. Simple past tense is pretérito perfeito (do indicativo).
Obrigado!
Iâm finding google translate and another app lack the accent in the 2nd person plural in the past tense, so the present and past are exactly the same. Could someone explain this?
They’re both probably assuming Brazilian Portuguese spelling standards, where the past tense is unaccented since the pronunciation doesn’t really differ from that of the present tense.