Future
https://duome.eu/tips/en/pt#Verbs%3A-Ph ... ture-Tense
Comprar Poder Abrir
Eu comprarei poderei Abrirei
Ele/Ela/Voce Comprara podera abrira
Eles Comprarao poderao abrirao
Nós Compraremos poderemos abriremos
Future Perfect
https://duome.eu/tips/en/pt#Verbs%3A-Future-Perfect
Comprar Poder Abrir
Eu terei comprado terei podido terei aberto
Ele/ela/voce tera
Eles terão
Nós teremos
Past Imperfect
Iimperfect past talks about something that "was true" or "was happening" during a certain time period in the past.
Eu cozinhava enquanto ela tomava banho = I was cooking while she was showering.
Ele comia enquanto esperava o trem = He was eating while he waited (was waiting) for the train
Ele escrevia livros antes de se mudar = He used to write books before he moved
Ela tinha muitos gatos na sua primeira casa = She had (used to have) many cats in her first house
https://duome.eu/tips/en/pt#Verbs%3A-Past-Imperfect-1
Comprar Poder Abrir
Eu comprava podia abria
Ele/Ela/Voce comprava podia abria
Eles compravam podiam abriram
Nos compravamos podiamos abriamos
Past - Pret Perfeito
https://duome.eu/tips/en/pt#Past---Pret ... Perfeito-2
Comprar Poder Abrir
Eu comprei pude abri
Ele/ela/voce comprou pode abriu
Eles compraram puderam abriram
Nos compramos pudemos abrimos
Imperfect Indicative
Estava
Eu/Voce/Ele Estava (Was)
Voces/Eles Estavam
Nos estavamos
Continuous
In English, gerunds and present participles use the "ing" ending on the verbs.
In Portuguese, the verb ending is "ndo".
Present participle
The present participle is the continuous action of the verb, the continuous tense. In Portuguese, it's called "gerúndio". The translations are mostly straight and clear, using the verb "estar".
He is eating = Ele está comendo
The teacher is talking = O professor está falando.
https://duome.eu/tips/en/pt#Verbs-Continuous
Subjuntive Tenses
Subjunctive tenses are used for uncertainty, wishes, doubts, and polite requests!
Espero que sejas feliz! (I hope you are happy!)
Se eu fosse rico, ajudaria muita gente. (If I were rich, I would help a lot of people).
The subjunctive also contains the present, past, and future tenses – which I will not get into in this article, but that I thought worth mentioning.
They are “Maybe-Tenses”. If you’re not 100% sure about something,
Future subjunctive
https://duome.eu/tips/en/pt#Future-Subjunctive
Past subjunctive
https://duome.eu/tips/en/pt#Verbs%3A-Subjunctive-Past
Subjunctive Imperfect
Se eu Tivesse (If I had)
se eu comprasse Se eu pudesse se eu abrisse
Se ele comprasse Se ele pudesse Se ele abrisse
Se eles comprassem Se eles pudessem Se eles abrissem
Se nos comprassemos Se non pudessemos Se nos abrissemos
Portuguese verb tenses
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John Little
- Site Admin
- Posts: 293
- Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2022 12:51 pm
Re: Portuguese verb tenses
Pretérito Perfeito Ontem comi bacalhau. Happened one time in the past.
Pretérito Imperfeito Quando era pequena, eu brincava muito com os meus amigos. Ongoing or usual past actions.
Pretérito Mais-Que-Perfeito Quando ele entrou em casa, eu já tinha saído. An action that happened before another in the past.
So, as you can see, we have three different Portuguese verb tenses to speak about the past- just in the indicative form – which you are likely to be required to use ofte
Perfect Past (Pretérito Perfeito Simples) – One and Done!
“Pretérito Perfeito”, which is used to speak about an action that happened and was completed in the past. It’s now done and dusted!
Here are some examples:
Ontem comi bacalhau. (Yesterday I ate codfish.)
Ele viveu no Porto no ano de 2019. (He lived in Porto in 2019.)
And here is a mastery trick: You can think of this verb as a selfie—one snapshot in time.
The Imperfect Past (Pretérito Imperfeito) – Background Action!
The imperfect tense in Portuguese, is used to speak about ongoing past actions, or habits. Things that happened often in the past, or that took longer to be done.
Let’s see some examples:
Quando eu era criança, brincava muitas vezes na rua. (When I was a child, I played outside many times.)
Ela lia sempre livros antes de dormir. (She always read books before sleeping)
Do you see it? The first example means that I used to play outside when I was a child, it’s an action that happened several times in the past (this is true, actually…I used to play outside as a child, and I miss it! Don’t you?). The second example also speaks about an ongoing habit in the past…she did the action many times in the past, not just one time. Therefore, we use the imperfect tense, or Pretérito Imperfeito, in Portuguese.
The Past Perfect (Pretérito Mais-Que-Perfeito) – The Past’s Past
This verb tense is a little more complex, as it depicts an action that happened before another action in the past.
Here are some example sentences:
Quando ele chegou, eu já tinha saído. (When he arrived, I had already left.)
Quando eles se aperceberam, o cão já tinha comido o jantar deles. (When they realized it, the dog had already eaten their dinner.)
Here is a memory trick you can use to remember this verb tense: It’s like a flashback inside a flashback—very “Inception.”
(Have you seen that movie? Did you like it?)
The Future (O Futuro) – Because It’s Important to Make Plans!
This verb tense is very straightforward in its use – we use it to make plans, promises and predictions.
For example:
Amanhã irei para Lisboa. (Tomorrow I’ll go to Lisbon.)
No próximo ano, viajarei com a minha mãe. (Next year, I’ll travel with my mother.)
Although this is a somewhat clear tense, Portuguese people tend to leave it aside, except if they are speaking in a very formal or literary tone. So what do we use instead to speak about the future?
Here is a cheat code: In spoken Portuguese, people often just use “ir + infinitive” instead of the real future tense.
Like this:
Vou fazer o jantar. (I will make dinner.)
Amanhã vou telefonar para lá. (Tomorrow I will call there.)
Somehow, for Portuguese people, this sounds much more natural than the equivalents “Farei o jantar” or “Amanhã telefonarei para lá”. If you speak like this in day to day life in Portugal, people will understand you, but they will likely look at you funny!
The Subjunctive (O Conjuntivo) – The Mysterious Mood
Having a bonus sounds like I am giving you something nice, right? Well, my students generally do not find the subjunctive mood to be very cool. But, if you know what it is and what it is used for, you can really start to enjoy using this tense.
In fact, the subjunctive tenses are used for uncertainty, wishes, doubts, and sometimes even to make polite requests!
Let’s see some examples:
Espero que sejas feliz! (I hope you are happy!)
Se eu fosse rico, ajudaria muita gente. (If I were rich, I would help a lot of people).
The subjunctive also contains the present, past, and future tenses – which I will not get into in this article, but that I thought worth mentioning.
If you want a tip to remember when to use these verb tenses in the subjunctive, here it is: Think of it as the “Maybe-Tenses”. If you’re not 100% sure about something, Portuguese makes you use it!
Pretérito Imperfeito Quando era pequena, eu brincava muito com os meus amigos. Ongoing or usual past actions.
Pretérito Mais-Que-Perfeito Quando ele entrou em casa, eu já tinha saído. An action that happened before another in the past.
So, as you can see, we have three different Portuguese verb tenses to speak about the past- just in the indicative form – which you are likely to be required to use ofte
Perfect Past (Pretérito Perfeito Simples) – One and Done!
“Pretérito Perfeito”, which is used to speak about an action that happened and was completed in the past. It’s now done and dusted!
Here are some examples:
Ontem comi bacalhau. (Yesterday I ate codfish.)
Ele viveu no Porto no ano de 2019. (He lived in Porto in 2019.)
And here is a mastery trick: You can think of this verb as a selfie—one snapshot in time.
The Imperfect Past (Pretérito Imperfeito) – Background Action!
The imperfect tense in Portuguese, is used to speak about ongoing past actions, or habits. Things that happened often in the past, or that took longer to be done.
Let’s see some examples:
Quando eu era criança, brincava muitas vezes na rua. (When I was a child, I played outside many times.)
Ela lia sempre livros antes de dormir. (She always read books before sleeping)
Do you see it? The first example means that I used to play outside when I was a child, it’s an action that happened several times in the past (this is true, actually…I used to play outside as a child, and I miss it! Don’t you?). The second example also speaks about an ongoing habit in the past…she did the action many times in the past, not just one time. Therefore, we use the imperfect tense, or Pretérito Imperfeito, in Portuguese.
The Past Perfect (Pretérito Mais-Que-Perfeito) – The Past’s Past
This verb tense is a little more complex, as it depicts an action that happened before another action in the past.
Here are some example sentences:
Quando ele chegou, eu já tinha saído. (When he arrived, I had already left.)
Quando eles se aperceberam, o cão já tinha comido o jantar deles. (When they realized it, the dog had already eaten their dinner.)
Here is a memory trick you can use to remember this verb tense: It’s like a flashback inside a flashback—very “Inception.”
(Have you seen that movie? Did you like it?)
The Future (O Futuro) – Because It’s Important to Make Plans!
This verb tense is very straightforward in its use – we use it to make plans, promises and predictions.
For example:
Amanhã irei para Lisboa. (Tomorrow I’ll go to Lisbon.)
No próximo ano, viajarei com a minha mãe. (Next year, I’ll travel with my mother.)
Although this is a somewhat clear tense, Portuguese people tend to leave it aside, except if they are speaking in a very formal or literary tone. So what do we use instead to speak about the future?
Here is a cheat code: In spoken Portuguese, people often just use “ir + infinitive” instead of the real future tense.
Like this:
Vou fazer o jantar. (I will make dinner.)
Amanhã vou telefonar para lá. (Tomorrow I will call there.)
Somehow, for Portuguese people, this sounds much more natural than the equivalents “Farei o jantar” or “Amanhã telefonarei para lá”. If you speak like this in day to day life in Portugal, people will understand you, but they will likely look at you funny!
The Subjunctive (O Conjuntivo) – The Mysterious Mood
Having a bonus sounds like I am giving you something nice, right? Well, my students generally do not find the subjunctive mood to be very cool. But, if you know what it is and what it is used for, you can really start to enjoy using this tense.
In fact, the subjunctive tenses are used for uncertainty, wishes, doubts, and sometimes even to make polite requests!
Let’s see some examples:
Espero que sejas feliz! (I hope you are happy!)
Se eu fosse rico, ajudaria muita gente. (If I were rich, I would help a lot of people).
The subjunctive also contains the present, past, and future tenses – which I will not get into in this article, but that I thought worth mentioning.
If you want a tip to remember when to use these verb tenses in the subjunctive, here it is: Think of it as the “Maybe-Tenses”. If you’re not 100% sure about something, Portuguese makes you use it!