Past: imperfeito, and choosing between the two

Portuguese has a second past tense, and unlike much of what this handbook skips, you cannot avoid this one. The distinction between perfeito and imperfeito carries real meaning and Brazilians use both constantly.

The good news: the imperfect is the most regular tense in the language. Four irregular verbs, total.

Grammar

1. The endings

	-ar `falar` — to speak	-er / -ir `comer` — to eat · `abrir` — to open
eu	falava — I used to speak	comia — I used to eat
você / ele / a gente	falava	comia
vocês / eles	falavam	comiam
(nós)	falávamos	comíamos

Respellings: falava fah-LAH-vah · falavam fah-LAH-vowng · comia koh-MEE-ah · comiam koh-MEE-owng

eu and você/ele are identical. So you have only two forms per verb. This is the easiest tense in Portuguese.

-er and -ir verbs are fully identical here — same endings, no difference at all.

2. The four irregulars

That is the entire list.

Verb	Meaning	eu / você / ele	vocês / eles
ser	to be	era (EH-rah)	eram (EH-rowng)
ter	to have	tinha (TEE-nyah)	tinham (TEE-nyowng)
vir	to come	vinha (VEE-nyah)	vinham
pôr [+]	to put	punha	punham

ir, fazer, poder, querer, ver, saber, dar, estar — all regular in the imperfect. ia, fazia, podia, queria, via, sabia, dava, estava.

3. The distinction

perfeito — a completed event. It happened, it finished. imperfeito — an ongoing state, a habit, or background.

The clearest test: could you translate it with English was ___ing or used to ___? If yes, use the imperfect.

Use `imperfeito` for	Example
Habits and repeated past action	`Eu ia todo dia` — I used to go every day
Ongoing background	`Estava chovendo` [+] — it was raining
Description of a past state	`A cidade era pequena` — the city was small
Age, time, weather in the past	`Eu tinha vinte anos` — I was twenty · `Eram três horas` — it was three o'clock
Feelings and mental states	`Eu queria ir` — I wanted to go
Something interrupted	`Eu comia quando ele chegou`

Use `perfeito` for	Example
A single completed event	`Eu fui ontem` — I went yesterday
A sequence of events	`Cheguei, comi, paguei`
Something with a defined duration	`Fiquei três dias`
The interrupting event	`Ele chegou quando eu comia`

4. The pairs

The same verb in both tenses means genuinely different things:

`perfeito`	`imperfeito`
`Eu fui lá` — I went there (once)	`Eu ia lá` — I used to go there
`Foi caro` — it was expensive (that time)	`Era caro` — it used to be expensive
`Eu tive um carro` — I had a car (then sold it)	`Eu tinha um carro` — I used to have a car
`Eu soube` — I found out	`Eu sabia` — I knew
`Eu quis ir` — I tried to go	`Eu queria ir` — I wanted to go
`Conheci [+] ele ontem` — I met him yesterday	`Conhecia ele` — I knew him

saber and querer are the two where the difference is sharpest. Eu soube = I learned the information at a moment. Eu sabia = I was in a state of knowing.

5. The two big practical uses

Even if the full distinction takes time, these two patterns pay off immediately:

a) Eu queria… — the polite request

The imperfect of querer is the softest, most standard way to order or ask for something. Literally I wanted, functionally I'd like.

Eu queria um café — I'd like a coffee
Eu queria ver o quarto — I'd like to see the room
Eu queria pagar — I'd like to pay

It is politer than Eu quero and easier than the conditional. Use it constantly. See chapter 17.

b) estava + -ndo — the past continuous

Exactly like English was ___ing:

Eu estava comendo — I was eating
Estava chovendo [+] — it was raining
A gente estava esperando [+] — we were waiting

6. `tinha` — there was

Just as tem = there is, tinha = there was / there were.

Tinha muita gente — there were a lot of people
Não tinha mesa livre — there was no free table
Tinha um problema — there was a problem

7. `costumava` and `ia` for habits

Two more ways to say used to:

Eu **ia** muito lá — I used to go there a lot (imperfect of ir)
Eu **costumava** [+] ir — I used to go (explicit, slightly formal)

The plain imperfect is enough. costumava is optional.

Examples

Habits

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Eu ia todo dia	eh-oo EE-ah TOH-doo JEE-ah	I used to go every day
A gente comia lá sempre	… koh-MEE-ah lah SEM-pree	We always used to eat there
Eu trabalhava aqui	eh-oo trah-bah-LYAH-vah ah-KEE	I used to work here
Eu morava no centro	eh-oo moh-RAH-vah noo SEN-troo	I used to live downtown
Ele falava muito	EH-lee fah-LAH-vah MWEEN-too	He used to talk a lot
Eles vinham toda semana	EH-lees VEE-nyowng TOH-dah seh-MAH-nah	They used to come every week

Descriptions and states

Portuguese	Respelling	English
A cidade era pequena	ah see-DAH-jee EH-rah peh-KEH-nah	The city was small
O hotel era bom	oo oh-TEW EH-rah bong	The hotel was good
Estava frio	es-TAH-vah FREE-oo	It was cold
Estava muito quente	… MWEEN-too KEN-chee	It was very hot
Eu estava cansado	eh-oo es-TAH-vah kahn-SAH-doo	I was tired
Eu tinha vinte anos	eh-oo TEE-nyah VEEN-chee AH-noos	I was twenty
Eram três horas	EH-rowng trehs OH-rahs	It was three o'clock
A loja estava fechada	ah LOH-zhah es-TAH-vah feh-SHAH-dah	The shop was closed

`tinha` — there was

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Tinha muita gente	TEE-nyah MWEEN-tah ZHEN-chee	There were a lot of people
Não tinha mesa livre	nowng TEE-nyah MEH-zah LEE-vree	There was no free table
Tinha um problema com a chave	… kong ah SHAH-vee	There was a problem with the key
Não tinha internet	nowng TEE-nyah een-ter-NEH-chee	There was no internet

`Eu queria…` — polite requests

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Eu queria um café	eh-oo keh-REE-ah oong kah-FEH	I'd like a coffee
Eu queria uma cerveja	… OO-mah ser-VAY-zhah	I'd like a beer
Eu queria ver o quarto	… vehr oo KWAR-too	I'd like to see the room
Eu queria pagar	… pah-GAR	I'd like to pay
Eu queria falar com o médico	… fah-LAR kong oo MEH-jee-koo	I'd like to speak to the doctor
A gente queria uma mesa	… OO-mah MEH-zah	We'd like a table

Past continuous

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Eu estava comendo	eh-oo es-TAH-vah koh-MEN-doo	I was eating
Ele estava trabalhando	… trah-bah-LYAHN-doo	He was working
A gente estava esperando [+]	… es-peh-RAHN-doo	We were waiting
Não estava funcionando [+]	… foon-see-oh-NAHN-doo	It wasn't working

The two tenses together

This is the pattern to internalise: imperfect for the background, perfect for the event that cuts into it.

Portuguese	English
Eu comia quando ele chegou	I was eating when he arrived
Estava frio quando a gente saiu [+]	It was cold when we left
Eu queria ir, mas não pude	I wanted to go, but I couldn't
A loja estava fechada, então a gente foi embora [+]	The shop was closed, so we left
Eu não sabia que era tão [+] caro	I didn't know it was that expensive
Tinha muita gente, então a gente não ficou	There were a lot of people, so we didn't stay

Choosing — a drill

Situation	Correct	Why
I went to the beach yesterday	`Eu fui à praia ontem`	one completed event
I used to go to the beach a lot	`Eu ia muito à praia`	habit
We stayed three days	`A gente ficou três dias`	defined duration
The hotel was nice	`O hotel era bom`	description of a state
It was expensive, so I didn't buy it	`Era caro, então não comprei`	state + event
I paid the bill	`Eu paguei a conta`	completed event
I didn't have money	`Eu não tinha dinheiro`	state
I had a problem yesterday	`Eu tive um problema ontem`	completed event

What to take from this chapter

The imperfect has two forms per verb and four irregular verbs. It is the easiest tense in the language.
ser → era. ter → tinha. Everything else you need is regular.
Perfect = it happened. Imperfect = it was happening, it used to happen, it was the case.
Eu queria… is the everyday polite request. Learn it as a fixed phrase and use it constantly.
tinha = there was.
Background in the imperfect, interruption in the perfect.

`perfeito`	`imperfeito`
`Eu fui lá` — I went there (once)	`Eu ia lá` — I used to go there
`Foi caro` — it was expensive (that time)	`Era caro` — it used to be expensive
`Eu tive um carro` — I had a car (then sold it)	`Eu tinha um carro` — I used to have a car
`Eu soube` — I found out	`Eu sabia` — I knew
`Eu quis ir` — I tried to go	`Eu queria ir` — I wanted to go
`Conheci [+] ele ontem` — I met him yesterday	`Conhecia ele` — I knew him