Hello, dear students!
Today you’re going to practice the conjugation of the 50 most used verbs in Portuguese.
Our focus today will be the conjugation of verbs in the past, in the pretérito perfeito tense.
If you’d like to test your knowledge, I recommend watching the video first and taking the test before reading this blog post.
If you’re not yet familiar with how to conjugate verbs in the past tense in Portuguese, you’ll find the conjugation of regular verbs and some irregular verbs below.
This lesson includes a free PDF with exercises and a verb chart featuring regular and irregular verbs in the past tense. Click here to download your worksheet.
Brazilian Portuguese Conjugation Tip
At the beginning of the video lesson above, I said that the conjugations for the pronouns “eu” (I) and “você” (you) are the most important. Why?
For two reasons:
First, these two pronouns are the most used in daily life. Studies from the Brazilian Portuguese corpus show that the pronouns “eu” and “você” combined are used about 70% to 80% of the time compared to the other pronouns.
Second, the conjugation for the pronoun “você” can also be used with the pronouns “ele” (he), “ela” (she), and “a gente” (which means “we” in informal language).
The other plural pronouns, “nós” (we), “eles” (they, masculine), “elas” (they, feminine), and “vocês” (you all), are used in only 5% to 10% of conversations.
So, to sum up: if you learn how to conjugate verbs in the first person (“eu”) and in the third person (“você,” “ele,” “ela,” “a gente”), you’ll be able to communicate in 90% of situations.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn the other conjugations, but it’s important to prioritize the ones that are more common and more frequently used.
Now, let’s get into how to conjugate verbs in the past tense in Portuguese.
How to Conjugate Verbs in the “Pretérito Perfeito” (Past Tense) in Portuguese
Regular Verbs in the Past Tense
In Portuguese, there are three types of regular verbs: those ending in -AR, -ER, or -IR. Around 75% of the verbs used in Portuguese are regular verbs ending in -AR. There’s a much smaller number of verbs ending in -ER, and an even smaller number ending in -IR.
All verbs ending in -AR follow one pattern, those ending in -ER follow another, and those ending in -IR follow yet another. This means that if you learn to conjugate one regular verb of each type, you’ll be able to conjugate hundreds of other regular verbs in Portuguese. See one example of each type below.
Estudar
Eu estudei (I studied)
Você/ele/ela/a gente estudou (You/he/she/we studied)
Nós estudamos (we studied)
Vocês/eles/elas estudaram (You all/they studied)
Escrever
Eu escrevi (I wrote)
Você/ele/ela/a gente escreveu (You/he/she/we wrote)
Nós escrevemos (we wrote)
Vocês/eles/elas escreveram (You all/they wrote)
Assistir
Eu assisti (I watched)
Você/ele/ela/a gente assistiu (You/he/she/we watched)
Nós assistimos (we watched)
Vocês/eles/elas assistiram (You all/they watched)
Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense
Irregular verbs don’t follow a pattern, so you need to learn them one by one. There are hundreds of irregular verbs in Portuguese, but only a small number are actually used in daily life. See the conjugation of the 5 most commonly used irregular verbs in Portuguese below.
Ter
Eu tive (I had)
Você/ele/ela/a gente teve (You/he/she/we had)
Nós tivemos (we had)
Vocês/eles/elas tiveram (You all/they had)
Ir
Eu fui (I went)
Você/ele/ela/a gente foi (You/he/she/we went)
Nós fomos (we went)
Vocês/eles/elas foram (You all/they went)
Vir
Eu vim (I came)
Você/ele/ela/a gente veio (You/he/she/we came)
Nós viemos (we came)
Vocês/eles/elas vieram (You all/they came)
Poder
Eu pude (I could)
Você/ele/ela/a gente pôde (You/he/she/we could)
Nós pudemos (we could)
Vocês/eles/elas puderam (You all/they could)
Fazer
Eu fiz (I did/made)
Você/ele/ela/a gente fez (You/he/she/we did/made)
Nós fizemos (we did/made)
Vocês/eles/elas fizeram (You all/they did/made)
Visit the website conjugacao.com.br for full charts of verb conjugations in Brazilian Portuguese.
Free PDF!
Remember that this lesson includes a free PDF with exercises and a verb chart featuring regular and irregular verbs in the past tense. Click here to download your worksheet.
Online Brazilian Portuguese Courses
If you enjoyed this lesson, you’ll love our courses! At Speaking Brazilian School, we offer digital courses, small group classes, and private lessons. Click here to learn more about our Brazilian Portuguese online classes.
