Olá, queridos alunos! (Hello, dear students!)
“Eu morei lá por 10 anos” (I lived there for 10 years) or “Eu morava lá por 10 anos” (I used to live there for 10 years)? Which way is correct?
The correct form is “Eu morei lá por 10 anos” (I lived there for 10 years). Why? I will explain in just a minute.
Today, my mission is to teach you all you need to know about the two main verb tenses we use to talk about the past: the pretérito perfeito and the pretérito imperfeito. It’s not an easy task, but I’ll give it my best shot.
This lesson consists of a video and a PDF with exercises for you to practice what you are about to learn. To make the most of what this lesson has to offer, fill out the form below to download your worksheet.
Why is this subject so complicated for English speakers?
It’s because, while in English we use only one verb tense, the simple past, in Portuguese we use two verb tenses.
For this reason, translating from Portuguese to English and vice-versa doesn’t help much. I recommend that you pay attention to the use of these verb tenses in Portuguese to understand how to use them correctly.
First, I will explain each verb tense separately, and afterwards, I will cover a few complexities and the main difficulties that my students face.
PRETÉRITO PERFEITO
We use the pretérito perfeito to:
1. Talk about actions that started and ended at a specific time in the past.
For example:
Carlos viajou ao Brasil na semana passada. (Carlos traveled to Brazil last week.)
Minha mãe me ligou ontem. (My mom called me yesterday.)
Eu me mudei para Nova York em 2013. (I moved to New York in 2013.)
2. Talk about a long-term action that started and ended in the past. Generally, the time period is indicated in the sentence, such as “for X amount of time.”
For example:
Marcus estudou português por dois anos. (Marcus studied Portuguese for two years.)
Pedro morou no Brasil por muito tempo. (Pedro lived in Brazil for a long time.)
Ana viajou de férias por uma semana. (Ana traveled for a week during her vacation.)
Note that the following words and phrases are commonly used with the pretérito perfeito:
Ontem, anteontem, semana passada, mês passado, ano passado, dois dias atrás, há dois dias, há pouco tempo, há muito tempo, faz pouco tempo, faz muito tempo, por um ano, por um mês, por uma semana etc. (Yesterday, the day before yesterday, last week, last month, last year, two days ago, two days ago, not long ago, a long time ago, a short time ago, a long time ago, for a year, for a month, for a week, etc.)
All of these words and phrases indicate a specific time period, and that’s why they are normally used with the pretérito perfeito.
PRETÉRITO IMPERFEITO
We use the pretérito imperfeito to:
1. Talk about habits or routines that we had in the past.
For example:
Eu visitava minha avó todo fim de semana quando era criança. (used to visit my grandmother every weekend when I was a child.)
Quando eu estava na faculdade, tinha que acordar cedo. (When I was in college, I had to wake up early.)
2. Indicate age or time in the past.
For example:
Ana tinha 5 anos quando aprendeu a ler. (Ana was 5 years old when she learned to read.)
Eram 10 horas da noite quando ele chegou. (It was 10 o’clock at night when he arrived.)
3. Talk about feelings and health conditions in the past.
For example:
Carolina estava muito feliz no dia do seu casamento. (Carolina was very happy on her wedding day.)
Marcelo não trabalhou ontem porque estava doente. (Marcelo didn’t work yesterday because he was sick.)
4. Describe people or things in the past.
For example:
O dia estava lindo no domingo. (The day was beautiful on Sunday.)
Mariana estava muito linda com aquele vestido. (Mariana looked very pretty in that dress.)
5. Communicate the idea that you used to do something in the past that you don’t do anymore.
For example:
Eu costumava dormir tarde, mas hoje durmo cedo. (I used to go to sleep late, but now I go to sleep early.)
Eu adorava ir ao cinema quando era mais jovem. (I used to love to go to the movies when I was younger.)
6. Describe two simultaneous actions in the past or talk about an action that was happening when something happened.
For example:
Enquanto Ana trabalhava, seu cachorro dormia no sofá. (While Ana was working, her dog slept on the couch.)
Maria estava cozinhando quando o telefone tocou. (Maria was cooking when the telephone rang.)
7. TIP: The verbs “ser” (to be), “estar” (to be), “saber” (to know), and “querer” (to want) are commonly used in the pretérito imperfeito.
For example:
Eu sabia disso. (I knew that.)
O que você queria me dizer? (What did you want to tell me?)
Note that the following words and phrases are commonly used with the pretérito imperfeito:
Antigamente, naquela época, nos velhos tempos, quando eu era, quando eu estava, eu costumava etc. (Back in the day, at that time, in the old days, when I was, when I was, I used to etc.)
All of these words and phrases indicate a somewhat undefined time, and that’s why they are normally used with the pretérito imperfeito.
Now we’re going to talk a little about some common questions that my students ask me all the time.
MOREI or MORAVA?
With the verb “morar” (to live), we use the pretérito perfeito when the time period is specific and the pretérito imperfeito when it’s not specific. Basically, if you say FOR how long you lived in a place, you should use the pretérito perfeito.
For example:
Eu morei no Brasil por muitos anos. (I lived in Brazil for many years.)
Ela morou na Itália por 2 anos. (She lived in Italy for 2 years.)
Eu morava no Brasil quando era criança. (I used to live in Brazil when I was a kid.)
Naquela época, ela morava na Itália. (At that time, she lived in Italy.)
FOI or ERA?
Almost always, the verb “ser” (to be) is used in the pretérito imperfeito to describe continuous situations, habits, and characteristics in the past.
For example:
Quando eu era criança, eu era estudiosa. (When I was a child, I was studious.)
A minha avó era muito gentil e sua casa era aconchegante. (My grandmother was very kind, and her house was cozy.)
However, in some situations we use the verb “ser” in the pretérito perfeito. For example, in a conversation with friends, when we want to find out what’s new, it’s very common to ask this type of question:
Como foi o seu dia? Como foi a viagem? Como foi a festa? (How was your day? How was the trip? How was the party?)
In this type of question, we use the verb “ser” in the pretérito perfeito, since, in a way, we are referring to an event as a completed action that happened and ended in the past.
Como foi seu dia? Foi corrido. (How was your day? It was busy.)
Como foi a festa? Foi ótima! (How was the party? It was great!)
Como foi a viagem? Foi muito legal! (How was the trip? It was very cool!)
Languages are made of patterns, not just rules.
I saw a comment on YouTube on another video about this subject from a student saying that this doesn’t make sense because it’s a description, so we should use the imperfeito.
Let me say something important to you all: languages don’t always make sense. Language isn’t math. It’s not 2 + 2 = 4. Languages are complex and dynamic systems that change all the time with use. Some rules make sense and are very clear, but many things simply don’t make any sense.
Languages develop in an arbitrary way according to the conventions of a group of speakers, without following an intrinsic or universal logic. So, when you are learning a foreign language, it’s essential to observe how it is used and accept that the use of that language won’t always make sense to you.
However, even when the rule isn’t clear, there is usually a pattern. Languages are made of patterns, not just rules. If you come across a sentence that doesn’t make sense according to the rules, ignore the rules for a minute and pay attention to the pattern. Normally, something indicates the correct usage, whether it’s a word, a phrase, or the context.
Take a look at this example:
Como foi seu dia? Foi bom. (How was your day? It was good.)
Como foi a festa? Foi boa! (How was the party? It was good!)
Como foi a viagem? Foi ótima! (How was the trip? It was great!)
Do you see the pattern? Here, you are learning something beyond the rule. You are recognizing a real usage pattern. Observing and recognizing patterns is essential so you can communicate in a natural way in Portuguese.
In this lesson, I covered everything you really need to know about the differences between the pretérito perfeito and imperfeito, but to use these two verb tenses in a fluent way, you will need years of practice and a lot of exposure to the language.
That’s why I’ve prepared a PDF with extra exercises. Fill out the form below to download your worksheet.
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Até a próxima!
Virginia & Speaking Brazilian Team
