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Quick Grammar Reference
P o r t u g u e s e O n l i n e

>>Verbs > Imperfect Indicative

The indicative mood is the most basic mood in Portuguese (also see the sections on the subjunctive mood and the imperative mood in verbs). This is the mood that you will use for making a statement or asking a question. In the phrases he was happy and was he happy?, you use the verb "was" in the indicative mood.

The tense refers to the time period of a verb. The imperfect tense is used to indicate a continuous or ongoing action in the past. It is important to remember that the imperfect always turns the action into an ongoing event in the past. One-time past events are expressed with the preterit or past indicative (two names for the same form). The word imperfect is Latin for unfinished.

To form the imperfect, you will take the infinitive without its -ar, -er, or -ir ending (its "stem") and add the following endings. See the section on subject pronouns for more information on the pronouns listed in the left column.

It is absolutely necessary to understand the difference between the imperfect and the preterit. In English, the phrase I used to sell reveals the continuous nature of the action "sell", but, more often than not, English speakers prefer to use I sold for both one-time (preterit) and ongoing (imperfect) actions. Avoid this confusion by pinpointing the length or duration of the event. Always keep a divide between the two concepts I did and I used to do.

Keep in mind that, unlike in English, it is not necessary to use a subject pronoun or a noun with the verb. Falava and eu falava both mean I used to speak. You may choose to use them when clarifying (ela falava she used to speak, when she is not already obvious from context) or emphasizing (eles partiam THEY used to leave). This is particularly important with the imperfect, since eu and ele/ela/você share the same form. If context alone cannot clarify that vendia means I used to sell, you should include the pronoun and say eu vendia.

Using the translation "used to..." to define the imperfect is not an entirely successful strategy. Unfortunately, you will come to find that this correspondence will not be exact. One of the best examples of this translation's shortcomings is a story or recount of any sort. Portuguese speakers will always use the imperfect when giving the setting or background of a story. Era uma noite escura e tempestuosa. Fechava a porta... it was a dark and stormy night. I was closing the door...

The preterit and imperfect both play into each other in a good story: the imperfect sets the tone for the reader or listener and gives an account of the ongoing actions. The preterit interrupts those actions, or adds an element of staccato to the momentum: escutava um programa no rádio quando soou o telefone I was listening to a program on the radio when the phone rang (escutar to listen in the imperfect, soar to sound, to ring in the preterit).

Time and weather are both expressed with the imperfect: fazia frio it was cold (our translation leaves us with "it used to do cold"), eram oito (horas) it was eight (o'clock) (and here we have "they used to be eight (hours)").

Unlike the preterit, there is only a handful of irregular verbs in the imperfect:

Pôr to put (imperfect indicative: eu punha, tu punhas, ele/ela punha, nós púnhamos vós púnheis, eles/elas punham). Eu punha means I used to put. Eles não punham means they didn't use to put.

Ser to be (imperfect indicative: eu era, tu eras, ele/ela era, nós éramos vós éreis, eles/elas eram). Eu era means I used to be. Eles não eram means they didn't use to be.

Ter to have (imperfect indicative: eu tinha, tu tinhas, ele/ela tinha, nós tínhamos vós tínheis, eles/elas tinham). Eu tinha means I used to have. Eles não tinham means they didn't use to have.

Vir to come (imperfect indicative: eu vinha, tu vinhas, ele/ela vinha, nós vínhamos vós vínheis, eles/elas vinham). Eu vinha means I used to come. Eles não vinham means they didn't use to come.

Every other verb takes the expected endings given in the chart at the beginning of this section. Do not be confused by the verb ir, since it is also regular:

Ir to go (imperfect indicative: eu ia, tu ias, ele/ela ia, nós íamos vós íeis, eles/elas iam). Eu ia means I used to go. Eles não iam means they didn't use to go.

The verbs poder can, to be able, querer to want and saber to know (facts or information) only have their expected meanings in the imperfect: eu podia I used to be able to or I could; eu queria I wanted; eu sabia I knew. They each have a separate meaning in the preterit, and you should use them in the imperfect, not the preterit, when you wish to express I could, I wanted, or I knew.

The imperfect of ter to have is used in phrases like I had spoken or he had gone that require an auxiliary or compound verb construction.