return to main menu
Quick Grammar Reference
P o r t u g u e s e O n l i n e

>>Verbs > Pluperfect Indicative (literary)

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 is happy and is he happy?, you use the verb "is" in the indicative mood.

The tense refers to the time period of a verb. The pluperfect tense is used to express an action in the that occurred before another action in the past. The equivalent concept in English is the helping verb had, as in we had gone with you.

To form the pluperfect indicative, you will take the infinitive (with its -ar, -er, or -ir ending) and add the following endings. See the section on subject pronouns for more information on the pronouns listed in the left column.

This form of the pluperfect is listed as a literary construction because it does not exist in the spoken language. It is rare in the written language outside of literature and poetry, and even there it is the mark of a more archaic style. To express the same concept in the spoken language, Portuguese speakers use the imperfect of ter to have in phrases like I had spoken or he had gone, but these require a separate auxiliary or compound verb construction.

Keep in mind that, unlike in English, it is not necessary to use a subject pronoun or a noun with the verb. Falara and eu falara both mean I had spoken. You may choose to use them when clarifying (ela falara she had spoken, when she is not already obvious from context) or emphasizing (eles partiram THEY had left). This is particularly important with the pluperfect, since eu and ele/ela/você share the same form. If context alone cannot clarify that vendera means I had sold, you should include the pronoun and write eu vendera.

The future indicative is sometimes used where English speakers might prefer should or ought to. After hearing your doorbell ring, será meu amigo (it) will be my friend shows that you expect to find your friend at the door when you open it (ser to be). Even if an English speaker feels more comfortable with that should be my friend, it is not to difficult to see why Portuguese speakers use the future in these situations.

Every irregular verb in the pluperfect is also irregular in the preterit, and always shares the same stem. The third person plural (eles/elas/vocês) forms are always identical. Here are some examples:

Dizer to say (preterit: eu disse, eles disseram; pluperfect: eu dissera, eles disseram). Meaning: had said.

Pôr to put (preterit: eu pus, eles puseram; pluperfect: eu pusera, eles puseram). Meaning: had put.

Querer to want (preterit: eu quis, eles quiseram; pluperfect: eu quisera, eles quiseram). Meaning: had wanted.

Ser to be (preterit: eu foi, eles foram; pluperfect: eu fora, eles foram). Meaning: had been.

Trazer to bring (preterit: eu trouxe, eles trouxeram; pluperfect: eu trouxera, eles trouxeram). Meaning: had brought.

Ver to see (preterit: eu vi, eles viram; pluperfect: eu vira, eles viram). Meaning: had seen.