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Quick Grammar Reference
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>>Verbs > Preterit or Past 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 past tense is used to show that the action occurred in the past. It is important to remember that the preterit always turns the action into a one-time event in the past. Continuous or ongoing events are expressed with the imperfect indicative.
To form the preterit, 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.
| -ar verbs (falar to speak) | -er verbs (vender to sell) | -ir verbs (partir to leave) | |
| eu | -ei (falei) | -i (vendi) | -i (parti) |
| tu (Portugal only) | -aste (falaste) | -este (vendeste) | -iste (partiste) |
| ele, ela, você | -ou (falou) | -eu (vendeu) | -iu (partiu) |
| nós | -ámos (falámos) | -emos (vendemos) | -imos (partimos) |
| vós (archaic) | -astes (falastes) | -estes (vendestes) | -istes (partistes) |
| eles, elas, vocês | -aram (falaram) | -eram (venderam) | -iram (partiram) |
The accent mark over the "a" in the nós -ámos form of all -ar verbs in the preterit tells you to pronounce the "a" like father and not cut (since the rule holds that an a before n or m should have the sound of the "u" in cut). This pronunciation is the only difference between the present indicative falamos we speak or we are speaking and the preterit falámos we spoke (once, at one time).
Keep in mind that, unlike in English, it is not necessary to use a subject pronoun or a noun with the verb. Falei and eu falei both mean I spoke. You may choose to use them when clarifying (ela falou she spoke, when she is not already obvious from context) or emphasizing (eles partiram THEY left).
There is a very high number of irregular verbs in the preterit. A number of them take on a separate meaning when referring to the past. Listed below are three common irregular verbs that alter their meaning in the past (the preterit).
Poder to be able, can (preterit: eu pude, tu pudeste, ele/ela pôde, nós pudemos vós pudestes, eles/elas puderam; preterit meaning: was able (after attempting or overcoming)). Eu pude means I (tried and I) could, not just "I could". Eles não puderam means they tried and they couldn't, not just "they couldn't".
Querer to want (preterit: eu quis, tu quiseste, ele/ela quis, nós quisemos vós quisestes, eles/elas quiseram; preterit meaning: tried, attempted). Eu quis means I tried, not "I wanted". Eles não quiseram means they didn't try, not "they didn't want".
Saber to know (facts or information) (preterit: eu soube, tu soubeste, ele/ela soube, nós soubemos vós soubestes, eles/elas souberam; preterit meaning: found out). Eu soube means I found out, not "I knew". Eles não souberam means they didn't find out, not "they didn't know".
The expected meanings in the past are always rendered with the imperfect indicative: eu podia I used to be able to or I could; eu queria I wanted; eu sabia I knew.
Phrases like I have spoken or he had gone are usually translated into Portuguese with a similar auxiliary or compound verb construction.