Introduction

Escrever means “to write”, and this page covers exactly one thing: escrever in the pretérito perfeito. The pretérito perfeito is the tense Portuguese speakers reach for when they talk about one finished action in the past, especially in conversation. On this page you will find the full pretérito perfeito table for escrever, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the pretérito imperfeito, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about escrever in the pretérito perfeito. It means to write, and it is irregular in the present and the pretérito perfeito: escrevo, escreves, escreve, and escrevi, escreveste, escreveu in the past. Its participle is escrito, not a regular -ido form, so learn it as a pair with the infinitive. For example: “Ele escreveu uma carta ontem.” — “He wrote a letter.” Everything on this page uses the forms of escrever exactly as they are conjugated in the pretérito perfeito, so you can trust every form you see here.

Escrever in the Pretérito perfeito — full table

Person Form
eu escrevi
tu escreveste
ele/ela escreveu
nós escrevemos
vós escrevestes
eles/elas escreveram
Gerund: escrevendo · Past participle: escrito
The gerund is escrevendo, which you use with estar to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Escrevendo uma carta, aprendo muito.” — “While writing a letter, I learn a lot.” The past participle is escrito, which you use with ter in the perfect tenses: tenho escrito is the pretérito perfeito composto, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the pretérito perfeito is only one part of how escrever is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for escrever, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the pretérito perfeito of escrever is formed

The pretérito perfeito of escrever has six forms: eu escrevi, tu escreveste, ele escreveu, nós escrevemos, vós escrevestes, eles escreveram. The participle is given here in the masculine singular form, exactly as it appears in the verified dump; agreement with the subject is a separate step that depends on the sentence, not on the verb table. escrever is irregular in other tenses, but its pretérito perfeito follows the regular endings: the -ar endings are -ei, -aste, -ou, -ámos, -astes, -aram, and the -er and -ir endings are -i, -este, -eu, -emos, -estes, -eram. Learn the six forms as a set and the tense is yours.

Two things about the pretérito perfeito of escrever are worth noticing. First, it is the tense of finished events with a clear result, so it pairs naturally with time words such as ontem, esta semana and no ano passado — those time words are your best clue when you are choosing a tense. Second, it is a simple tense, built from one word, unlike the pretérito perfeito composto, which needs ter plus the participle escrito: tenho escrito. When the action is one finished event, reach for the simple form first.

Because the pretérito perfeito of escrever is one word per person, it is cheap to learn once the six forms are fixed. Learn them in order — eu, tu, ele, nós, vós, eles — and say each one with a time word, so the tense and its time words are learnt together.

When to use the pretérito perfeito of escrever

The pretérito perfeito is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use escrever in the pretérito perfeito most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.

1. One finished action

The pretérito perfeito describes a single action that is finished, especially in spoken Portuguese. When the action has a clear end, the pretérito perfeito is the natural choice. Example: “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.” — “I wrote a letter.”

2. Recent events

Use the pretérito perfeito for things that happened recently — today, this week, this morning — where the result is still visible in the present. Example: “Ele escreveu uma carta ontem.” — “He wrote a letter.”

3. A sequence of events

When you tell what happened first, second and third, each step takes the pretérito perfeito. The tense moves the story forward one finished action at a time. Example: “Nós escrevemos uma carta ontem.” — “We wrote a letter.”

4. An experience in your life

Use the pretérito perfeito for things you have done in your life, with or without a time expression. It is the tense of experience as much as of yesterday. Example: “Tu escreveste uma carta ontem.” — “You wrote a letter.”

5. News and results

When you report news or a result, the pretérito perfeito carries it: something happened, and now the situation is different. The result matters more than the process. Example: “Eles escreveram uma carta ontem.” — “They wrote a letter.”

Pretérito Perfeito vs Pretérito Imperfeito: how to choose

The closest tense to the pretérito perfeito is the pretérito imperfeito, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the pretérito perfeito describes one finished action, while the pretérito imperfeito describes an ongoing or habitual action in the past, or the background of a scene. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is the time frame — and with it, the tense. Notice how the pretérito perfeito sentences use words such as ontem or esta semana, while the pretérito imperfeito sentences use antigamente or todos os dias.

  • Pretérito Perfeito: “Ele escreveu uma carta ontem.” — “He wrote a letter”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Ele escrevia uma carta antigamente.” — “He used to write a letter”
  • The pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event; the pretérito imperfeito sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.
  • Pretérito Perfeito: “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.” — “I wrote a letter”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Eu escrevia uma carta antigamente.” — “I used to write a letter”
  • The pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event; the pretérito imperfeito sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.
  • Pretérito Perfeito: “Tu escreveste uma carta ontem.” — “You wrote a letter”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Tu escrevias uma carta antigamente.” — “You used to write a letter”
  • The pretérito perfeito sentence is one finished event; the pretérito imperfeito sentence is an ongoing or habitual past action. Ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.

Example sentences: escrever in the pretérito perfeito

Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions and the objects — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.

  1. “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.” — “I wrote a letter”
  2. “Tu escreveste uma carta ontem.” — “You wrote a letter”
  3. “Ele escreveu uma carta ontem.” — “He wrote a letter”
  4. “Nós escrevemos uma carta ontem.” — “We wrote a letter”
  5. “Vós escrevestes uma carta ontem.” — “You wrote a letter”
  6. “Eles escreveram uma carta ontem.” — “They wrote a letter”
  7. “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.” — “I wrote a letter”
  8. “Ele escreveu uma carta ontem.” — “He wrote a letter”

Common mistakes

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.

  • Wrong: “Eu escrevo uma carta ontem.” Right: “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.” Why: Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito escrevi for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Eu escrevia uma carta ontem.” Right: “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.” Why: The pretérito imperfeito describes an ongoing or habitual past action, not one finished event. For a single finished action yesterday, use the pretérito perfeito escrevi.
  • Wrong: “Eu escreveste uma carta.” Right: “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.” Why: The eu form is escrevi, not escreveste. escreveste is the tu form. Match the verb to the subject every time.
  • Wrong: “Eu escrever uma carta.” Right: “Eu escrevi uma carta ontem.” Why: The infinitive escrever never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After eu you need the conjugated pretérito perfeito form escrevi.

Quiz: test yourself

Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.

  1. What is the eu form of escrever in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) escreveste
    • B) escrevi
    • C) escreveu
    • D) escrevemos

  2. What is the tu form of escrever in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) escrevi
    • B) escreveu
    • C) escreveste
    • D) escrevemos

  3. What is the ele/ela form of escrever in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) escrevi
    • B) escreveste
    • C) escrevemos
    • D) escreveu

  4. What is the nós form of escrever in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) escrevemos
    • B) escrevi
    • C) escreveste
    • D) escreveu

  5. What is the vós form of escrever in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) escrevi
    • B) escrevestes
    • C) escreveste
    • D) escreveu

  6. What is the eles/elas form of escrever in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) escrevi
    • B) escreveste
    • C) escreveram
    • D) escreveu

  7. What is the eu form of escrever in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) escreveste
    • B) escreveu
    • C) escrevemos
    • D) escrevi

  8. What is the tu form of escrever in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) escreveste
    • B) escrevi
    • C) escreveu
    • D) escrevemos

Answer key

  1. B) escrevi — the correct form is escrevi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) escreveste — the correct form is escreveste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) escreveu — the correct form is escreveu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) escrevemos — the correct form is escrevemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) escrevestes — the correct form is escrevestes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) escreveram — the correct form is escreveram. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) escrevi — the correct form is escrevi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) escreveste — the correct form is escreveste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does escrever mean in English?

escrever means “to write”. It is a irregular -er verb.

How is the pretérito perfeito of escrever formed?

The six pretérito perfeito forms are: eu escrevi, tu escreveste, ele escreveu, nós escrevemos, vós escrevestes, eles escreveram.

When do I use the pretérito perfeito instead of the pretérito imperfeito?

Use the pretérito perfeito for one finished action in the past. Use the pretérito imperfeito for an ongoing or habitual past action, or for background description. The time words are your best clue: ontem points to the pretérito perfeito, antigamente points to the pretérito imperfeito.

What are the gerund and past participle of escrever?

The gerund is escrevendo and the past participle is escrito. The perfect tenses use ter + escrito.

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