Introduction

Fazer means “to do, to make”, and this page covers exactly one thing: fazer 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 fazer, 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 fazer in the pretérito perfeito. It covers both “to do” and “to make”, and it appears in dozens of everyday expressions: making a cake, doing homework, and talking about the weather, where Portuguese says the weather “does” hot or cold. It is irregular in almost every tense, so its tables are worth learning whole — especially fiz in the pretérito perfeito and faço in the present. For example: “Ele fez um bolo ontem.” — “He made a cake.” Everything on this page uses the forms of fazer exactly as they are conjugated in the pretérito perfeito, so you can trust every form you see here.

Fazer in the Pretérito perfeito — full table

Person Form
eu fiz
tu fizeste
ele/ela fez
nós fizemos
vós fizestes
eles/elas fizeram
Gerund: fazendo · Past participle: feito
The gerund is fazendo, which you use with estar to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Fazendo um bolo, aprendo muito.” — “While making a cake, I learn a lot.” The past participle is feito, which you use with ter in the perfect tenses: tenho feito 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 fazer is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for fazer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the pretérito perfeito of fazer is formed

The pretérito perfeito of fazer has six forms: eu fiz, tu fizeste, ele fez, nós fizemos, vós fizestes, eles fizeram. 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. fazer is irregular in the pretérito perfeito, so the six forms have to be learnt as a set instead of derived from the infinitive. The stem changes completely in this tense, and no rule predicts the forms — learn them whole, starting with eu and ele, the two forms you will use most.

Two things about the pretérito perfeito of fazer 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 feito: tenho feito. When the action is one finished event, reach for the simple form first.

Because the pretérito perfeito of fazer 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 fazer

The pretérito perfeito is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use fazer 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 fiz um bolo ontem.” — “I made a cake.”

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 fez um bolo ontem.” — “He made a cake.”

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 fizemos um bolo ontem.” — “We made a cake.”

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 fizeste um bolo ontem.” — “You made a cake.”

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 fizeram um bolo ontem.” — “They made a cake.”

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 fez um bolo ontem.” — “He made a cake”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Ele fazia um bolo antigamente.” — “He used to make a cake”
  • 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 fiz um bolo ontem.” — “I made a cake”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Eu fazia um bolo antigamente.” — “I used to make a cake”
  • 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 fizeste um bolo ontem.” — “You made a cake”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Tu fazias um bolo antigamente.” — “You used to make a cake”
  • 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: fazer 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 fiz um bolo ontem.” — “I made a cake”
  2. “Tu fizeste um bolo ontem.” — “You made a cake”
  3. “Ele fez um bolo ontem.” — “He made a cake”
  4. “Nós fizemos um bolo ontem.” — “We made a cake”
  5. “Vós fizestes um bolo ontem.” — “You made a cake”
  6. “Eles fizeram um bolo ontem.” — “They made a cake”
  7. “Eu fiz um bolo ontem.” — “I made a cake”
  8. “Ele fez um bolo ontem.” — “He made a cake”

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 faço um bolo ontem.” Right: “Eu fiz um bolo ontem.” Why: Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito fiz for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Eu fazia um bolo ontem.” Right: “Eu fiz um bolo 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 fiz.
  • Wrong: “Eu fizeste um bolo.” Right: “Eu fiz um bolo ontem.” Why: The eu form is fiz, not fizeste. fizeste is the tu form. Match the verb to the subject every time.
  • Wrong: “Eu fazer um bolo.” Right: “Eu fiz um bolo ontem.” Why: The infinitive fazer never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After eu you need the conjugated pretérito perfeito form fiz.

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 fazer in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) fizeste
    • B) fiz
    • C) fez
    • D) fizemos

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

    • A) fiz
    • B) fez
    • C) fizeste
    • D) fizemos

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

    • A) fiz
    • B) fizeste
    • C) fizemos
    • D) fez

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

    • A) fizemos
    • B) fiz
    • C) fizeste
    • D) fez

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

    • A) fiz
    • B) fizestes
    • C) fizeste
    • D) fez

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

    • A) fiz
    • B) fizeste
    • C) fizeram
    • D) fez

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

    • A) fizeste
    • B) fez
    • C) fizemos
    • D) fiz

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

    • A) fizeste
    • B) fiz
    • C) fez
    • D) fizemos

Answer key

  1. B) fiz — the correct form is fiz. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) fizeste — the correct form is fizeste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) fez — the correct form is fez. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) fizemos — the correct form is fizemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) fizestes — the correct form is fizestes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) fizeram — the correct form is fizeram. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) fiz — the correct form is fiz. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) fizeste — the correct form is fizeste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does fazer mean in English?

fazer means “to do, to make”. It is a irregular -er verb.

How is the pretérito perfeito of fazer formed?

The six pretérito perfeito forms are: eu fiz, tu fizeste, ele fez, nós fizemos, vós fizestes, eles fizeram.

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 fazer?

The gerund is fazendo and the past participle is feito. The perfect tenses use ter + feito.

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