Introduction
Nascer means “to be born”, and this page covers exactly one thing: nascer 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 nascer, 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 nascer in the pretérito perfeito. It means to be born, and it is regular apart from its spelling: the stem-final c becomes ç before a and o, so the eu form is nasço and the subjunctive is nasça. Its pretérito perfeito is nasci, nasceste, nasceu, and its participle is nascido. For example: “Ele nasceu em Lisboa em 1990.” — “He was born in Lisbon.” Everything on this page uses the forms of nascer exactly as they are conjugated in the pretérito perfeito, so you can trust every form you see here.
Nascer in the Pretérito perfeito — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | nasci |
| tu | nasceste |
| ele/ela | nasceu |
| nós | nascemos |
| vós | nascestes |
| eles/elas | nasceram |
| Gerund: nascendo · Past participle: nascido | |
| The gerund is nascendo, which you use with estar to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Nascendo em Lisboa, aprendo muito.” — “While being born in Lisbon, I learn a lot.” The past participle is nascido, which you use with ter in the perfect tenses: tenho nascido 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 nascer is used. | |
| Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for nascer, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. |
How the pretérito perfeito of nascer is formed
The pretérito perfeito of nascer has six forms: eu nasci, tu nasceste, ele nasceu, nós nascemos, vós nascestes, eles nasceram. 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. nascer is regular in the pretérito perfeito: 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 — the endings never change for a regular verb.
Two things about the pretérito perfeito of nascer 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 nascido: tenho nascido. When the action is one finished event, reach for the simple form first.
Because the pretérito perfeito of nascer 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 nascer
The pretérito perfeito is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use nascer 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 nasci em Lisboa em 1990.” — “I was born in Lisbon.”
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 nasceu em Lisboa em 1990.” — “He was born in Lisbon.”
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 nascemos em Lisboa em 1990.” — “We was born in Lisbon.”
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 nasceste em Lisboa em 1990.” — “You was born in Lisbon.”
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 nasceram em Lisboa em 1990.” — “They was born in Lisbon.”
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 nasceu em Lisboa em 1990.” — “He was born in Lisbon”
- Pretérito Imperfeito: “Ele nascia em Lisboa antigamente.” — “He used to be born in Lisbon”
- 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 nasci em Lisboa em 1990.” — “I was born in Lisbon”
- Pretérito Imperfeito: “Eu nascia em Lisboa antigamente.” — “I used to be born in Lisbon”
- 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 nasceste em Lisboa em 1990.” — “You was born in Lisbon”
- Pretérito Imperfeito: “Tu nascias em Lisboa antigamente.” — “You used to be born in Lisbon”
- 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: nascer 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.
- “Eu nasci em Lisboa em 1990.” — “I was born in Lisbon”
- “Tu nasceste em Lisboa em 1990.” — “You was born in Lisbon”
- “Ele nasceu em Lisboa em 1990.” — “He was born in Lisbon”
- “Nós nascemos em Lisboa em 1990.” — “We was born in Lisbon”
- “Vós nascestes em Lisboa em 1990.” — “You was born in Lisbon”
- “Eles nasceram em Lisboa em 1990.” — “They was born in Lisbon”
- “Eu nasci em Lisboa em 1990.” — “I was born in Lisbon”
- “Ele nasceu em Lisboa em 1990.” — “He was born in Lisbon”
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 nasço em Lisboa ontem.” Right: “Eu nasci em Lisboa em 1990.” Why: Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito nasci for a finished action yesterday.
- Wrong: “Eu nascia em Lisboa ontem.” Right: “Eu nasci em Lisboa em 1990.” 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 nasci.
- Wrong: “Eu nasceste em Lisboa.” Right: “Eu nasci em Lisboa em 1990.” Why: The eu form is nasci, not nasceste. nasceste is the tu form. Match the verb to the subject every time.
- Wrong: “Eu nascer em Lisboa.” Right: “Eu nasci em Lisboa em 1990.” Why: The infinitive nascer never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After eu you need the conjugated pretérito perfeito form nasci.
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.
What is the eu form of nascer in the Pretérito perfeito?
- A) nasceste
- B) nasci
- C) nasceu
- D) nascemos
What is the tu form of nascer in the Pretérito perfeito?
- A) nasci
- B) nasceu
- C) nasceste
- D) nascemos
What is the ele/ela form of nascer in the Pretérito perfeito?
- A) nasci
- B) nasceste
- C) nascemos
- D) nasceu
What is the nós form of nascer in the Pretérito perfeito?
- A) nascemos
- B) nasci
- C) nasceste
- D) nasceu
What is the vós form of nascer in the Pretérito perfeito?
- A) nasci
- B) nascestes
- C) nasceste
- D) nasceu
What is the eles/elas form of nascer in the Pretérito perfeito?
- A) nasci
- B) nasceste
- C) nasceram
- D) nasceu
What is the eu form of nascer in the Pretérito perfeito?
- A) nasceste
- B) nasceu
- C) nascemos
- D) nasci
What is the tu form of nascer in the Pretérito perfeito?
- A) nasceste
- B) nasci
- C) nasceu
- D) nascemos
Answer key
- B) nasci — the correct form is nasci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) nasceste — the correct form is nasceste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) nasceu — the correct form is nasceu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) nascemos — the correct form is nascemos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) nascestes — the correct form is nascestes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) nasceram — the correct form is nasceram. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) nasci — the correct form is nasci. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) nasceste — the correct form is nasceste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
Frequently asked questions
What does nascer mean in English?
nascer means “to be born”. It is a regular -er verb.
How is the pretérito perfeito of nascer formed?
The six pretérito perfeito forms are: eu nasci, tu nasceste, ele nasceu, nós nascemos, vós nascestes, eles nasceram.
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 nascer?
The gerund is nascendo and the past participle is nascido. The perfect tenses use ter + nascido.
Related pages
- nascer conjugation — full tables
- nascer examples and quiz
- Portuguese pretérito perfeito tense guide — the full guide to the pretérito perfeito tense in Portuguese.
- Ser conjugation — another Portuguese verb in this batch.
- Ter conjugation — another Portuguese verb in this batch.
- Portuguese verbs — the full hub of Portuguese conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Preterite Conjugator — practise nascer with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise nascer with the interactive tool.
- Tense Finder — practise nascer with the interactive tool.