Introduction

Conseguir means “to manage”, and this page covers exactly one thing: conseguir 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 conseguir, 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 conseguir in the pretérito perfeito. It means to manage to do something and to succeed, and it is a stem-change verb: the present eu form is consigo, with i, while the tu form keeps e — consegues, consegue, conseguimos, conseguis, conseguem. Its pretérito perfeito is consegui, conseguiste, conseguiu, and its participle is conseguido. It usually takes an infinitive after it. For example: “Ele conseguiu terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “He managed to finish the work.” Everything on this page uses the forms of conseguir exactly as they are conjugated in the pretérito perfeito, so you can trust every form you see here.

Conseguir in the Pretérito perfeito — full table

Person Form
eu consegui
tu conseguiste
ele/ela conseguiu
nós conseguimos
vós conseguistes
eles/elas conseguiram
Gerund: conseguindo · Past participle: conseguido
The gerund is conseguindo, which you use with estar to say what is happening at the same time as the main action: “Conseguindo terminar o trabalho, aprendo muito.” — “While managing to finish the work, I learn a lot.” The past participle is conseguido, which you use with ter in the perfect tenses: tenho conseguido 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 conseguir is used.
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for conseguir, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the pretérito perfeito of conseguir is formed

The pretérito perfeito of conseguir has six forms: eu consegui, tu conseguiste, ele conseguiu, nós conseguimos, vós conseguistes, eles conseguiram. 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. conseguir 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 conseguir 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 conseguido: tenho conseguido. When the action is one finished event, reach for the simple form first.

Because the pretérito perfeito of conseguir 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 conseguir

The pretérito perfeito is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use conseguir 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 consegui terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “I managed to finish the work.”

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 conseguiu terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “He managed to finish the work.”

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 conseguimos terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “We managed to finish the work.”

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 conseguiste terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “You managed to finish the work.”

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 conseguiram terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “They managed to finish the work.”

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 conseguiu terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “He managed to finish the work”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Ele conseguia terminar o trabalho antigamente.” — “He used to manage to finish the work”
  • 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 consegui terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “I managed to finish the work”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Eu conseguia terminar o trabalho antigamente.” — “I used to manage to finish the work”
  • 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 conseguiste terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “You managed to finish the work”
  • Pretérito Imperfeito: “Tu conseguias terminar o trabalho antigamente.” — “You used to manage to finish the work”
  • 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: conseguir 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 consegui terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “I managed to finish the work”
  2. “Tu conseguiste terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “You managed to finish the work”
  3. “Ele conseguiu terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “He managed to finish the work”
  4. “Nós conseguimos terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “We managed to finish the work”
  5. “Vós conseguistes terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “You managed to finish the work”
  6. “Eles conseguiram terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “They managed to finish the work”
  7. “Eu consegui terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “I managed to finish the work”
  8. “Ele conseguiu terminar o trabalho ontem.” — “He managed to finish the work”

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 consiguo terminar o trabalho ontem.” Right: “Eu consegui terminar o trabalho ontem.” Why: Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito consegui for a finished action yesterday.
  • Wrong: “Eu conseguia terminar o trabalho ontem.” Right: “Eu consegui terminar o trabalho 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 consegui.
  • Wrong: “Eu conseguiste terminar o trabalho.” Right: “Eu consegui terminar o trabalho ontem.” Why: The eu form is consegui, not conseguiste. conseguiste is the tu form. Match the verb to the subject every time.
  • Wrong: “Eu conseguir terminar o trabalho.” Right: “Eu consegui terminar o trabalho ontem.” Why: The infinitive conseguir never takes a subject and never forms a past tense on its own. After eu you need the conjugated pretérito perfeito form consegui.

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 conseguir in the Pretérito perfeito?

    • A) conseguiste
    • B) consegui
    • C) conseguiu
    • D) conseguimos

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

    • A) consegui
    • B) conseguiu
    • C) conseguiste
    • D) conseguimos

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

    • A) consegui
    • B) conseguiste
    • C) conseguimos
    • D) conseguiu

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

    • A) conseguimos
    • B) consegui
    • C) conseguiste
    • D) conseguiu

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

    • A) consegui
    • B) conseguistes
    • C) conseguiste
    • D) conseguiu

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

    • A) consegui
    • B) conseguiste
    • C) conseguiram
    • D) conseguiu

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

    • A) conseguiste
    • B) conseguiu
    • C) conseguimos
    • D) consegui

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

    • A) conseguiste
    • B) consegui
    • C) conseguiu
    • D) conseguimos

Answer key

  1. B) consegui — the correct form is consegui. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) conseguiste — the correct form is conseguiste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) conseguiu — the correct form is conseguiu. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) conseguimos — the correct form is conseguimos. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) conseguistes — the correct form is conseguistes. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) conseguiram — the correct form is conseguiram. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) consegui — the correct form is consegui. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) conseguiste — the correct form is conseguiste. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does conseguir mean in English?

conseguir means “to manage”. It is a regular -ir verb.

How is the pretérito perfeito of conseguir formed?

The six pretérito perfeito forms are: eu consegui, tu conseguiste, ele conseguiu, nós conseguimos, vós conseguistes, eles conseguiram.

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 conseguir?

The gerund is conseguindo and the past participle is conseguido. The perfect tenses use ter + conseguido.

Related pages