Master the Portuguese Pretérito Perfeito Tense: Full Guide

The Portuguese pretérito perfeito is the tense of finished actions in the past, and it is the past tense you will hear most in spoken Portuguese. It talks about what someone did yesterday, this morning, last week and at any point in a life, and it is the tense of news, results and stories told step by step. One tense does all of that, which is why getting its six forms right matters more than any other past-tense rule. This guide gives you the full formation rules for regular and irregular verbs, the participles that break the pattern, the usage rules with examples, the contrast with the pretérito imperfeito, the mistakes learners make, and a quiz to check yourself. All forms come from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables, and every verb linked from this page has its own full conjugation page.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for Portuguese verbs, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

How the pretérito perfeito is formed

Take the infinitive, remove the -ar, -er or -ir ending, and add the pretérito perfeito endings. For -ar verbs the endings are -ei, -aste, -ou, -ámos, -astes, -aram. For -er and -ir verbs the endings are -i, -este, -eu, -emos, -estes, -eram. Notice that the -er and -ir conjugations share the same pretérito perfeito endings, and that the nós form is the same as the present for -ar verbs only in the sense that both end in -amos — the accent is different: falamos in the present, falámos in the pretérito perfeito. Here are the three model verbs:

falar (-ar verb)

Person Form
eu falei
tu falaste
ele/ela falou
nós falámos
vós falastes
eles/elas falaram

Gerund: falando. Past participle: falado.

comer (-er verb)

Person Form
eu comi
tu comeste
ele/ela comeu
nós comemos
vós comestes
eles/elas comeram

Gerund: comendo. Past participle: comido.

partir (-ir verb)

Person Form
eu parti
tu partiste
ele/ela partiu
nós partimos
vós partistes
eles/elas partiram

Gerund: partindo. Past participle: partido.

Which verbs are regular in the pretérito perfeito

Most Portuguese verbs are regular in the pretérito perfeito, and the endings never change for them. Falar gives falei, falaste, falou, falámos, falastes, falaram. Comer gives comi, comeste, comeu, comemos, comestes, comeram. Partir gives parti, partiste, partiu, partimos, partistes, partiram. The same endings work for ficar, acordar, levantar, sentar, andar, chegar, entrar, voltar, passar, trabalhar, estudar, aprender, ensinar, olhar, pensar, achar, conhecer, viver, amar, gostar, precisar, tentar, começar, terminar, continuar and ajudar — every regular verb in this batch. Two regular verbs deserve a second look: dormir is regular in the pretérito perfeito — dormi, dormiste, dormiu, dormimos, dormistes, dormiram — and sair is regular too, with an accent on the first two forms — saí, saíste, saiu, saímos, saístes, saíram. When a verb is regular, the pretérito perfeito is the cheapest past tense to learn in the whole language.

Irregular verbs in the pretérito perfeito

The most frequent verbs are irregular in the pretérito perfeito, and those are the ones you use every day. The patterns below cover almost every irregular pretérito perfeito you will meet. For the complete list, see the Portuguese irregular verbs page.

Ser and ir share one pretérito perfeito: ser and ir both give (eu fui, tu foste, ele foi, nós fomos, vós fostes, eles foram). Context tells you whether fui means “I was” or “I went”, and it is the most famous shared form in the whole language.

Ter and haver: ter (eu tive, tu tiveste, ele teve, nós tivemos, vós tivestes, eles tiveram) and haver (eu houve, tu houveste, ele houve, nós houvemos, vós houvestes, eles houveram). Ter changes its stem to tiv-, and haver changes its stem to houv-. In everyday speech you will meet houve, the impersonal form meaning “there was”, far more often than the personal forms.

Fazer, poder and dizer: fazer (eu fiz, tu fizeste, ele fez, nós fizemos, vós fizestes, eles fizeram), poder (eu pude, tu pudeste, ele pôde, nós pudemos, vós pudestes, eles puderam) and dizer (eu disse, tu disseste, ele disse, nós dissemos, vós dissestes, eles disseram). Fazer gives fiz, poder gives pude with an accent on the ele form pôde, and dizer gives disse. Learn these three as a set, because they appear in almost every conversation about the past.

Saber and querer: saber (eu soube, tu soubeste, ele soube, nós soubemos, vós soubestes, eles souberam) and querer (eu quis, tu quiseste, ele quis, nós quisemos, vós quisestes, eles quiseram). Saber gives soube, and querer gives quis. Both change their stem completely, and neither follows the regular endings.

Dar, ver and vir: dar (eu dei, tu deste, ele deu, nós demos, vós destes, eles deram), ver (eu vi, tu viste, ele viu, nós vimos, vós vistes, eles viram) and vir (eu vim, tu vieste, ele veio, nós viemos, vós viestes, eles vieram). Dar gives dei, ver gives vi, and vir gives vim. These three are short verbs with short past forms, and they are worth learning whole.

Ler, escrever, ouvir and morrer: ler (eu li, tu leste, ele leu, nós lemos, vós lestes, eles leram), escrever (eu escrevi, tu escreveste, ele escreveu, nós escrevemos, vós escrevestes, eles escreveram), ouvir (eu ouvi, tu ouviste, ele ouviu, nós ouvimos, vós ouvistes, eles ouviram) and morrer (eu morri, tu morreste, ele morreu, nós morremos, vós morrestes, eles morreram). Ler gives li, escrever gives escrevi, ouvir gives ouvi, and morrer gives morri. Nascer is regular in the pretérito perfeito — nasci, nasceste, nasceu, nascemos, nascestes, nasceram — even though its present has a spelling change.

When to use the pretérito perfeito

1. One finished action

Eu falei português com a Maria ontem. — I spoke Portuguese with Maria yesterday. Use the pretérito perfeito for a single action that is finished, especially in spoken Portuguese. When the action has a clear end, the pretérito perfeito is the natural choice.

2. Recent events

Ele viu um filme esta semana. — He saw a film this week. Use the pretérito perfeito for things that happened recently — today, this week, this morning — where the result is still visible in the present.

3. A sequence of events

Nós chegámos a Lisboa, depois comemos uma pizza. — We arrived in Lisbon, then we ate a pizza. 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.

4. An experience in your life

Tu viveste em Lisboa. — You have lived in Lisbon. 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.

5. News and results

Eles chegaram a Lisboa. — They arrived in Lisbon. 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.

6. With time words that point to the past

Ontem, na semana passada, no ano passado, esta manhã: these time words all pair with the pretérito perfeito. When you hear one of them, reach for the pretérito perfeito first, and check the pretérito imperfeito only if the action was ongoing or habitual.

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 falar, 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 falou português com a Maria ontem.” — “He spoke Portuguese with Maria”
  • Pretérito imperfeito: “Ele falava português com a Maria antigamente.” — “He used to speak Portuguese with Maria”
  • 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 falei português com a Maria ontem.” — “I spoke Portuguese with Maria”
  • Pretérito imperfeito: “Eu falava português com a Maria antigamente.” — “I used to speak Portuguese with Maria”
  • 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 falaste português com a Maria ontem.” — “You spoke Portuguese with Maria”
  • Pretérito imperfeito: “Tu falavas português com a Maria antigamente.” — “You used to speak Portuguese with Maria”
  • 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.

Common mistakes

Mistake 1

Wrong: Using the present for a finished past action: Eu falo português com a Maria ontem.

Ontem points to the past, so the present is wrong here. Use the pretérito perfeito: eu falei português com a Maria ontem. Time words decide the tense more often than any rule you memorise.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Using the pretérito imperfeito for one finished event: Eu falava português com a Maria ontem.

The pretérito imperfeito describes an ongoing or habitual past action, not one finished event. For a single finished action yesterday, use the pretérito perfeito: eu falei português com a Maria ontem. If the action was a habit — every day, for years — the imperfeito is right.

Mistake 3

Wrong: Guessing an irregular pretérito perfeito by rule: Eu fazi um bolo.

Fazer gives fiz, not a regular -i form. Dizer gives disse, poder gives pude, saber gives soube. The most frequent verbs have irregular pretérito perfeitos, and they have to be learnt as a set: fazer and fiz, dizer and disse, poder and pude.

Mistake 4

Wrong: Confusing ser and ir in the past: Eu fui professor ontem when you mean you went somewhere.

Ser and ir share the pretérito perfeito — fui, foste, foi, fomos, fostes, foram — so only context tells you whether fui means “I was” or “I went”. Eu fui professor means “I was a teacher”; eu fui à escola means “I went to school”. The words around the verb decide the meaning.

Mistake 5

Wrong: Using the gerund instead of the participle in the composto: Eu tenho falando português com a Maria.

The pretérito perfeito composto needs the past participle falado, not the gerund falando. The gerund belongs in progressive constructions with estar, never after ter in a perfect tense.

Mistake 6

Wrong: Forgetting the accent on the nós form: Nós falamos ontem.

The -ar pretérito perfeito nós form has an accent — nós falámos — while the present nós form has none — nós falamos. The accent is the only thing that separates the two tenses in the nós form, so write it every time.

Quiz: the pretérito perfeito

Eight questions on the pretérito perfeito. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the eu form of falar in the pretérito perfeito?

  • A) falo
  • B) falei
  • C) falava
  • D) falarei

Answer: B — The correct form is falei.

2. What is the ele form of comer in the pretérito perfeito?

  • A) come
  • B) comia
  • C) comeu
  • D) comerá

Answer: C — The correct form is comeu.

3. What is the nós form of partir in the pretérito perfeito?

  • A) parto
  • B) partia
  • C) partiremos
  • D) partimos

Answer: D — The correct form is partimos.

4. What is the eu form of ser in the pretérito perfeito?

  • A) fui
  • B) sou
  • C) era
  • D) serei

Answer: A — The correct form is fui.

5. What is the ele form of fazer in the pretérito perfeito?

  • A) faz
  • B) fez
  • C) fazia
  • D) fará

Answer: B — The correct form is fez.

6. What is the eu form of ter in the pretérito perfeito?

  • A) tenho
  • B) tinha
  • C) tive
  • D) terei

Answer: C — The correct form is tive.

7. What is the eles form of dizer in the pretérito perfeito?

  • A) dizem
  • B) diziam
  • C) dirão
  • D) disseram

Answer: D — The correct form is disseram.

8. What is the eu form of ver in the pretérito perfeito?

  • A) vi
  • B) vejo
  • C) via
  • D) verei

Answer: A — The correct form is vi.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Portuguese pretérito perfeito used for?

One finished action in the past, recent events, sequences of events, experiences in your life, and news and results. It is the past tense you will hear most in spoken Portuguese.

How do I form the pretérito perfeito of a regular verb?

Remove the -ar, -er or -ir ending and add the endings: -ei, -aste, -ou, -ámos, -astes, -aram for -ar verbs, and -i, -este, -eu, -emos, -estes, -eram for -er and -ir verbs. Falar gives falei, comer gives comi, partir gives parti.

Which verbs are irregular in the pretérito perfeito?

The most frequent ones: ser and ir share fui, ter gives tive, haver gives houve, fazer gives fiz, poder gives pude, dizer gives disse, saber gives soube, querer gives quis, dar gives dei, ver gives vi, vir gives vim, ler gives li, escrever gives escrevi, ouvir gives ouvi and morrer gives morri. Learn each one as a set of six forms.

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

Use the pretérito perfeito for one finished action. 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.

How do I practise the pretérito perfeito?

Conjugate one verb a day in all six persons, in sentences with a time word, not as a bare list. Then use the Preterite Conjugator and the Verb Quiz to test yourself, and read the verb’s own conjugation page for the full tables.

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