Intermediate B1

This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the B1 level.

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My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:

  • perfeito vs. imperfeito / subjunctive mood intro
  • reading and listening comprehension
  • conversation

*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:

After this course, you'll have come closer to the B1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.

Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?

Clean Slate A0

Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon.

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This is an introductory course to the Portuguese language as spoken in Portugal. Throughout the course, we will focus on the Portuguese sound system and basic Portuguese grammar.

You will also learn how to introduce yourself and day-to-day, useful phrases. Finally, we will discuss learning resources and strategies to support your learning journey.

After the course, you will have a basic understanding of European Portuguese pronunciation and grammar. You will also be capable of engaging in simple, short oral interactions. Last but not least, you will be aware of a variety of learning resources and strategies to help you succeed at learning the language.

Portuguese short story for beginners - de maos dadas - Portuguesepedia
Easy Reads for Portuguese Lanugage Learners - Entre a Felicidade e a Tristeza - by Portuguesepedia

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Beginners A2

This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.

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My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:

  • prepositions
  • past tense: perfeito vs. imperfeito
  • listening comprehension and conversation

*There's always room to adjust the course according to the group's preferences:

After this course, you'll have come closer to the A2 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.

Not sure if you should enroll in the A2 or B1 course?

Beginners A1

This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A1 level.

If you have just started your learning journey, you may find this course too challenging. Consider enrolling for the Clean Slate A0 instead (if available).

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This is an all-round course, meaning that we’ll work on all aspects of language learning (at the A1 level):

  • pronunciation
  • listening comprehension
  • reading comprehension
  • conversation
  • grammar

After this course, you'll have come closer to the A1 level and have the tools and strategies to get there and beyond.

Not sure if you should enroll in the A1 or A2 course?

There are plenty of interesting options for our accommodation. It will most likely be a countryside house near Tavira.

I haven't booked it yet because I want to get a better idea of the group's composition (how many couples/singles) and your preferences before I do so. That will for instance help me understand how big a house we might need.

I look forward to soon talking to you about this and much more. Até breve, p

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Portuguese Regular Verbs in the Past Tense

Not long ago, I wrote about Portuguese regular verbs and conjugation patterns in the present tense. Now it is time to do the same for the past tense – for both the preterite and imperfect conjugations (pretérito perfeito and pretérito imperfeito correspondingly).

As you’ll see, the preterite and imperfect are “less irregular” than the present tense – there are fewer irregular verbs and no spelling adjustments for regular verbs. 

Let’s get started.

Here’s the analogous article for the present tense: Portuguese Regular Verbs in the Present Tense.

Note! This article is exclusively about conjugation patterns for the preterite and imperfect tenses. Here’s a read for you in case you want to dive into their usage: Portuguese Perfect vs. Imperfect Tense: Know When to Use Which.

Preterite (Pretérito perfeito)

Regular conjugation

To conjugate Portuguese regular verbs in the preterite tense, remove the infinitive form’s ending – either –ar, –er, or –ir –  and add, instead, the following endings to the stem (as marked in bold):

1st conjugation: -ar (falar)2nd conjugation: -er (correr)3rd conjugation: -ir (domir)
Eufaleicorridormi
Tufalastecorrestedormiste
Ele, ela, vocêfaloucorreudormiu
Nósfalamoscorremosdormimos
Vocês falaramcorreramdormiram
Eles, elasfalaramcorreramdormiram

Irregular cases

Here’re preterite’s irregular verbs:

eu, tu, ela, nós, vocês/elas
serfui, foste, foi, fomos, foram
irfui, foste, foi,  fomos, foram
estarestive, estiveste, esteve, estivemos, estiveram
tertive, tiveste, teve, tivemos, tiveram
pôr (repor, transpor, compor, etc)pus, puseste, pôs, pusemos, puseram
haverhouve (third-person only) 
dardei, deste, deu, demos, deram
fazerfiz, fizeste, fez, fizemos, fizeram
quererquis, quiseste, quis, quisemos quiseram
dizerdisse, disseste, disse, dissemos, disseram
poderpude, pudeste, pôde, pudemos, puderam
virvim, vieste, veio, viemos, vieram
vervi, viste, viu, vimos, viram
sairsaí, saíste, saiu, saímos, saíram
caircaí, caíste, caiu, caímos, caíram 
sabersoube, soubeste, soube, soubemos, souberam
trazertrouxe, trouxeste, trouxe, trouxemos, trouxeram

It is worth noticing that ser and ir share the same verb forms in the preterite (discernment between them is left to context).

Likewise, the verbs ter and estar share a de facto pronunciation. Accordingly, we tend not to pronounce estar’s first syllable – (es)tou, (es)tás, etc. – in everyday life, casual speech.  

Reading tips! Make sure you keep an eye out for high-frequency irregular verbs: Portuguese Must-Know Irregular Verbs.

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfeito)

Regular conjugation

Here’re the conjugation patterns for Portuguese regular verbs in the imperfect tense:

1st conjugation: -ar (falar)2nd conjugation: -er (correr)3rd conjugation: -ir (domir)
Eufalavacorriadormia
Tufalavascorriasdormias
Ele, ela, vocêfalavacorriadormia
Nósfalávamoscorríamosdormíamos
Vocês falavamcorriamdormiam
Eles, elasfalavamcorriamdormiam

Notice that the second and third conjugations share the same endings in the imperfect.

Also, the first-person plural of the imperfect tense is always stressed on the third-last syllable, thus the acute accent mark.

Reading tips! Learn more about Portuguese accent marks and word stress: Portuguese Word Stress and Accent Marks.

Irregular cases

The imperfect tense has even fewer irregular verbs than the preterite – there are only four of them:

eu, tu, ela, nós, vocês/elas
serera, eras, era, éramos, eram
tertinha, tinhas, tinha, tínhamos, tinham
virvinha, vinhas, vinha, vínhamos, vinham
pôr (repor, transpor, compor, etc)punha, punhas, punha, púnhamos, punham

Reading tips! Here’re a few more reads about Portuguese verbs that you may want to take a look at:

Portuguese Gerund: Progressive Tenses and Beyond
Portuguese Verb Tenses and Moods Explained: A Usage Rundown Anchored to English
Portuguese Personal Infinitive: What Is It and When to Use It

Perfect vs. Imperfect

Break Free from the Tyranny of the Present Tense

Portuguese Bad Words

Master Portuguese Strong Language and Swear Like a Native.

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