This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the B1 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*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?
Geared toward Absolute Beginners, this course gives you a solid start and foundation to build upon.
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.
I will keep you updated on upcoming course seasons
This intensive course is for language learners striving toward the A2 level.
My suggestion* for these two weeks is to focus on:
*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?
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).
This is an all-round course, meaning that we’ll work on all aspects of language learning (at the A1 level):
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?
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.
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) | |
| Eu | falei | corri | dormi |
| Tu | falaste | correste | dormiste |
| Ele, ela, você | falou | correu | dormiu |
| Nós | falamos | corremos | dormimos |
| Vocês | falaram | correram | dormiram |
| Eles, elas | falaram | correram | dormiram |
Here’re preterite’s irregular verbs:
| eu, tu, ela, nós, vocês/elas | |
| ser | fui, foste, foi, fomos, foram |
| ir | fui, foste, foi, fomos, foram |
| estar | estive, estiveste, esteve, estivemos, estiveram |
| ter | tive, tiveste, teve, tivemos, tiveram |
| pôr (repor, transpor, compor, etc) | pus, puseste, pôs, pusemos, puseram |
| haver | houve (third-person only) |
| dar | dei, deste, deu, demos, deram |
| fazer | fiz, fizeste, fez, fizemos, fizeram |
| querer | quis, quiseste, quis, quisemos quiseram |
| dizer | disse, disseste, disse, dissemos, disseram |
| poder | pude, pudeste, pôde, pudemos, puderam |
| vir | vim, vieste, veio, viemos, vieram |
| ver | vi, viste, viu, vimos, viram |
| sair | saí, saíste, saiu, saímos, saíram |
| cair | caí, caíste, caiu, caímos, caíram |
| saber | soube, soubeste, soube, soubemos, souberam |
| trazer | trouxe, 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.
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) | |
| Eu | falava | corria | dormia |
| Tu | falavas | corrias | dormias |
| Ele, ela, você | falava | corria | dormia |
| Nós | falávamos | corríamos | dormíamos |
| Vocês | falavam | corriam | dormiam |
| Eles, elas | falavam | corriam | dormiam |
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.
The imperfect tense has even fewer irregular verbs than the preterite – there are only four of them:
| eu, tu, ela, nós, vocês/elas | |
| ser | era, eras, era, éramos, eram |
| ter | tinha, tinhas, tinha, tínhamos, tinham |
| vir | vinha, 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
Break Free from the Tyranny of the Present Tense
Stay tuned for upcoming online courses and other learning materials.