The Portuguese Verb Haver
If you’ve been learning Portuguese for a while, you’ve probably noticed that little word há popping up everywhere. Indeed, há is a verb form of Haver, which in turn is a verb with wide usage.
So, when do we use the Portuguese verb Haver?
In short, Haver is used to indicate the existence or occurrence of something and to express time duration. Additionally, we use Haver as an auxiliary verb to form Perfect tenses, among other things.
Here are a few examples:
(1) Há algumas coisas que não entendo.
There are a few things I can’t quite understand.
(2) O Gabriel vive no Porto há 4 meses.
Gabriel has been living in Porto for 4 months.
(3) Ela havia estado no Brasil antes de vir para Portugal.
She had been to Brazil before she came to Portugal.
Let’s dive in.
Time flow
Durative actions
O Gabriel vive no Porto há 4 meses.
Gabriel has been living in Porto for 4 months.
O Gabriel viveu no Porto 4 meses.
Gabriel lived in Porto for 4 months (not anymore).
Punctual actions (occurred in the past)
A Mariana visitou o Brasil há 2 anos.
Mariana visited Brazil 2 years ago.
Olá! I'm Pedro and I'm your Portuguese teacher.
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