⏳ Past Tense (Pretérito) — Portuguese has two main past tenses: Pretérito Perfeito (simple past) and Pretérito Imperfeito (imperfect). The Pretérito Perfeito is used for completed actions in the past, while the Imperfeito is used for ongoing, habitual, or descriptive past actions. This lesson covers regular and irregular conjugations, usage, and comparisons with pronunciation guides in Urdu and English.
🔊 Click the Listen button next to each example to hear the pronunciation using Text-to-Speech.
💡 Key Rule: Pretérito Perfeito = completed past actions. Imperfeito = ongoing/habitual past actions and descriptions.
📊 Pretérito Perfeito — Regular -AR Verbs
Regular -ar verbs in the simple past. Remove -ar and add the endings: -ei, -ou, -amos, -aram.
| Pronoun | Conjugation | Pronunciation (English) | تلفظ (Urdu) | Meaning (English) | معنی (Urdu) | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | falei | fa-lay | فالے | I spoke | میں نے بولا | |
| você/ele/ela | falou | fa-lo | فالو | you/he/she spoke | آپ/اس نے بولا | |
| nós | falamos | fa-la-mos | فالاموس | we spoke | ہم نے بولا | |
| vocês/eles/elas | falaram | fa-la-ram | فالارام | you all/they spoke | آپ لوگوں/انہوں نے بولا |
📌 -AR Pretérito Endings:
eu -ei | você/ele/ela -ou | nós -amos | vocês/eles/elas -aram
📊 Pretérito Perfeito — Regular -ER / -IR Verbs
Regular -er and -ir verbs in the simple past. Remove the infinitive ending and add: -i, -eu, -emos, -eram.
| Pronoun | -ER (comer) | -IR (partir) | Pronunciation | تلفظ (Urdu) | Meaning | معنی (Urdu) | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | comi | parti | ko-mee / par-tee | کومی / پارتی | I ate/left | میں نے کھایا/چھوڑا | |
| você/ele/ela | comeu | partiu | ko-may-o / par-tee-oo | کومیو / پارتیو | you/he/she ate/left | آپ/اس نے کھایا/چھوڑا | |
| nós | comemos | partimos | ko-me-mos / par-tee-mos | کومیموس / پارتی موس | we ate/left | ہم نے کھایا/چھوڑا | |
| vocês/eles/elas | comeram | partiram | ko-me-ram / par-tee-ram | کومیرام / پارتیرام | you all/they ate/left | آپ لوگوں/انہوں نے کھایا/چھوڑا |
📌 -ER/-IR Pretérito Endings:
eu -i | você/ele/ela -eu/-iu | nós -emos/-imos | vocês/eles/elas -eram/-iram
⚠️ Irregular Pretérito Perfeito
Common irregular verbs in the simple past. These must be memorized.
| # | Verb | eu | você/ele/ela | nós | vocês/eles/elas | Meaning | معنی (Urdu) | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ser | fui | foi | fomos | foram | was/were | تھا | |
| 2 | estar | estive | esteve | estivemos | estiveram | was (temp) | تھا (عارضی) | |
| 3 | ter | tive | teve | tivemos | tiveram | had | تھا (ملکیت) | |
| 4 | ir | fui | foi | fomos | foram | went | گیا | |
| 5 | fazer | fiz | fez | fizemos | fizeram | did/made | کیا | |
| 6 | dizer | disse | disse | dissemos | disseram | said | کہا | |
| 7 | ver | vi | viu | vimos | viram | saw | دیکھا |
📌 Note: "Ser" and "Ir" have the same conjugation in the pretérito perfeito. Context determines the meaning.
📊 Pretérito Imperfeito (Imperfect)
The imperfect is used for ongoing, habitual, or descriptive past actions. It is regular for all verbs.
| Pronoun | -AR (falar) | -ER (comer) | -IR (partir) | Pronunciation | تلفظ (Urdu) | Meaning | معنی (Urdu) | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | falava | comia | partia | fa-la-va / ko-mee-a / par-tee-a | فالاوا / کومیا / پارتیا | I was speaking/eating/leaving | میں بول/کھا/جا رہا تھا | |
| você/ele/ela | falava | comia | partia | fa-la-va / ko-mee-a / par-tee-a | فالاوا / کومیا / پارتیا | you/he/she was speaking/eating/leaving | آپ/وہ بول/کھا/جا رہا تھا | |
| nós | falávamos | comíamos | partíamos | fa-la-va-mos / ko-mee-a-mos / par-tee-a-mos | فالاوا موس / کومیا موس / پارتیا موس | we were speaking/eating/leaving | ہم بول/کھا/جا رہے تھے | |
| vocês/eles/elas | falavam | comiam | partiam | fa-la-vam / ko-mee-am / par-tee-am | فالاوام / کومیام / پارتیام | you all/they were speaking/eating/leaving | آپ لوگ/وہ بول/کھا/جا رہے تھے |
📌 Imperfeito Endings:
• -AR verbs: -ava, -ava, -ávamos, -avam
• -ER/-IR verbs: -ia, -ia, -íamos, -iam
• The imperfect is regular for all verbs!
⚠️ Irregular Imperfeito
Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser, ter, and vir.
| Pronoun | ser | ter | vir | Pronunciation | تلفظ (Urdu) | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | era | tinha | vinha | e-ra / tee-nya / vee-nya | ایرا / تینیا / وینیا | |
| você/ele/ela | era | tinha | vinha | e-ra / tee-nya / vee-nya | ایرا / تینیا / وینیا | |
| nós | éramos | tínhamos | vínhamos | e-ra-mos / tee-nya-mos / vee-nya-mos | ایراموس / تینیا موس / وینیا موس | |
| vocês/eles/elas | eram | tinham | vinham | e-ram / tee-nyam / vee-nyam | ایرام / تینیام / وینیام |
📊 Pretérito Perfeito vs Imperfeito
Understanding when to use each tense is essential.
| # | Tense | Use | Example | ترجمہ (Urdu) | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretérito Perfeito | Completed action | Eu comi pizza ontem. | میں نے کل پیزا کھایا۔ | |
| 2 | Imperfeito | Ongoing/Habitual | Eu comia pizza todos os dias. | میں ہر روز پیزا کھاتا تھا۔ | |
| 3 | Imperfeito | Description | Era uma casa bonita. | یہ ایک خوبصورت گھر تھا۔ | |
| 4 | Combined | Ongoing + interruption | Eu comia quando ela chegou. | میں کھا رہا تھا جب وہ آئی۔ |
📌 Key Distinction:
• Perfeito = what happened (event, completed)
• Imperfeito = what was happening (background, ongoing, habitual)
❌❓ Negative & Question Forms
How to make negative sentences and questions in the past tense.
| # | Tense | Form | Example | ترجمہ (Urdu) | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretérito Perfeito | Negative | Eu não falei. | میں نے نہیں بولا۔ | |
| 2 | Pretérito Perfeito | Question | Você falou? | کیا آپ نے بولا؟ | |
| 3 | Imperfeito | Negative | Eu não falava. | میں نہیں بول رہا تھا۔ | |
| 4 | Imperfeito | Question | Você falava? | کیا آپ بول رہے تھے؟ |
📌 Important:
• To form negatives, place não before the verb.
• Questions are formed with rising intonation or não é? at the end.
📖 Important Rules
• -AR: -ei, -ou, -amos, -aram
• -ER: -i, -eu, -emos, -eram
• -IR: -i, -iu, -imos, -iram
مکمل شدہ ماضی کے کام
• -AR: -ava, -ava, -ávamos, -avam
• -ER/-IR: -ia, -ia, -íamos, -iam
جاری، عادت، وضاحت — ماضی کے کام
• ser/ir → fui, foi, fomos, foram
• estar → estive, esteve, estivemos, estiveram
• ter → tive, teve, tivemos, tiveram
• fazer → fiz, fez, fizemos, fizeram
بے قاعدہ ماضی کے افعال
• "Eu comia quando ela chegou."
• "Ele dormia quando o telefone tocou."
منظر کے لیے Imperfeito، واقعے کے لیے Perfeito
📝 Practice Tips:
- Learn the endings: Memorize the pretérito and imperfeito endings for each verb group.
- Practice irregular verbs: Memorize ser, estar, ter, ir, fazer in the pretérito.
- Practice the difference: Use imperfeito for ongoing actions and pretérito for completed actions.
- Practice combined sentences: Use imperfeito + pretérito together.
- Describe scenes: Practice describing what was happening in a past situation.
- Listen and repeat: Use the audio buttons to hear each verb and practice repeating it.
💡 Quick Reference — Endings: