Portuguese Pluperfect

12 de February de 2014

Portuguese Pluperfect

How are you guys? Ready for another Dica? Let’s talk about theΒ Portuguese Pluperfect regular verbs. We use theΒ Portuguese Pluperfect when we want to talk about something that happened in the past, before another past.

We have two forms of Portuguese Pluperfect verbs: the simple form and the compound form. The compound form expresses a repetition of an action or its continuity until the moment of speech.The formation of the Portuguese Pluperfect of regular verbs is as follows, in the compound form:

Formation of theΒ Portuguese Pluperfect of regular verbsΒ 

Pluperfect of regular verbs in Portuguese. A formaΓ§Γ£o do pretΓ©rito mais-que-perfeito composto Γ© feita pelo uso de: Ter (pretΓ©rito imperfeito) + ParticΓ­pio do Verbo Principal. Exemplo: Eu tinha morado.

As you can see, we will need the verb ter (to have) and a main verb in the past participle. There’s a very simple rule to create the participle. Let’s see:

Past participle of regular verbs in Portuguese

Pluperfect of regular verbs in Portuguese. ParticΓ­pio dos verbos regulares terminados em -AR Γ© feito utilizando -ADO ao final do verbo. O particΓ­pio dos verbos regulares terminados em -ER ou -IR Γ© feito utilizando -IDO ao final do verbo.Now we have everything we need. So let’s see some examples using the Portuguese Pluperfect of regular verbs in the compound form.

Examples with theΒ Portuguese Pluperfect of regular verbs

VocΓͺs jΓ‘ tinham falado com ela sobre a festa? Eu falei com ela hΓ‘ pouco.
You had already spoken to her about the party? I spoke to her not long ago.

NΓ³s jΓ‘ tΓ­nhamos vendido o carro quando a Julia decidiu comprΓ‘-lo.
We had already sold the car when Julia decided to buy it.

Quando o JoΓ£o chegou, eu jΓ‘ tinha saΓ­do.
When JoΓ£o arrived, I had already left.

Ele jΓ‘ tinha comprado um computador quando a loja entrou em promoΓ§Γ£o.
He had already bought a computer when the store went on sale.

Marta estava decepcionada pois nunca tinha perdido um jogo antes.
MartaΒ was disappointed because she had never lost a game before.

No momento em que cheguei na estaΓ§Γ£o, o trem jΓ‘ tinha partido.
The moment I arrived at the station, the train had already left.

Eu jΓ‘ tinha terminado de ler quando acabou a luz.
I had already finished reading when the lights went out.

VocΓͺ jΓ‘ tinha chegado quando eu te liguei?
HadΒ you already arrived when IΒ called you?

Ela ainda nΓ£o tinha lido o livro que eu falei.
She had not read the book I told her.

Eles nunca tinham ouvido uma mΓΊsica tΓ£o bela. Por isso, estavam emocionados.
They had never listened to such a beautiful song. That’s why they were so moved.

Elas nuncaΒ tinham pensado no assunto. Por isso estavam tΓ£o indecisas.
They had never thought about the subject. That’s why they were so indecisive.

Formation of the Portuguese Pluperfect’s simple form of regular verbs

Before you leave, let’s see the simple form of the Portuguese Pluperfect tense. The main difference between theΒ simple and the compound forms of the Portuguese Pluperfect tense is that theΒ simple form is more formal than theΒ compound form. Nowadays, it’s possible to notice that the majority of the native speakers of portuguese prefer using theΒ compound form of the Portuguese Pluperfect.

TheΒ simpleΒ form of the Portuguese Pluperfect was more used in earlier times. For example, whenΒ Machado de AssisΒ wrote his stories, circa 1870.

Structure of the pluperfect tense simple form. The formation of the simple form of the pluperfect tense is: eu falara, vocΓͺ falara, ele/ela falara, nΓ³s falΓ‘ramos, vocÊs falaram, eles/elas falaram, eu dissera, vocΓͺ dissera, ele/ela dissera, nΓ³s dissΓ©ramos, vocΓͺs disseram, eles/elas disseram, eu rira, vocΓͺ rira, ele/ela rira, nΓ³s rΓ­ramos, vocΓͺs riram, eles/elas riram.

Examples with the Portuguese Pluperfect’s simple form

Ele jΓ‘ estudara a matΓ©ria quando o amigo chegou.
He already had studied the subject when the friend arrived.Β 

Ela chegara Γ s 11:00, pois dormiu tarde.
She had arrived at 11:00 because she slept late.

Quando o João chegou, eu jÑ saíra.
When JoΓ£o arrived, IΒ had already left.

As meninas jÑ comeram quando eu cheguei.
The girlsΒ had already eaten when I arrived.

VocΓͺ jΓ‘ dormiraΒ quando ele te ligou?
HadΒ youΒ already sleptΒ when he called you?

VocΓͺs jÑ falaramΒ sobre a RioLIVE!? Eu convidei eles ontem.
Had you already spokenΒ about RioLIVE!? I invited them yesterday.

Naquela tarde, elesΒ ouviram um barulho estranho.
That evening, theyΒ had heard a strange noise.

Quando o noivo apareceu, a noiva jΓ‘ chegara na igreja.
When the groom appeared, the bride had already arrived at the church.

O marido mentiu para a polΓ­cia, mas a esposa dissera a verdade.
The husband lied to the police, but the wife had said the truth.

AndrΓ© comprou um apartamento com o dinheiro do carro que vendera.
AndrΓ© bought an apartment with the money from the car that he had sold.

Let’s practice!

Complete the sentences with the compound form of the Portuguese Pluperfect Tense:

  1. Quando Marcos chegou, Roberto jΓ‘ _____ ____ (partir).
  2. Comprei a passagem com o dinheiro queΒ _____ ____ (guardar).
  3. Eu cheguei atrasado porqueΒ _____ ____ tarde ontem (dormir).
  4. Meu dinheiro jÑ _____ ____ (acabar) quando o preço caiu.
  5. No momento que cheguei no ponto, o ônibus jÑ _____ ____ (sair).

Now, complete the following sentences with the simple form of the Portuguese Pluperfect:

  1. EleΒ _____ (dizer) que o livro era bom.
  2. Quando percebi, a porta jÑ _____ (fechar).
  3. No momento em que Anna saiu, DΓ©boraΒ _____ (chegar).
  4. Em toda minha vida, eu nuncaΒ _____ (ouvir) nada tΓ£o belo.
  5. VocΓͺ ainda nΓ£oΒ _____ (escrever) a redaΓ§Γ£o que mandei?

All good?Β Now you already know how to use and understandΒ the Portuguese Pluperfect.
Some questions for you guys. Have you already studied Portuguese before? Have you already visited Rio de Janeiro in the past? Have you already cleared doubts in Portuguese on ourΒ Twitter?
We hope that all your answers have been YES!

We will see you on our next Dica, guys.
Hugs fromΒ Rio & Learn!

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Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Perfeito and Imperfeito (Past)
Verbs in -Er in the simple past
Past Perfect and Imperfect in Portuguese
PretΓ©rito Imperfeito in Portuguese
PretΓ©rito Imperfeito with irregular verbs
Simultaneous past in Portuguese

Answers

compound form:Β 

  1. tinha partido
  2. tinha guardado
  3. tinha dormido
  4. tinha acabado
  5. tinha saΓ­doΒ  Β 

simple form:

  1. dissera
  2. fechara
  3. chegara
  4. ouvira
  5. escrevera