Hey everyone! Let’s learn more Portuguese? Can you use Portuguese Imperfect Irregular Verbs? Today we are going to talk about imperfect past of irregular verbs.
There are only four irregular verbs in the imperfect in Portuguese: ser (to be), ter (to have), vir (to come) and pôr (to put).
Portuguese Imperfect Irregular Verbs
In our last Dica about the imperfect past we learned the conjugation of regular verbs and situations in which we can use it. Today we are going to talk about imperfect past of irregular verbs.
Now, let’s take a look at the conjugations of these verbs:
Conjugation of irregular verbs
Imperfect of Ser
We use the verb Ser to talk about characteristics, nationalities, marital status, material and religion:
Eu era | I was |
Você era | You were |
Ele/Ela era | He/She/It was |
Nós éramos | We were |
Vocês eram | You were |
Eles/Elas eram | They were |
Examples with ser
Eu era muito tímido na infância.
I was very shy in my childhood.
Paulo e Juliana eram namorados cinco anos atrás.
Paulo e Juliana were boyfriend and girlfriend five years ago.
Nós não éramos tão próximos quanto somos agora.
We weren’t as close as we are now.
Imperfect of Ter
We use the verb Ter in Portuguese to talk about things we possess (or not), about family, age, describe things, people, feelings or to make a statement:
Eu tinha | I had |
Você tinha | You had |
Ele/Ela tinha | He/She/It had |
Nós tínhamos | We had |
Vocês tinham | You had |
Eles/Elas tinham | They had |
Examples with ter
Ele não tinha a mesma opinião há dois anos.
He didn’t have the same opinion two years ago.
Antigamente eles tinham muitos problemas juntos.
They had a lot of problems in the past.
Vocês tinham muitos amigos quando eram crianças?
Did you have many friends when you were kids?
Imperfect of Vir
We use the verb Vir to talk about locomotion:
Eu vinha | I came |
Você vinha | You came |
Ele/Ela vinha | He/She/It came |
Nós vínhamos | We came |
Vocês vinham | You came |
Eles/Elas vinham | They came |
Examples with vir
Eu sempre vinha aqui nesta cidade porque tinha um grande carinho pelas pessoas.
I always came to this city because I had great affection for the people.
Nós vínhamos aqui porque tínhamos tempo. Hoje, não temos mais.
We used to come here because we had time. Today, we don’t have much time anymore.
Elas sempre vinham aqui porque gostavam da cidade.
They always came here because they used to like the city.
Imperfect of Pôr
The verb Pôr means To Put and we can use to talk about objects and clothes:
Eu punha | I put |
Você punha | You put |
Ele/Ela punha | He/She/It put |
Nós púnhamos | We put |
Vocês punham | You put |
Eles/Elas punham | They put |
Examples with pôr
Você sempre punha a caneta no bolso, por isso manchou a blusa.
You always put the pen in your pocket, that’s why you stained your t-shirt.
Nós púnhamos nossa opinião para nossos pais.
We used to put our opinion forward to our parents.
Vocês punham as cadeiras no lugar quando estudaram lá?
Did you put the chairs in order when you studied there?
Now we know about irregular verbs for the imperfect past in Portuguese. Let’s practice!
Now it is your turn
Complete the sentences with correct conjugation of the Portuguese imperfect irregular verbs we have just learned:
- Eu __________ (ser) uma criança muito extrovertida antigamente. Eu ___________ (ter) muitos amigos.
- Antigamente nós __________ (vir) de ônibus para o trabalho.
- Paula __________ (ter) um namorado muito simpático quando __________ (ser) adolescente.
- Minha mãe não __________ (pôr) muita maquiagem para sair.
- Enquanto nós __________ (pôr) a mesa para o jantar, Carlos recebia os candidatos.
- Nós não ___________ (ser) amigos porque não __________ (ter) muitas coisas em comum.
- Você __________ (vir) todos os dias por esse caminho?
- Quando você se casou, quantos anos você __________? (ter)
- Eu sempre __________ (pôr) meu quarto em ordem quando __________ (ser) necessário.
- Eu __________ (ter) cabelos longos e __________ (ter) a pele mais clara também.
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A huge kiss from Rio de Janeiro!
Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Imperfect Past in Portuguese
Past Perfect and Imperfect in Portuguese
Pluperfect of regular verbs in Portuguese
Imperfect Subjunctive in Portuguese
Answers
- era, tinha
- vínhamos
- tinha, era
- punha
- púnhamos
- éramos, tínhamos
- vinha
- tinha
- punha
- tinha, tinha