Portuguese Imperfect Irregular Verbs

25 de March de 2013

Hey everyone! Let’s learn more Portuguese? Can you useΒ Portuguese Imperfect Irregular Verbs?Β Today we are going to talk aboutΒ imperfect pastΒ ofΒ irregular verbs.Β 

There areΒ onlyΒ four irregular verbs in the imperfect in Portuguese:Β ser (to be),Β ter (to have),Β vir (to come)Β andΒ pΓ΄r (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 aboutΒ imperfect pastΒ ofΒ irregular verbs.

Now, let’s take a look at the conjugations of these verbs:

Conjugation of irregular verbs

Conjugation of the irregular verbs at the Imperfect Past in Portuguese: Conjugation of ser (to be): Eu era, vocΓͺ era, ele/ela era, nΓ³s Γ©ramos, vocΓͺs eram, eles/elas eram. Conjugation of ter (to have): Eu tinha, vocΓͺ tinha, ele/ela tinha, nΓ³s tΓ­nhamos, vocΓͺs tinham, eles/elas tinham. Conjugation of vir (to come): Eu vinha, vocΓͺ vinha, ele/ela vinha, nΓ³s vΓ­nhamos, vocΓͺs vinham, eles/elas vinham. Conjugation of pΓ΄r (to put): Eu punha, vocΓͺ punha, ele/ela punha, nΓ³s pΓΊnhamos, vocΓͺs punham, eles/elas punham.

Imperfect of Ser

We use theΒ verb Ser to talk about characteristics, nationalities, marital status, material and religion:

Eu era I was
VocΓͺ era You were
Ele/Ela era He/She/It was
NΓ³s Γ©ramos We were
VocΓͺs eram You were
Eles/Elas eram They were

Examples with ser

Eu era muito tΓ­mido na infΓ’ncia.
I was very shy in my childhood.

Paulo e Juliana eram namorados cinco anos atrΓ‘s.
Paulo e Juliana were boyfriend and girlfriend five years ago.

NΓ³s nΓ£o Γ©ramos tΓ£o prΓ³ximos quanto somos agora.
We weren’t as close as we are now.

Imperfect of Ter

We use the verb TerΒ in PortugueseΒ to talk about things we possess (or not), about family, age, describe things, people, feelings or to make a statement:

Eu tinha I had
VocΓͺ tinha You had
Ele/Ela tinha He/She/It had
NΓ³s tΓ­nhamos We had
VocΓͺs tinham You had
Eles/Elas tinham They had

Examples with ter

Ele nΓ£oΒ tinha a mesma opiniΓ£o hΓ‘ 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.

VocΓͺs tinham muitos amigos quando eram crianΓ§as?
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
VocΓͺ vinha You came
Ele/Ela vinha He/She/It came
NΓ³s vΓ­nhamos We came
VocΓͺs vinham You came
Eles/Elas vinham They came

Examples with vir

Eu sempreΒ vinha aqui nesta cidade porque tinha um grande carinho pelas pessoas.
I alwaysΒ came to this city because IΒ had great affectionΒ for the people.

NΓ³s vΓ­nhamos aqui porque tΓ­nhamos tempo. Hoje, nΓ£o 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 cameΒ here because they used to like the city.Β 

Imperfect of PΓ΄r

The verb PΓ΄r means To Put and we can use to talk about objects and clothes:

Eu punha I put
VocΓͺ punha You put
Ele/Ela punha He/She/It put
NΓ³s pΓΊnhamos We put
VocΓͺs punham You put
Eles/Elas punham They put

Examples with pΓ΄r

VocΓͺ 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.

NΓ³s pΓΊnhamosΒ nossa opiniΓ£oΒ para nossos pais.
We used to put our opinion forward to our parents.

VocΓͺs punham as cadeiras no lugar quando estudaram lΓ‘?
Did youΒ put the chairs in order when you studied there?

Now we know about irregular verbs for the imperfect pastΒ 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:

  1. Eu __________ (ser) uma crianΓ§a muito extrovertida antigamente. Eu ___________ (ter) muitos amigos.
  2. Antigamente nΓ³s __________ (vir) de Γ΄nibus para o trabalho.
  3. Paula __________ (ter) um namorado muito simpΓ‘tico quando __________ (ser) adolescente.
  4. Minha mΓ£e nΓ£o __________ (pΓ΄r) muita maquiagem para sair.
  5. Enquanto nΓ³s __________ (pΓ΄r) a mesa para o jantar, Carlos recebia os candidatos.
  6. NΓ³s nΓ£o ___________ (ser) amigos porque nΓ£o __________ (ter) muitas coisas em comum.
  7. VocΓͺ __________ (vir) todos os dias por esse caminho?
  8. Quando vocΓͺ se casou, quantos anos vocΓͺ __________? (ter)
  9. Eu sempre __________ (pΓ΄r) meu quarto em ordem quando __________ (ser) necessΓ‘rio.
  10. Eu __________ (ter) cabelos longos e __________ (ter) a pele mais clara tambΓ©m.

That’s it folks! If you want to know more about Portuguese, follow us on TwitterΒ for lots more information.

See you there!
A huge kiss from Rio de Janeiro!

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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

  1. era, tinha
  2. vΓ­nhamos
  3. tinha, era
  4. punha
  5. pΓΊnhamos
  6. Γ©ramos, tΓ­nhamos
  7. vinha
  8. tinha
  9. punha
  10. tinha, tinha