Ser Imperfect in Portuguese

2 de March de 2013
Example with ser imperfect in Portuguese: Eles faziam muitas aventuras quando eram mais jovens.

Today, we are going to learn the verb Ser Imperfect in Portuguese. What were you like when you were a child? Let’s learn how to say this in Portuguese today!

Conjugating Ser Imperfect in Portuguese

To begin with, let’s learn the conjugation of this very important and irregular verb!

Conjugation of the verb ser imperfect in Portuguese: eu era, vocΓͺ era, ele/ela era, nΓ³s Γ©ramos, vocΓͺs eram, eles/elas eram. Example: Eles eram nossos estudantes.

Now listen to the conjugation so you’ll pronounce it correctly!

Eu era
VocΓͺ era
Ele era / Ela era
NΓ³s Γ©ramos
VocΓͺs eram
Eles eram / Elas eram

When to use Ser Imperfect in Portuguese?

We use the ser imperfect in Portuguese to it talk about a past fact, but that was not concluded (imperfect = not perfect, unfinished). It conveys an idea of ​​continuity and duration and can describe a continued action that became a routine. If you’re going to describe how you were as a child, for example, you’ll probably have to use this tense.
Let’s see some examples!

ExamplesΒ 

Eu era um bom aluno quando criança.
I was a good student when I was a child.

VocΓͺΒ eraΒ muito magro.
You were very thin.

Oscar NiemeyerΒ era arquiteto.
Oscar Niemeyer was an architect.

Ela sempreΒ eraΒ muito simpΓ‘tica com todo mundo.
She was always very friendly with everybody.

NΓ³sΒ Γ©ramosΒ bons amigos.
We were good friends.

VocΓͺsΒ eramΒ ruivas. Agora estΓ£o loiras. O que aconteceu?
You were red heads. Now you are blonde. What happened?

ElasΒ eramΒ espertas nos tempos de escola.
They were smart at school.

Now it’s your turn!

Change the sentences into the imperfect tense:

  1. Eu sou professor de PortuguΓͺs
  2. Ela Γ© muito inteligente.
  3. VocΓͺ Γ© uma pessoa religiosa?
  4. Marta e eu somos casados.
  5. Eles sΓ£o muito bons em samba.
  6. Esta caneta Γ© minha.
  7. A parede da sala Γ© verde.
  8. JoΓ£o e Maria sΓ£o apaixonados por doces.
  9. Eu sou forte mas vocΓͺ nΓ£o Γ©.
  10. Ele Γ© o diretor da Rio & Learn, nΓ£o Γ©?

What about you? How were you in the past?
Practice by writing a small text telling us how you were in the past. Have Portuguese classes in Rio with us and tell us all about your childhood πŸ˜‰ !

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That’s it! Today we learned about the imperfect verb ser in Portuguese.
See you in the next Dica!

 

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Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Verb Ser Exercises in Portuguese
Ser Portuguese Conjugation
Simple Past of Ser and Ir in Portuguese
Verb Ser Games

Answers

  1. Eu era professor de PortuguΓͺs
  2. Ela era muito inteligente.
  3. VocΓͺ era uma pessoa religiosa?
  4. Marta e eu eramos casados.
  5. Eles eram muito bons em samba.
  6. Esta caneta era minha.
  7. A parede da sala era verde.
  8. JoΓ£o e Maria eram apaixonados por doces.
  9. Eu era forte mas vocΓͺ nΓ£o era .
  10. Ele era o diretor da Rio & Learn, nΓ£o era?