Pretérito Perfeito Composto: ter + Participle
The compound perfect in EP (ter + past participle) expresses repeated or ongoing actions from the past up to now — not a single completed event. This is a critical difference from English and Brazilian Portuguese.
PortuStories Editorial
European Portuguese Grammar Guide
In European Portuguese, ter + past participle is used for actions that have been repeated or ongoing from a point in the past up to the present. It does NOT express a single completed past event.
🇵🇹 European Portuguese
Tenho trabalhado muito esta semana. (repeated/ongoing up to now)
🇧🇷 Brazilian Portuguese
In BP this structure can also cover a single-event English-style perfect ("I have done it once").
In EP, for a single completed event always use the simple preterite.
Tenho dormido mal ultimamente.
I have been sleeping badly lately.
Repeated/ongoing up to now — correct EP use.
Ele tem estudado muito para os exames.
He has been studying a lot for the exams.
Common Mistake
Tenho ido ao cinema ontem.
Fui ao cinema ontem.
A single past event with a definite time marker (ontem) requires the simple preterite in EP.
Test: if you can insert "repeatedly over a period up to now" and the sentence holds, use the compound perfect. If it happened once at a specific time, use the simple preterite.
From a PortuStories Story
Ultimamente tenho chegado tarde ao trabalho porque os transportes têm estado lentos.
Lately I have been arriving late to work because the transport has been slow.