Pretérito Imperfeito: Ongoing and Habitual Past
The imperfect tense describes actions that were ongoing, repeated, or habitual in the past, and is used for background descriptions in narratives.
PortuStories Editorial
European Portuguese Grammar Guide
The pretérito imperfeito covers: (1) habitual or repeated past actions ("I used to…"), (2) background ongoing states when another event occurred, (3) narrative descriptions, and (4) polite softening of requests.
| Person | Falar | Comer | Partir |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | falava | comia | partia |
| tu | falavas | comias | partias |
| ele/ela/você | falava | comia | partia |
| nós | falávamos | comíamos | partíamos |
| vós | faláveis | comíeis | partíeis |
| eles/elas/vocês | falavam | comiam | partiam |
Quando era criança, brincava todos os dias no jardim.
When I was a child, I used to play in the garden every day.
Estava a chover quando o autocarro chegou.
It was raining when the bus arrived.
Background state (imperfeito) + completed event (perfeito simples).
Queria um café, por favor.
I would like a coffee, please.
Polite softening.
Main irregular imperfeitos: ser → era, ter → tinha, vir → vinha, pôr → punha. Nearly everything else is regular.
From a PortuStories Story
A avó contou que antigamente as crianças iam a pé para a escola e não havia autocarros.
Grandma said that in the old days children walked to school and there were no buses.