Pretérito Perfeito Simples: Completed Past
The simple preterite is the most common past tense in European Portuguese, used for actions that are completed and fully in the past.
PortuStories Editorial
European Portuguese Grammar Guide
The pretérito perfeito simples expresses actions completed at a specific point in the past. It is the tense you will use most when narrating past events in EP.
| Person | Falar | Comer | Partir |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | falei | comi | parti |
| tu | falaste | comeste | partiste |
| ele/ela/você | falou | comeu | partiu |
| nós | falámos | comemos | partimos |
| vós | falastes | comestes | partistes |
| eles/elas/vocês | falaram | comeram | partiram |
Ontem fui ao supermercado.
Yesterday I went to the supermarket.
Ela disse que estava cansada.
She said she was tired.
Note the accent in "falámos" (nós). This distinguishes the preterite from the present "falamos" — a distinction specific to EP orthography.
Key irregulars: ser/ir → fui; ter → tive; fazer → fiz; dizer → disse; vir → vim; poder → pude; querer → quis; saber → soube.
From a PortuStories Story
O Pedro acordou cedo, tomou o pequeno-almoço e foi para o trabalho.
Pedro woke up early, had breakfast, and went to work.