Imperfect tense (pretérito imperfeito)

The imperfeito (falava, comia) describes the past as ongoing or repeated: habits (“used to”), descriptions, age, time and background. It is also the polite form for wishes: Queria um café.

When to use it

• Habits and repeated actions, English “used to” or “would”: Eu jogava futebol todo sábado.
• Descriptions of people, places and situations: A casa era grande e tinha um jardim.
• Age and clock time in the past: Tinha dez anos. Eram oito horas.
• Polite requests: Queria pedir uma coisa. In Brazil also gostaria.
• Only four verbs are irregular: ser (era), ter (tinha), vir (vinha), pôr (punha).

Examples

• Quando eu era criança, morava no interior.When I was a child, I lived in the countryside.
• Todo verão nós íamos à praia.Every summer we used to go to the beach.
• Minha avó cozinhava muito bem.My grandmother was a very good cook.
• Eram seis horas e já estava escuro.It was six o’clock and it was already dark.
• Queria um quilo de tomates, por favor.I’d like a kilo of tomatoes, please.

Common mistakes

• ✗ Eu usava jogar futebol.✓ Eu jogava futebol.English “used to” has no separate verb in Portuguese: the imperfect ending -ava already says it, and usar means “to use”.
• ✗ Quando eu tive dez anos, mudei de cidade.✓ Quando eu tinha dez anos, mudei de cidade.Age in the past is a background state, so it takes the imperfect tinha; English “when I was ten” uses the same simple past for everything.
• ✗ Nós comiamos muito pão.✓ Nós comíamos muito pão.The nós-form of the imperfect carries a written accent, comíamos, because the stress falls three syllables from the end.
• ✗ Eu quis um café, por favor.✓ Eu queria um café, por favor.Polite ordering uses the imperfect queria; quis means “I wanted (and then did or didn’t)”, which sounds odd at a café counter.
• ✗ Ela tenia muitos amigos.✓ Ela tinha muitos amigos.ter has the irregular imperfect tinha; tenia looks like Spanish and is a common slip for learners who know it.