European Portuguese verb tenses can be complex, but they don’t have to be daunting!
If you catch yourself wanting to say “I ate a pastel de nata”, but all that comes out is the present tense, I got you! You are not the only one stuck in this time-travel paradox.
Maybe you tried memorizing all the Portuguese verb tenses, but still, you can’t bring yourself to say the right tense at the right time. Well, you don’t need to do that, as this can feel overwhelming. In fact, you just need a practical guide to help you!
That’s what I want to give you right now. By the end of this post, hopefully you’ll have a clearer understanding of when and how to use some of the main Portuguese verb tenses without any headaches! Let’s go?
Actually, before I start, I would like to add that the tenses that I am writing about in this blog post in more detail are in the Indicative mood. However, I will also give you a brief explanation of the subjunctive mood in the end. So, now, really, let’s go?
The present (O Presente) – Your Best Friend
This tense is used for daily life, habits and general truths. It’s likely that you’ve used it or heard it, because this is a very common verb tense. Let me show you some examples:
- Eu falo Português. (I speak Portuguese.)
- O mar é azul. (The sea is blue.)
Here is a funny tip: If in doubt, just use the present tense—Portuguese people will likely understand you, if you give some context, even if you sound a bit off.
The Past (O Passado) – When Things Get Tricky
Now, when it comes to speak about things from the past, this is when European Portuguese verb tenses get a little trickier. Why? Because we have several different tenses to speak about different things that happened, or were happening in the past.
Let’s see, here are three of the main past tenses in Portuguese:
| Pretérito Perfeito | Ontem comi bacalhau. | Happened one time in the past. |
| Pretérito Imperfeito | Quando era pequena, eu brincava muito com os meus amigos. | Ongoing or usual past actions. |
| Pretérito Mais-Que-Perfeito | Quando ele entrou em casa, eu já tinha saído. | An action that happened before another in the past. |
So, as you can see, we have three different Portuguese verb tenses to speak about the past- just in the indicative form – which you are likely to be required to use often!
The Perfect Past (Pretérito Perfeito Simples) – One and Done!
You have the “Pretérito Perfeito”, which is used to speak about an action that happened and was completed in the past. It’s now done and dusted!
Here are some examples:
- Ontem comi bacalhau. (Yesterday I ate codfish.)
- Ele viveu no Porto no ano de 2019. (He lived in Porto in 2019.)
And here is a mastery trick: You can think of this verb as a selfie—one snapshot in time.
The Imperfect Past (Pretérito Imperfeito) – Background Action!
The imperfect tense in Portuguese, is used to speak about ongoing past actions, or habits. Things that happened often in the past, or that took longer to be done.
Let’s see some examples:
- Quando eu era criança, brincava muitas vezes na rua. (When I was a child, I played outside many times.)
- Ela lia sempre livros antes de dormir. (She always read books before sleeping)
Do you see it? The first example means that I used to play outside when I was a child, it’s an action that happened several times in the past (this is true, actually…I used to play outside as a child, and I miss it! Don’t you?). The second example also speaks about an ongoing habit in the past…she did the action many times in the past, not just one time. Therefore, we use the imperfect tense, or Pretérito Imperfeito, in Portuguese.
Here is a funny tip: It’s like the background music in a movie—you don’t notice it immediately, but it sets the scene!
The Past Perfect (Pretérito Mais-Que-Perfeito) – The Past’s Past
This verb tense is a little more complex, as it depicts an action that happened before another action in the past.
Here are some example sentences:
- Quando ele chegou, eu já tinha saído. (When he arrived, I had already left.)
- Quando eles se aperceberam, o cão já tinha comido o jantar deles. (When they realized it, the dog had already eaten their dinner.)
Here is a memory trick you can use to remember this verb tense: It’s like a flashback inside a flashback—very “Inception.”
(Have you seen that movie? Did you like it?)
The Future (O Futuro) – Because It’s Important to Make Plans!
This verb tense is very straightforward in its use – we use it to make plans, promises and predictions.
For example:
- Amanhã irei para Lisboa. (Tomorrow I’ll go to Lisbon.)
- No próximo ano, viajarei com a minha mãe. (Next year, I’ll travel with my mother.)
Although this is a somewhat clear tense, Portuguese people tend to leave it aside, except if they are speaking in a very formal or literary tone. So what do we use instead to speak about the future?
Here is a cheat code: In spoken Portuguese, people often just use “ir + infinitive” instead of the real future tense.
Like this:
- Vou fazer o jantar. (I will make dinner.)
- Amanhã vou telefonar para lá. (Tomorrow I will call there.)
Somehow, for Portuguese people, this sounds much more natural than the equivalents “Farei o jantar” or “Amanhã telefonarei para lá”. If you speak like this in day to day life in Portugal, people will understand you, but they will likely look at you funny!
Bonus: The Subjunctive (O Conjuntivo) – The Mysterious Mood
Having a bonus sounds like I am giving you something nice, right? Well, my students generally do not find the subjunctive mood to be very cool. But, if you know what it is and what it is used for, you can really start to enjoy using this tense.
In fact, the subjunctive tenses are used for uncertainty, wishes, doubts, and sometimes even to make polite requests!
Let’s see some examples:
- Espero que sejas feliz! (I hope you are happy!)
- Se eu fosse rico, ajudaria muita gente. (If I were rich, I would help a lot of people).
The subjunctive also contains the present, past, and future tenses – which I will not get into in this article, but that I thought worth mentioning.
If you want a tip to remember when to use these verb tenses in the subjunctive, here it is: Think of it as the “Maybe-Tenses”. If you’re not 100% sure about something, Portuguese makes you use it!
Conclusion: Making Portuguese Verb Tenses Fun
So here is a recap of the verb tenses in European Portuguese, as discussed in this post:
- Present Tense is for everyday Life
- Perfect Past is for finished actions in the past
- Imperfect is for background actions (habits or usual tasks in the past)
- Future Tense is for plans and dreams (but only in more formal or literary settings, otherwise use ir + infinitivo).
- Subjunctive Mode is for doubts and wishes
In case you want to look at the conjugations of the verbs in the Present, Perfect and Imperfect tenses, you can check this post here.
Now, do you want to test your knowledge? Write a sentence in the comments below using one of these European Portuguese verb tenses.
I will leave you with one of my favorite jokes: The past, the present and the future entered the room…it was tense!
Learning the European Portuguese Verb Tenses can be easy!
If you’re serious about mastering European Portuguese, check out my European Portuguese online courses for a fun and structured approach!
If you have any questions, write me a message, or leave a comment below this post!
Beijinhos, and have fun while learning Portuguese!