O Pretérito Perfeito Simples
The Portuguese past tense for completed events. Eu falei, tu falaste, ele falou. This is the workhorse tense of Portuguese narrative — what you use for "I did, I said, I went" when the action is done and finished. Equivalent in function to French passé composé and Spanish pretérito indefinido.
The pretérito perfeito simples is the Portuguese past tense for completed actions. It is the workhorse of Portuguese narrative. When you tell what happened, what you did, what someone said, you use the pretérito perfeito.
Eu falei. Tu falaste. Ele falou. Nós falámos. Vós falastes. Eles falaram.
In Portuguese, this single tense covers what English splits between I did and I have done. The Portuguese pretérito perfeito composto (eu tenho falado) does exist, but it has a different meaning (see below) — not equivalent to the English present perfect.
This tense is one of the first you learn at A1 because it appears in every narrative paragraph.
Forms — regular verbs
| -ar (falar) | -er (comer) | -ir (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 |
Important spelling notes
- nós falámos has an accent (ámos) in European Portuguese to distinguish it from the present falamos. In Brazilian Portuguese, the accent is dropped: nós falamos.
- vós forms are mostly literary or regional. In European Portuguese, vocês (formal plural) replaces vós in spoken use.
- Brazilian Portuguese rarely uses tu; você dominates. The verb form for você is the same as ele/ela (third person singular).
Irregular verbs — the most important ones
A few key verbs have irregular pretérito perfeito forms. Memorise these first.
ser and ir — same forms
| ser / ir | |
|---|---|
| eu | fui |
| tu | foste |
| ele/ela | foi |
| nós | fomos |
| vós | fostes |
| eles | foram |
Eu fui ao mercado. — I went to the market. Eu fui professor. — I was a teacher.
Context distinguishes the two meanings.
estar
| estar | |
|---|---|
| eu | estive |
| tu | estiveste |
| ele | esteve |
| nós | estivemos |
| eles | estiveram |
ter
| ter | |
|---|---|
| eu | tive |
| tu | tiveste |
| ele | teve |
| nós | tivemos |
| eles | tiveram |
fazer
| fazer | |
|---|---|
| eu | fiz |
| tu | fizeste |
| ele | fez |
| nós | fizemos |
| eles | fizeram |
dizer
| dizer | |
|---|---|
| eu | disse |
| tu | disseste |
| ele | disse |
| nós | dissemos |
| eles | disseram |
ver
| ver | |
|---|---|
| eu | vi |
| tu | viste |
| ele | viu |
| nós | vimos |
| eles | viram |
vir
| vir | |
|---|---|
| eu | vim |
| tu | vieste |
| ele | veio |
| nós | viemos |
| eles | vieram |
pôr (also irregular family: compor, propor, etc.)
| pôr | |
|---|---|
| eu | pus |
| tu | puseste |
| ele | pôs |
| nós | pusemos |
| eles | puseram |
There are more irregular verbs (saber, querer, poder, trazer, haver), but these are the most frequent.
When to use the pretérito perfeito
1. Completed action in the past
Ontem comi peixe. — Yesterday I ate fish. Ela visitou Lisboa em 2020. — She visited Lisbon in 2020.
The action happened and ended at a defined past moment.
2. Sequence of past actions in narrative
Acordei, vesti-me, tomei o pequeno-almoço, e saí. — I woke up, dressed, had breakfast, and left.
Each verb advances the timeline.
3. Action that lasted a defined period but is over
Trabalhei lá durante cinco anos. — I worked there for five years. (the period is closed)
4. To express a single past event of any duration
A Segunda Guerra Mundial durou seis anos. — World War II lasted six years.
Pretérito perfeito vs. pretérito perfeito composto
Portuguese has a compound form: eu tenho falado. This is NOT the same as English I have spoken.
The compound form expresses a repeated or ongoing action up to the present:
Tenho falado com ela. — I have been speaking with her (regularly, lately). Tenho lido muito ultimamente. — I have been reading a lot lately.
For a single past action (English present perfect), Portuguese uses the simple pretérito perfeito:
Já comi. — I have already eaten. (single completed action) Já visitei Paris. — I have visited Paris. (single completed experience)
This is the key contrast with English. I have eaten in Portuguese is já comi, not já tenho comido.
Difference from European and Brazilian Portuguese
Most pretérito perfeito forms are the same in both varieties. The main differences:
- EP: nós falámos (with accent). BP: nós falamos (no accent — coincides with present).
- EP: tu falaste. BP: rarely uses tu; uses você falou instead.
- EP: vocês falaram. BP: same form, but vocês is the default plural.
What you don’t need to do
You don’t need to memorise every irregular form at once. Start with ser/ir, ter, estar, fazer, ver, ir, vir.
You don’t need to use the compound tenho falado for English present perfect. Use the simple pretérito perfeito.
You don’t need to use vós in modern Portuguese. Vocês covers all plural informal/formal use.
Common confusions
- Eu fui = I went OR I was. Same form for ser and ir; context decides.
- Pretérito perfeito = completed past, not present perfect. Já comi = I have eaten (single event).
- EP nós falámos has the accent. BP drops it. Both are correct in their varieties.
- Compound form has a different meaning. Tenho falado ≠ English I have spoken — it means I have been speaking (recurrent).
Where you’ll meet it in the library
The pretérito perfeito drives all Portuguese narrative prose:
- Pinóquio (A1+) — Storica’s Portuguese adaptation uses the perfeito on every page. Collodi’s chaptered structure (Pinocchio did this, then this, then this) is built on the simple past.
- Robinson Crusoé (A2+) — Defoe’s first-person narrative in Portuguese is dense with the perfeito. The Brazilian and Atlantic-crossing chapters are particularly rich.
- Dom Quixote (A2+) — Cervantes’ classic in Portuguese rendering uses the perfeito for every action. The windmill chapter alone has dozens of verbs in this tense.
For canonical Portuguese-original prose, Saramago and Eça de Queirós both write narrative in the perfeito. Their work is not in the current Storica catalog but worth referencing for advanced learners.
Where you'll see this in books.
O velho carpinteiro encontrou um pedaço de madeira. Trabalhou todo o dia para criar um boneco. Chamou-o Pinóquio. O boneco abriu os olhos e olhou para ele.
Saí da Inglaterra em 1651. Embarquei num navio que ia para o Brasil. Conheci marinheiros portugueses. Fui salvo por um capitão honesto.
Dom Quixote saiu de casa numa manhã de verão. Montou no seu cavalo Rocinante. Encontrou moinhos de vento. Atacou-os, convencido de que eram gigantes.