Imperfect past (pretérito imperfeito)

In brief

Use the pretérito imperfeito to talk about what someone used to do, or what things were like in the past. It also describes a situation that was in progress at a past moment.

Form

For regular verbs, remove -ar, -er, or -ir: falar → eu falava, nós falávamos; comer → eu comia, nós comíamos; abrir → eu abria, nós abríamos. Common forms to learn separately include era (ser), tinha (ter), and ia (ir).

Usage

• Past routines: Aos sábados, a gente visitava a avó (On Saturdays, we used to visit Grandma).
• Past descriptions and ongoing situations: A casa era pequena (The house was small).

Examples

• Quando eu era criança, brincava na rua. — When I was a child, I used to play in the street.
• A gente morava perto da praia. — We used to live near the beach.
• Às oito, eu ainda trabalhava. — At eight, I was still working.

Common mistake

❌ Quando eu era criança, eu brinco na rua.

✅ Quando eu era criança, eu brincava na rua.

Use the imperfect, not the present tense, to describe a past routine.

Remember

With eu and você/ele/ela, regular imperfect forms are the same: eu falava, ela falava.