Simple past (pretérito perfeito)

In brief

Use the pretérito perfeito to say what happened and finished in the past. It often corresponds to the English simple past: ‘Comprei pão’ means ‘I bought bread.’ The verb ending shows who did it, so you can often leave out the subject pronoun.

Form

For regular verbs, remove -ar, -er or -ir and add a past ending. With eu: falar → falei, vender → vendi, abrir → abri. With ele/ela/você: falou, vendeu, abriu. Common irregular forms include fui (from ir) and fez (from fazer).

Usage

• Report a finished action: Ontem trabalhei até as seis.
• Tell what happened in sequence: Cheguei, tomei banho e dormi.

Examples

• Ontem comprei pão na padaria. — Yesterday I bought bread at the bakery.
• Você falou com a Ana? — Did you talk to Ana?
• Ela vendeu o carro no sábado. — She sold the car on Saturday.
• Nós abrimos a loja cedo. — We opened the store early.

Common mistake

❌ Eu falou com a Ana.

✅ Eu falei com a Ana.

Unlike English past-tense verbs, Portuguese past-tense verbs change with the subject. Use falei with eu, not falou.

Remember

Look for the ending to identify who performed the action.