Portuguese Pretérito Perfeito vs. Imperfeito: What’s the Difference and When to Use Each?

Understanding the difference between Pretérito Perfeito (Preterite) and Pretérito Imperfeito (Imperfect) in Portuguese is a common challenge, especially for learners whose native language, like English, doesn’t make this distinction in the past tense.

So, what’s the difference? Both are used to talk about the past, but:

✅ Pretérito Perfeito refers to completed actions.
✅ Pretérito Imperfeito describes ongoing, habitual, or background actions.

Example:

➡️ P. Perfeito:
Hoje, o Gustavo comeu o pequeno almoço às 8 da manhã.
Today, Gustavo ate breakfast at 8 a.m.

➡️ P. Imperfeito:
Antigamente, o Gustavo comia sempre o pequeno-almoço às 7 da manhã.
In the past, Gustavo always ate breakfast at 7 a.m.

Of course, the usage of Pretérito Perfeito and Pretérito Imperfeito is more nuanced than these examples suggest, especially concerning the P. Imperfeito. I’ll break it down with clear explanations and practical examples so you can learn when to use each. Read on.

👉 Note! You may come across the terms ‘Preterite’ to refer to Pretérito Perfeito and ‘Imperfect’ to refer to Pretérito Imperfeito.

Pretérito Perfeito (Preterite)

The Pretérito Perfeito is used to describe completed actions. In English, it often corresponds to the Past Simple or the Present Perfect, depending on how time-specific the sentence is.

Conjugation

Regular verbs

As you may know, there are three regular verb groups in Portuguese: -ar, -er, and -ir. Regular verbs follow a predictable conjugation pattern. I’ve marked those endings in bold to help you spot the pattern:

	ANDAR (walk)	VIVER (live)	INSISTIR (insist)
eu	andei	vivi	insisti
tu	andaste	viveste	insististe
você ele, ela	andou	viveu	insistiu
nós	andamos	vivemos	insistimos
vocês ele, ela	andaram	viveram	insistiram

🔎 Reading tips
Want to dive deeper into regular conjugation patterns?
• Present Tense Conjugation of Regular Verbs
• Past Tense Conjugation of Regular Verbs

Irregular verbs

Several high-frequency verbs are irregular in the Pretérito Perfeito. These are worth memorizing:

	SER (be)	IR (go)	ESTAR (be)	TER (have)
eu	fui	fui	estive	tive
tu	foste	foste	estiveste	tiveste
você ele, ela	foi	foi	esteve	teve
nós	fomos	fomos	estivemos	tivemos
vocês ele, ela	foram	foram	estiveram	tiveram

👉 Heads-up
Ser and ir share the same forms in the Pretérito Perfeito. It’s the context that tells them apart. Also, ser is usually followed by an adjective or pronoun, whereas ir is typically followed by a preposition of movement:

ser
Ontem fui irresponsável.
Yesterday I was irresponsible.
Não foi ela, foste tu!
It was not her, it was you!

ir
Ontem fui ao cinema.
I went to the cinema yesterday.
Já foste às compras?
Have you already done the groceries?

These verbs are also common and have irregular forms in the Pretérito Perfeito:

cair (fall)	dar (give)	dizer (say)
fazer (do)	haver (have)	poder (can)
pôr (put)	querer (want)	saber (know)
sair (leave)	trazer (bring)	ver (see)
vir (come)

🔎 Learn more about irregular verbs: Portuguese Must-Know Irregular Verbs.

Usage

The Pretérito Perfeito is used to talk about completed actions. It’s straightforward.

The English equivalent can be either the Past Simple or the Present Perfect, depending on whether there’s a clear time reference:

Clear time reference
Hoje de manhã comi torradas ao pequeno-almoço.
This morning, I had toast for breakfast.

No specific time
Já fiz os deveres.
I’ve already done my homework.

Compound Past

When the time reference is loose or ongoing, Portuguese often uses a compound structure:

→ estar (in the Pretérito Perfeito) + a + main verb (in the Infinitive).

This structure often matches the Present Perfect Continuous in English:

– O que fizeste hoje?
– Estive a jogar futebol.
– What have you done today?
– I’ve been playing soccer.

Pretérito Imperfeito (Imperfect)

We use the Pretérito Imperfeito to talk about ongoing or habitual actions in the past. Depending on the context, this tense also helps convey background information, politeness, or wishes.

Depending on how the sentence is framed, the English counterpart will usually be the Past Simple or Past Continuous, but it can also involve other verb forms.

Conjugation

Regular verbs

Here’s what the regular conjugation in the Pretérito Imperfeito looks like. As usual, verbs are grouped by their infinitive endings:

	ANDAR (walk)	VIVER (live)	INSISTIR (insist)
eu	andava	vivia	insistia
tu	andavas	vivias	insistias
você ele, ela	andava	vivia	insistia
nós	andávamos	vivíamos	insistíamos
vocês ele, ela	andavam	viviam	insistiam

Irregular verbs

There are only four commonly used verbs that are irregular in the Pretérito Imperfeito:

	SER (be)	TER (have)	PÔR (put)	VIR (come)
eu	era	tinha	punha	vinha
tu	eras	tinhas	punhas	vinhas
você ele, ela	era	tinha	punha	vinha
nós	éramos	tínhamos	púnhamos	vínhamos
vocês eles, elas	eram	tinham	punham	vinham

Usage

There are several contexts where we use the Pretérito Imperfeito. Let’s take a closer look.

Regular actions 

We use the Pretérito Imperfeito to talk about regular or habitual actions in the past:

Antigamente nadava quase todos os dias.
Before, I swam almost every day.

In this context, it’s also common to use the verb costumar in the Pretérito Imperfeito, followed by the main verb in the Infinitive. This mirrors the English structure used to + verb:

Antigamente costumava nadar quase todos os dias.
Before, I used to swim almost every day.

So, whenever used to + infinitive feels like the right choice in English, chances are you’ll want the Pretérito Imperfeito in Portuguese.

Background actions

We also use the Pretérito Imperfeito to describe actions that were unfolding in the background when something else occurred. In English, that usually maps to the Past Continuous.

Eu falava com o Paulo quando alguém bateu à porta.
I was talking to Paulo when someone knocked on the door.

Nevava quando saí de casa.
It was snowing when I left home.

More commonly, however, this is expressed with estar in the Pretérito Imperfeito, followed by a + infinitive:

Eu estava a falar com o Paulo quando alguém bateu à porta.
I was talking to Paulo when someone knocked on the door.

Estava a nevar quando saí de casa.
It was snowing when I left home.

💡 Note! In Brazilian Portuguese, the structure is different. The verb following estar comes in the Gerund form, and there’s no preposition in between:

PT-BR
Eu estava falando com o Paulo quando alguém bateu à porta.
Estava nevado quando saí de casa.

Future in the past 

The Pretérito Imperfeito is also used to refer to a future event from a past perspective. In English, this often translates as was/were going to or would:

Eu sabia que o autocarro chegava às 20h.
I knew that the bus was going to arrive at 8 pm.

Eu sabia que não me desiludias.
I knew that you wouldn’t disappoint me.

Alternatively, you can use ir in the Pretérito Imperfeito followed by the infinitive: 

Eu sabia que o autocarro ia chegar às 20h.
I knew that the bus was going to arrive at 8 pm.

Eu sabia que não me ias desiludir.
I knew that you wouldn’t disappoint me.

Politeness

We often use the Pretérito Imperfeito to sound more polite or formal, especially when making a request at a restaurant or asking for help. Common verbs here include querer, poder, and desejar:

Queria queijo e presunto para entradas, por favor.
I would like some cheese and ham for starters, thank you.

Podia dizer–me onde é a casa de banho?
Could you please tell me where the restroom is?

Wishing

The Pretérito Imperfeito is also used to express wishes or desires, typically translated into English with would like or would love:

Gostava de ir à Índia.
I would like to go to India.

Adorava ver-te novamente.
I would love to see you again.

Conditional sentences

We use the Pretérito Imperfeito in conditional sentences, especially in the if-clause:

Se fizesses mais desporto estavas em melhor forma.
If you exercised more, you’d be in better shape.

Se tivesses estudado mais tinhas passado no exame.
If you had studied more, you would have passed the exam.

🔎 Learn more about the Conditional in Portuguese.

Setting the scene

Lastly, the Pretérito Imperfeito helps us set the scene or provide context at the beginning of a narrative:

Eram 20h quando ela chegou a casa.
It was 8 pm when she got home.

Decorria o ano de 1939 quando a segunda guerra mundial eclodiu.
It was 1939 when the Second World War broke out.

Tinha cinco anos quando o meu pai morreu.
I was five years old when my father died.