Past Tense Regular Verbs

In Portuguese, the past tense is used to talk about completed actions or events that occurred in the past. Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern when conjugated in the past tense.

Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Past Tense

To conjugate regular verbs in the past tense, follow these steps:

1. Remove the infinitive suffix (-ar, -er, or -ir) from the verb.
2. Add the corresponding ending to match the subject pronoun.

Here are the endings for each subject pronoun:

• Eu (I): -ei
• Tu (You): -aste
• Ele/Ela/Você (He/She/You): -ou
• Nós (We): -amos
• Vós (You all): -astes
• Eles/Elas/Vocês (They/You all): -aram (for -ar verbs) or -eram/-iram (for -er/-ir verbs)

Example Conjugations

Let's see some examples of regular verbs conjugated in the past tense:

• Falar (to speak)

  • Eu falei (I spoke)
  • Tu falaste (You spoke)
  • Ele/Ela/Você falou (He/She/You spoke)
  • Nós falamos (We spoke)
  • Vós falastes (You all spoke)
  • Eles/Elas/Vocês falaram (They/You all spoke)

• Comer (to eat)

  • Eu comi (I ate)
  • Tu comeste (You ate)
  • Ele/Ela/Você comeu (He/She/You ate)
  • Nós comemos (We ate)
  • Vós comestes (You all ate)
  • Eles/Elas/Vocês comeram (They/You all ate)

• Partir (to leave)

  • Eu parti (I left)
  • Tu partiste (You left)
  • Ele/Ela/Você partiu (He/She/You left)
  • Nós partimos (We left)
  • Vós partistes (You all left)
  • Eles/Elas/Vocês partiram (They/You all left)

Using the Past Tense

The past tense is commonly used to:

1. Narrate personal stories and past experiences.
2. Describe events or actions that happened in the past.
3. Express actions that were completed before another action or a specific point in time.

Let's see some example sentences using the past tense:

• Narrating a personal history:

  • Quando eu era criança, eu brincava muito no parque. (When I was a child, I used to play a lot in the park.)

• Describing past events:

  • Ontem, nós estudamos para a prova. (Yesterday, we studied for the test.)

• Expressing completed actions:

  • Eu terminei o trabalho antes das 5 da tarde. (I finished the work before 5 p.m.)

Remember, when using the past tense, it is important to conjugate the verb according to the subject pronoun and apply the correct ending.

Now you should be able to confidently conjugate regular verbs in the past tense and use them to talk about personal histories and past experiences in Portuguese.