Past - Pretérito Perfeito

Leave the past behind

In English, we can say I ate and I have eaten, but in Portuguese, you use the same verb form for things in the past! Two for one, yay!

Ele comeu carne ontem.

He ate meat yesterday.

Ele não comeu hoje.

He has not eaten today.

I talked, I ate, I decided

When talking about the past, most Portuguese verbs change just a little depending on who's doing the action.

Here's how verbs ending in ‑ar, like falar, change in the past.

Verbs ending in ‑er, like comer, change in a similar way.

Finally, here's how verbs ending in ‑ir, like decidir, change in the past.

Were or went?

A few verbs, like ir, have special forms in the past.

And here's something tricky: ser and ir, look exactly the same in the past!