Portuguese past participles lead a double life. In compound tenses with ter or haver — tenho falado, haviam partido — they are invariable verbal forms. But detached from those auxiliaries and used with ser, estar, ficar, or just as modifiers, past participles behave like full adjectives, agreeing in gender and number with what they describe: a porta está aberta, os livros foram lidos, uma escritora conhecida.
This is one of the most productive corners of Portuguese grammar. Every verb gives you a ready-made adjective for free, and you use these forms constantly in ordinary speech. The tricky details are: which verbs have irregular participles, which verbs have two participles (one for auxiliaries, one for adjectival use), and when the construction with ser differs from the construction with estar.
The basic pattern
To use a past participle as an adjective, form it the normal way and let it agree in gender and number with the noun.
| Conjugation | Infinitive | Participle (M sg) | F sg | M pl | F pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ar | falar → falado | falado | falada | falados | faladas |
| -er | comer → comido | comido | comida | comidos | comidas |
| -ir | partir → partido | partido | partida | partidos | partidas |
A porta está fechada à chave — não conseguimos entrar.
The door is locked — we can't get in.
Os bolos estão cozidos; podes tirá-los do forno.
The cakes are baked; you can take them out of the oven.
As crianças estão cansadas do passeio.
The children are tired from the walk.
Sinto-me perdida nesta cidade.
I feel lost in this city.
Agreement is always with the subject (with ser/estar/ficar) or with the noun being modified. Missing agreement is one of the most conspicuous beginner errors.
Irregular past participles
A small group of Portuguese verbs have irregular past participles that don't follow the -ado/-ido pattern. These must be memorised.
| Infinitive | Irregular participle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| abrir (to open) | aberto | opened, open |
| cobrir (to cover) | coberto | covered |
| descobrir (to discover) | descoberto | discovered |
| dizer (to say) | dito | said |
| escrever (to write) | escrito | written |
| fazer (to do, make) | feito | done, made |
| pôr (to put) | posto | put, placed |
| ver (to see) | visto | seen |
| vir (to come) | vindo | come |
| satisfazer (to satisfy) | satisfeito | satisfied |
A janela ficou aberta toda a noite e a casa arrefeceu.
The window was left open all night and the house got cold.
A carta já está escrita, só falta levá-la ao correio.
The letter is already written, I just need to take it to the post office.
O trabalho está feito — podemos descansar.
The work is done — we can rest.
Estou muito satisfeita com o resultado do exame.
I'm very pleased with the exam result.
Note that these irregular forms still agree for gender and number in their adjectival use: aberto, aberta, abertos, abertas; feito, feita, feitos, feitas; visto, vista, vistos, vistas.
Verbs with two participles
A distinctive feature of Portuguese is that a substantial group of verbs have two past participles: a regular form (in -ado/-ido) used with the auxiliaries ter and haver, and a short, irregular form used with ser and estar. The division of labour is:
ter / haver + regular participle (invariable) ser / estar + short participle (agreeing)
| Infinitive | Regular (with ter/haver) | Short (with ser/estar) |
|---|---|---|
| aceitar | aceitado | aceite |
| entregar | entregado | entregue |
| expressar | expressado | expresso |
| imprimir | imprimido | impresso |
| limpar | limpado | limpo |
| matar | matado | morto |
| pagar | pagado | pago |
| prender | prendido | preso |
| salvar | salvado | salvo |
| soltar | soltado | solto |
| suspender | suspendido | suspenso |
| ganhar | ganhado | ganho |
| gastar | gastado | gasto |
A conta já está paga — podemos sair.
The bill is already paid — we can leave.
O relatório foi entregue ao diretor esta manhã.
The report was delivered to the director this morning.
Os documentos estão impressos e prontos para assinar.
The documents are printed and ready to sign.
O pobre gato foi morto por um carro na estrada.
The poor cat was killed by a car on the road.
Já tenho pagado a renda todos os meses em dia.
I've been paying the rent on time every month.
Notice the last sentence uses the regular pagado with ter. Compare with the previous example — a conta está paga — where the short form is used with estar.
Ser versus estar with past participles
This is one of the most important distinctions involving past participles. Both ser and estar can be followed by a participle, but they mean different things.
Ser + participle describes a passive action — something is being done, has been done, or gets done. This is the true passive voice.
Estar + participle describes the resulting state — the condition that remains after an action.
| Structure | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ser + participle | passive action | A porta foi fechada pelo vento. (The door was closed by the wind — someone/something did the closing.) |
| estar + participle | resulting state | A porta está fechada. (The door is closed — it's in the closed state.) |
A carta foi escrita no século passado.
The letter was written in the last century. (action that happened then)
A carta está escrita à mão.
The letter is written by hand. (current state of the letter)
A janela foi aberta pelo vento.
The window was opened by the wind. (event)
A janela está aberta; entra uma corrente de ar.
The window is open; there's a draught coming in. (state)
English collapses these two meanings into "is + participle," which is why English speakers often overuse ser where estar is called for. When in doubt, ask: is this a state that currently exists, or an event that happened?
Ficar + participle: a change of state
Portuguese also uses ficar + past participle to mean to become / to end up X — the participle marks the new state that results from some event.
A Ana ficou chateada com o comentário dele.
Ana got upset at his comment.
Fiquei surpreendido com a quantidade de pessoas na rua.
I was surprised by how many people were in the street.
A sala ficou organizada depois de arrumarmos tudo.
The room ended up tidy after we put everything away.
Ficar is the go-to verb for emotional reactions and new states — ficar contente, ficar triste, ficar cansado, ficar assustado. For more on ficar, see the page on ser, estar and ficar.
Attributive use: straight-up adjectives
A past participle can also sit directly after a noun, like any adjective, without any linking verb at all.
Uma porta aberta convida sempre alguém a entrar.
An open door always invites someone in.
Ela é uma escritora conhecida em todo o país.
She's a writer known throughout the country.
Comi um prato recém-feito, delicioso.
I had a freshly made dish, delicious.
Não gosto de peixe mal cozido.
I don't like undercooked fish.
In this attributive use, agreement works as usual: uma porta aberta, portas abertas, um livro lido, livros lidos.
Negative adjectives with prefixes
Portuguese builds negative counterparts of participle-adjectives with the productive prefixes in-, im-, i-, des-.
| Positive | Negative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| acabado | inacabado | unfinished |
| completo | incompleto | incomplete |
| perfeito | imperfeito | imperfect |
| feliz | infeliz | unhappy |
| conhecido | desconhecido | unknown |
| ordenado | desordenado | disordered |
| esperado | inesperado | unexpected |
| ligado | desligado | disconnected, switched off |
| arrumado | desarrumado | untidy |
O livro ficou inacabado por falta de tempo.
The book was left unfinished due to lack of time.
Tive uma visita inesperada da minha tia ontem à noite.
I had an unexpected visit from my aunt last night.
O quarto está completamente desarrumado — tenho de limpar.
The room is completely untidy — I need to clean up.
The choice between in- (becoming im- before p or b, i- before l or r) and des- is largely lexicalised — you learn them one at a time. Des- tends to suggest a reversal (arrumado → desarrumado, "tidied → untidied"), while in- tends to suggest a simple negation (completo → incompleto, "complete → not complete").
Substantivised participles
Participles often get used as nouns — referring to a person or thing characterised by the action.
| Participle | Substantive meaning |
|---|---|
| o morto / a morta | the dead man / woman |
| o ferido / a ferida | the injured person |
| o conhecido / a conhecida | the acquaintance |
| o escrito | the written (document, piece) |
| o dito | the said (saying) |
| o preso / a presa | the prisoner |
| o feito | the deed, the feat |
| o passado | the past |
Houve três feridos no acidente da autoestrada.
There were three injured in the motorway accident.
Ele é um conhecido do meu irmão, não um amigo íntimo.
He's an acquaintance of my brother's, not a close friend.
Common collocations with estar + participle
Certain participle-adjective combinations are essentially fixed expressions. Learn them as chunks.
| Collocation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| estar acostumado a | to be used to |
| estar habituado a | to be accustomed to |
| estar prestes a | to be about to |
| estar disposto a | to be willing to |
| estar decidido a | to be determined to |
| estar ocupado com | to be busy with |
| estar preocupado com | to be worried about |
| estar interessado em | to be interested in |
| estar apaixonado por | to be in love with |
| estar convencido de | to be convinced of |
Estou habituada a acordar cedo, não me custa.
I'm used to waking up early, it's no trouble.
Ele está prestes a terminar o doutoramento.
He's about to finish his PhD.
Estás disposta a mudar de cidade por este emprego?
Are you willing to move cities for this job?
O Pedro está apaixonado pela Teresa há seis meses.
Pedro has been in love with Teresa for six months.
Note the prepositions — a, com, em, por, de — each of these collocations carries its own. You need to learn the preposition along with the participle, because the verb on its own doesn't predict it.
Common mistakes
❌ A reunião está acaba.
Incorrect — must use the full participle form, agreeing in gender: 'acabado/acabada'.
✅ A reunião está acabada.
The meeting is over.
❌ A porta é fechada; não consigo entrar.
Incorrect — describing the current state uses 'estar', not 'ser'.
✅ A porta está fechada; não consigo entrar.
The door is closed; I can't get in.
❌ Os meninos está cansado.
Incorrect — missing plural agreement on both the verb and the participle.
✅ Os meninos estão cansados.
The boys are tired.
❌ Já tenho pago a conta duas vezes.
Acceptable in colloquial PT-PT but prescriptively marked — traditional grammar prefers 'tenho pagado' with 'ter'.
✅ Já paguei a conta duas vezes. / Já tenho pagado a conta.
I've already paid the bill twice.
❌ A carta foi escrito ontem.
Incorrect — the participle must agree with 'a carta' (feminine).
✅ A carta foi escrita ontem.
The letter was written yesterday.
❌ Estou interessado em em astronomia.
Incorrect — double 'em' is a common typo; only one is needed.
✅ Estou interessado em astronomia.
I'm interested in astronomy.
Key takeaways
- Past participles used as adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun.
- Memorise the irregular participles: aberto, coberto, dito, escrito, feito, posto, visto, vindo, satisfeito.
- A large group of verbs has two participles: a regular one for ter/haver (pagado, entregado, imprimido) and a short one for ser/estar (pago, entregue, impresso).
- Ser + participle = passive action; estar + participle = resulting state.
- Ficar + participle marks a change of state, often emotional (fiquei contente, ficou cansada).
- Participles can form noun-equivalents (o ferido, o conhecido) and negative counterparts with in- / des- prefixes.
Related Topics
- Adjective Gender AgreementA1 — How Portuguese adjectives change to agree with masculine and feminine nouns, plus the common irregular patterns.
- Adjective Number AgreementA1 — How to form the plural of Portuguese adjectives, including the tricky -l, -ês, -ão, and accented endings.