A significant group of Portuguese verbs has two past participles: a long (regular) form ending in -ado / -ido, and a short (irregular) form. The classic distributional rule is:
- Long form with ter or haver (compound tenses): tenho entregado.
- Short form with ser or estar (passive voice, resultant state): a carta foi entregue.
In practice the distribution is messier — some verbs have effectively abandoned the long form in modern PT-PT (pagar: pago is used everywhere), while a few treat both forms as freely interchangeable. This page catalogs every double-participle verb a learner will meet in modern European Portuguese, with the rule of thumb and the notable exceptions.
The classic rule — and where it breaks
The textbook rule says: ter / haver + long participle, ser / estar + short participle. Here's a clean example that obeys the rule:
Tinha entregado o relatório à secretária.
I had handed in the report to the secretary. (long form with ter)
O relatório foi entregue à secretária.
The report was handed in to the secretary. (short form with ser)
And here's a verb where the rule has eroded entirely — pagar:
Já tenho pago a renda deste mês.
I've already paid this month's rent. (short form with ter — everyday PT-PT)
A renda foi paga no dia um.
The rent was paid on the first. (short form with ser — also correct)
For pagar, the long form pagado is so rare that many Portuguese speakers find it archaic. The language has chosen pago as the universal participle.
Complete list — alphabetical
| Infinitive | Long (regular) | Short (irregular) | PT-PT preference |
|---|---|---|---|
| aceitar | aceitado | aceite | Short form dominates in both compound and passive |
| acender | acendido | aceso | Classic rule: acendido with ter, aceso with estar/ser |
| assentar | assentado | assente | Short form strongly preferred everywhere |
| benzer | benzido | bento | Bento restricted to religious context (água benta) |
| completar | completado | completo | Short form is an adjective more than a participle |
| confundir | confundido | confuso | Confuso is now purely adjectival |
| corromper | corrompido | corrupto | Corrupto is adjectival |
| eleger | elegido (rare) | eleito | Short form dominates everywhere |
| entregar | entregado (rare) | entregue | Short form dominates; follows classic rule loosely |
| envolver | envolvido | envolto | Classic rule applies; envolto is more literary |
| enxugar | enxugado | enxuto | Enxuto is often adjectival (dry, lean) |
| erguer | erguido | erecto / ereto | Erecto is adjectival |
| exprimir | exprimido (rare) | expresso | Expresso dominant; also adjectival (comboio expresso) |
| expulsar | expulsado | expulso | Expulso dominates in both roles |
| extinguir | extinguido (rare) | extinto | Extinto dominates |
| fixar | fixado | fixo | Fixo is adjectival (fixed-income, fixed hours) |
| fritar | fritado (rare) | frito | Frito dominates; fritado essentially literary |
| ganhar | ganhado (rare) | ganho | Ganho is universal in modern PT-PT |
| gastar | gastado (rare) | gasto | Gasto is universal in modern PT-PT |
| imprimir | imprimido | impresso | Classic rule: imprimido with ter, impresso with estar |
| incluir | incluído | incluso | Incluído dominates; incluso is rare / adjectival |
| isentar | isentado | isento | Isento is adjectival and dominates |
| juntar | juntado | junto | Junto is adjectival; juntado with ter/haver |
| libertar | libertado | liberto | Classic rule applies reasonably well |
| limpar | limpado | limpo | Limpo dominates; classic rule still visible |
| matar | matado | morto | Morto also the past participle of morrer — overlap |
| morrer | morrido | morto | Morto used with ser/estar; morrido with ter |
| nascer | nascido | nato | Nato is adjectival (born, innate — um cantor nato) |
| ocultar | ocultado | oculto | Oculto is adjectival |
| omitir | omitido | omisso | Omisso is adjectival |
| pagar | pagado (rare) | pago | Pago is universal in modern PT-PT |
| pegar | pegado | pego | Pego is mainly BP; PT-PT tends to use pegado in both roles |
| prender | prendido | preso | Classic rule: prendido with ter, preso with estar/ser |
| romper | rompido | roto | Classic rule; roto is adjectival (torn) |
| salvar | salvado (rare) | salvo | Salvo dominates in everyday PT-PT |
| secar | secado | seco | Seco is adjectival; classic rule still visible |
| segurar | segurado | seguro | Seguro is adjectival (safe, sure) |
| soltar | soltado | solto | Classic rule applies |
| submeter | submetido | submisso | Submisso is adjectival (submissive) |
| sujeitar | sujeitado | sujeito | Sujeito is adjectival / noun (subject, liable) |
| suspender | suspendido | suspenso | Classic rule applies — suspendido with ter, suspenso with estar |
| tingir | tingido | tinto | Tinto is adjectival (red wine, dyed) |
| vagar | vagado | vago | Vago is adjectival (vague, vacant) |
The three patterns
Looking at the list, you can sort these verbs into three patterns:
Pattern A — The classic rule still works
For verbs like acender, imprimir, prender, suspender, envolver, the textbook rule holds cleanly. Use the long form with ter/haver, the short with ser/estar.
Tinha imprimido o documento antes de sair.
I had printed the document before leaving.
O documento já está impresso em cima da mesa.
The document is already printed on the table.
Os bombeiros tinham acendido a fogueira cedo.
The firefighters had lit the bonfire early.
A vela está acesa na janela.
The candle is lit in the window.
Pattern B — The short form has taken over
For pagar, gastar, ganhar, entregar, aceitar, eleger, salvar, expulsar, the short form dominates in both roles. The long participle is literary or essentially archaic.
Já tenho pago a fatura deste trimestre.
I've already paid this quarter's invoice.
Tenho gasto demasiado em restaurantes.
I've been spending too much on restaurants.
Tenho ganho menos desde que mudei de emprego.
I've been earning less since I changed jobs.
Ele foi eleito presidente da associação.
He was elected president of the association.
Pattern C — The short form is now an adjective, not a participle
For confuso, corrupto, completo, seco, oculto, submisso, fixo, enxuto, isento, sujeito, tinto, vago, roto, bento, the short form has drifted into pure adjective territory. It can modify nouns, but it's no longer felt as a past participle. In compound tenses you use the long form; with ser/estar you also use the long form — unless you're going for the adjectival meaning.
A secretária tinha confundido os horários.
The secretary had mixed up the schedules. (compound tense — long form)
Estou confuso com estas instruções.
I'm confused by these instructions. (adjective — short form as pure adjective)
Tinham secado a roupa na varanda.
They had dried the clothes on the balcony. (compound — long form)
A roupa está seca — já a podes dobrar.
The clothes are dry — you can fold them now. (adjective)
Deep dive: matar vs morrer
Matar (to kill) and morrer (to die) share the same short participle: morto. This is one of the most confusing overlaps in Portuguese.
| Form | Verb | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| matado | matar | Long form with ter/haver |
| morto | matar OR morrer | Short form — passive / adjectival |
| morrido | morrer | Long form with ter/haver |
O caçador tinha matado o javali com um único tiro.
The hunter had killed the boar with a single shot. (ter + matado)
O javali foi morto com um único tiro.
The boar was killed with a single shot. (ser + morto)
Muitas pessoas tinham morrido naquela epidemia.
Many people had died in that epidemic. (ter + morrido)
Estão todos mortos, ninguém sobreviveu.
They're all dead, no one survived. (estar + morto, adjectival)
PT-PT vs Brazilian Portuguese
Most double-participle verbs behave identically in both varieties, but a few diverge:
- Aceitar: PT-PT strongly prefers aceite as both participle and adjective (o pedido foi aceite). BP accepts both aceito and aceitado, with aceito more common.
- Pagar: Both varieties use pago universally.
- Entregar: Both varieties prefer entregue; entregado is very rare everywhere.
- Imprimir: BP is more likely to use impresso even with ter (tenho impresso). PT-PT is stricter about using imprimido with ter.
- Chegar: Neither variety has a double participle for chegar — the participle is simply chegado.
The "-ar verbs with irregular short participle" subpattern
Most -ar verbs have a regular -ado participle. Those with a short form are the exceptions: aceitar/aceite, assentar/assente, completar/completo, entregar/entregue, expulsar/expulso, fritar/frito, ganhar/ganho, gastar/gasto, isentar/isento, juntar/junto, libertar/liberto, limpar/limpo, matar/morto, pagar/pago, pegar/pego, salvar/salvo, secar/seco, segurar/seguro, soltar/solto, sujeitar/sujeito, vagar/vago.
The -er and -ir verbs with short forms are fewer but well-used: acender/aceso, envolver/envolto, prender/preso, suspender/suspenso, romper/roto, submeter/submisso, benzer/bento, morrer/morto, nascer/nato, eleger/eleito, imprimir/impresso, exprimir/expresso, extinguir/extinto, omitir/omisso, tingir/tinto, incluir/incluso.
Common mistakes
❌ Já tenho pagado a renda.
Unusual in modern PT-PT — **pagado** is essentially archaic.
✅ Já tenho pago a renda.
Correct — **pago** is the universal modern form.
❌ A porta foi acendida às sete.
Semantic error: you light a candle or a fire, not a door.
✅ A luz foi acesa às sete.
Correct — the light was turned on at seven.
❌ A carta foi entregado ontem.
Wrong — with **ser**, use the short form **entregue**.
✅ A carta foi entregue ontem.
Correct — passive with short form.
❌ Tenho imprimido o relatório antes das nove.
In strict PT-PT, prefer the long form with **ter**.
✅ Tinha imprimido o relatório antes das nove.
Correct — **imprimido** with **ter**.
❌ O candidato foi elegido por larga maioria.
Unusual — **elegido** is almost obsolete.
✅ O candidato foi eleito por larga maioria.
Correct — **eleito** is the normal form.
Key takeaways
- The classic rule "long form with ter/haver, short form with ser/estar" is a useful default, but many verbs break it.
- Pagar, gastar, ganhar, entregar, aceitar, eleger, salvar have effectively only the short form in modern PT-PT.
- Completo, confuso, submisso, oculto, fixo, seco, tinto, bento, roto have drifted into pure adjective status — the long form is the true participle.
- Matar and morrer share the short participle morto, which causes overlap in passive constructions.
- When in doubt, check the PT-PT preference column in the table above, not the traditional rule.
- In BP and PT-PT alike, when the short form is firmly adjectival, use it as an adjective; when you need a true perfect tense, reach for the long form.
For the teaching treatment, see double participles. For the complete list of all irregular participles (not just the double ones), see irregular forms.
Related Topics
- Double Participles (Duplo Particípio)B1 — Verbs with two past participles — a regular form for compound tenses with ter, and a short irregular form for passive and adjectival use. Covers pago, ganho, gasto, aceite, entregue, preso, morto, and the rest of the family.
- Past Participle: Irregular FormsA2 — The comprehensive list of Portuguese verbs with irregular past participles — feito, dito, visto, escrito, aberto, posto, vindo, and the whole family of -pôr and -cobrir derivatives.
- Past Participle: Regular FormsA2 — How to build regular past participles in European Portuguese — -ar → -ado, -er → -ido, -ir → -ido, with full paradigms and natural examples.
- The Past Participle in Compound TensesA2 — How the past participle combines with ter across every compound tense in European Portuguese — present perfect, pluperfect, future perfect, conditional perfect, and the three compound subjunctives.
- Ser + Past Participle (Analytic Passive)B1 — The Portuguese analytic passive — ser + past participle + (por + agent). The most explicit passive construction, with mandatory participle agreement and the por contractions (pelo, pela, pelos, pelas).
- Compound Tenses OverviewA2 — The complete inventory of European Portuguese compound tenses built with ter + past participle, across indicative, subjunctive, infinitive, and gerund.