Time Expressions as Clues | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Certain Portuguese time expressions lean strongly towards the preterite; others pull just as strongly towards the imperfect. These words act as clues that can help you pick the right tense quickly, especially in the early stages of learning. But they are clues, not rules -- the aspect you want to express always trumps the word in the sentence. This page shows you which expressions to watch for, and where they mislead.

Preterite triggers -- words that signal a bounded event

The preterite wants finished, pinpointed events. Time expressions that name a specific moment, a completed period, or a closed-off day in the past pull the verb to the preterite.

Portuguese	English
ontem	yesterday
anteontem	the day before yesterday
hoje de manhã / à tarde	this morning / this afternoon (already past)
na semana passada	last week
no mês passado	last month
no ano passado	last year
há dois dias / há uma semana	two days ago / a week ago
em 2020, em janeiro	in 2020, in January
de repente	suddenly
uma vez, duas vezes	once, twice
finalmente	finally
durante duas horas (completed)	for two hours (bounded)
de manhã cedo	early in the morning
naquele momento	at that moment

Ontem levantei-me às seis e apanhei o comboio para o Porto.

Yesterday I got up at six and took the train to Porto.

Há três anos fui viver para Londres.

Three years ago I went to live in London.

De repente, a luz foi-se abaixo e ficámos todos às escuras.

Suddenly, the power went out and we were all left in the dark.

Finalmente consegui falar com ela depois de uma semana a tentar.

I finally managed to speak with her after a week of trying.

Imperfect triggers -- words that signal habit or ongoing state

The imperfect wants open, ongoing, or repeated situations. Time expressions that describe a routine, a recurring habit, or a generalized "back then" pull the verb to the imperfect.

Portuguese	English
sempre	always
todos os dias / anos / domingos	every day / year / Sunday
frequentemente	frequently
às vezes	sometimes
de vez em quando	from time to time
geralmente / normalmente	generally / normally
habitualmente	habitually
muitas vezes	often / many times
enquanto	while
antigamente	in the old days
dantes	formerly, previously
naquela altura / naquela época	at that time
cada semana / cada mês	each week / each month
quando era criança / jovem	when I was a child / young
todos os verões	every summer

Antigamente, as pessoas escreviam cartas em vez de enviar emails.

In the old days, people used to write letters instead of sending emails.

Quando era pequeno, íamos sempre a casa dos meus avós ao domingo.

When I was little, we'd always go to my grandparents' house on Sundays.

De vez em quando, o meu pai cozinhava cataplana ao fim de semana.

From time to time, my father used to cook cataplana on the weekend.

Enquanto o Pedro falava, eu tomava notas.

While Pedro was talking, I was taking notes.

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Words like dantes and antigamente are near-perfect imperfect triggers -- they explicitly signal "a general time in the past, without a fixed boundary." If you see one of these, the imperfect is almost certainly correct.

The trap: clues are not rules

Here is the honest truth: almost any time expression can appear with either tense, because the speaker can always choose to frame the event as bounded or ongoing. The expressions above are statistical tendencies, not laws.

"Sempre" can take the preterite

Sempre sonhei em viver em Portugal e, finalmente, mudei-me para o Algarve.

I always dreamed of living in Portugal, and finally, I moved to the Algarve.

Here sempre describes a lifelong dream that is now treated as one completed mental episode -- the preterite sonhei closes the box on the dream now that it has come true. Compare:

Quando era miúdo, sempre sonhava em ser astronauta.

When I was a kid, I always dreamed of being an astronaut.

Same adverb, imperfect because the dreaming is presented as an ongoing habit of childhood.

"Durante X horas" can take either tense

Durante duas horas, estudei sem interrupção.

For two hours, I studied without interruption.

Bounded: the study session is wrapped up. Preterite.

Durante a reunião, ele falava sem parar.

Throughout the meeting, he was talking non-stop.

Open: the talking is the ongoing backdrop to the meeting. Imperfect.

"Ontem" plus imperfect?

Even ontem, which feels like a locked-in preterite trigger, can appear with the imperfect when you are describing an ongoing state, not an event:

Ontem, o céu estava lindo e o ar cheirava a primavera.

Yesterday, the sky was beautiful and the air smelled of spring.

The day is yesterday, bounded, yes -- but estava and cheirava describe ongoing states within that day. The boundary of "yesterday" doesn't force preterite on the verbs inside the day.

The "há + period" two-way ambiguity

Há + a time period is the single most error-prone expression in this whole area because it has two completely different meanings depending on the tense of the main verb.

Há dois anos mudei-me para o Porto.

Two years ago I moved to Porto.

With the preterite, há dois anos means "two years ago" -- a point in the past, treated as a preterite trigger.

Moro no Porto há dois anos.

I have been living in Porto for two years.

With the present tense, há dois anos means "for two years (and still going)" -- a duration reaching up to the moment of speaking. This is the Portuguese equivalent of the English present perfect continuous.

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Before you pick the tense, read há + period together with the verb. If the verb is preterite, há = "ago." If the verb is present, há = "for (and still happening)." The same two words serve two opposite functions, and only the verb form tells them apart.

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Never let a time expression alone dictate your tense. Ask: am I describing what happened (preterite) or what was the case (imperfect)? The answer is in the action, not the adverb.

"Quando" is ambidextrous

The word quando (when) is especially slippery. It can pair with either tense, and the meaning changes dramatically:

Quando cheguei a casa, o jantar estava pronto.

When I arrived home, dinner was ready.

Preterite cheguei = the event; imperfect estava = the ongoing state found at that moment.

Quando era criança, adorava ir à praia.

When I was a child, I loved going to the beach.

Imperfect era and adorava = the whole childhood as an ongoing backdrop, not a single event.

Quando chegava a casa, cumprimentava o cão, tirava os sapatos e ia para a cozinha.

Whenever I got home, I'd greet the dog, take off my shoes, and head to the kitchen.

All four verbs in the imperfect because this is a description of a recurring routine, not a single homecoming.

Comparing Spanish learners' expectations

Spanish and Portuguese work very similarly here. If you already know Spanish, the time expressions map almost one-to-one:

Portuguese	Spanish	English
ontem	ayer	yesterday
antigamente	antes, antiguamente	in the old days
todos os dias	todos los días	every day
de repente	de repente	suddenly
há dois anos	hace dos años	two years ago
enquanto	mientras	while

The instinct carries over. Watch only for the idiom: Portuguese há dois anos looks nothing like "two years ago" but means exactly that -- a common stumbling block for English speakers.

Common mistakes

❌ No ano passado eu ia muitas vezes ao Porto.

Incorrect -- if you mean 'I went many times last year' as a bounded set of trips, use preterite.

✅ No ano passado fui muitas vezes ao Porto.

Last year I went to Porto many times.

❌ Quando era criança, fui à escola a pé.

Incorrect -- 'when I was a child' frames a habit, needs imperfect.

✅ Quando era criança, ia à escola a pé.

When I was a child, I walked to school.

❌ Ontem dormia até tarde porque era sábado.

Incorrect as narration -- 'I slept late yesterday' is a bounded event.

✅ Ontem dormi até tarde porque era sábado.

Yesterday I slept in late because it was Saturday.

❌ Às vezes ele chegou tarde ao trabalho.

Incorrect -- 'às vezes' in the past signals a recurring habit, needs imperfect.

✅ Às vezes ele chegava tarde ao trabalho.

Sometimes he used to arrive late at work.

❌ De repente, eu lia um barulho estranho na cozinha.

Incorrect -- 'de repente' signals a sudden event, needs preterite.

✅ De repente, ouvi um barulho estranho na cozinha.

Suddenly, I heard a strange noise in the kitchen.

Key takeaways

Preterite triggers name specific moments or closed periods: ontem, há X anos, de repente, finalmente, em 2020.
Imperfect triggers name habits, routines, and undefined backdrops: sempre, todos os dias, antigamente, enquanto, naquela altura.
These are clues, not rules -- the aspect you want to convey trumps the adverb.
Quando and durante X are ambidextrous; the verb form tells you whether the speaker sees the situation as a snapshot or a movie clip.
When in doubt, go back to the question: what happened (preterite) or what was the case (imperfect)?

For the underlying aspectual logic, see Completed vs Ongoing Actions. For how these tenses collaborate in storytelling, see Preterite and Imperfect in Narration.