Preterite of Estar | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

The verb estar (to be -- for states and locations) is irregular in the preterite. Its stem changes to estiv-, following the same "strong" preterite pattern as ter (tiv-). If you already know the preterite of ter, you essentially know the preterite of estar -- just add the prefix es-.

Conjugation

Person	Form	English
eu	estive	I was
tu	estiveste	you were
ele / ela / você	esteve	he/she was; you were
nós	estivemos	we were
(vós)	(estivestes)	(you all were)
eles / elas / vocês	estiveram	they were; you all were

Like ter, this is a "strong" preterite: the stress falls on the stem in the eu and ele forms (estive, esteve), not on the ending. Compare with regular comer: comi, comeu -- stress on the ending. The endings themselves -- -e, -este, -e, -emos, (-estes), -eram -- are the same shared set used by ter, poder, saber, and other strong preterites.

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The parallel with ter is exact. Replace the prefix: tive / teve / tiveram becomes estive / esteve / estiveram. If you know one, you know the other.

Past location

The most common use of estar in the preterite is to say where someone was at a specific time.

Estive em Lisboa ontem.

I was in Lisbon yesterday.

Estivemos na praia no domingo.

We were at the beach on Sunday.

Onde é que estiveste ontem à noite?

Where were you last night?

Past temporary states

Use the preterite of estar to describe a temporary condition that someone experienced at a bounded point in the past.

Estive doente a semana passada.

I was sick last week.

Ela esteve muito contente com o resultado.

She was very happy with the result.

Duration of a state

When a state lasted for a defined period that is now over, estar in the preterite combines naturally with time expressions like durante (for/during).

Estive lá durante duas horas.

I was there for two hours.

Estiveram casados durante vinte anos.

They were married for twenty years.

Estive vs fui: estar vs ser in the past

The same distinction between estar (temporary state, location) and ser (identity, inherent quality, event) applies in the preterite. Mixing them up changes the meaning.

estar (state / location)	ser (identity / event)
Estive em Lisboa. (I was in Lisbon -- location.)	Fui a Lisboa. (I went to Lisbon -- movement, using ir.)
Esteve frio ontem. (It was cold yesterday -- weather state.)	Foi um dia frio. (It was a cold day -- characterising the day.)
Estive doente. (I was sick -- temporary state.)	Fui médico. (I was a doctor -- identity.)

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If you can answer the question "where?" or "how?", use estar. If the sentence describes what something was (an event, a judgement, an identity), use ser. This rule works the same way in the present and in the past.

Estive vs estava: preterite vs imperfect

Both translate as "I was," but they frame the past differently. The preterite (estive) presents the state as completed and bounded. The imperfect (estava) presents it as ongoing or as a background to another event.

Preterite (completed)	Imperfect (ongoing / background)
Estive doente na segunda-feira. (I was sick on Monday -- one day, done.)	Estava doente quando me ligaste. (I was sick when you called me -- background.)
Estivemos em casa o dia todo. (We were at home all day -- bounded period.)	Estávamos em casa quando começou a chover. (We were at home when it started raining -- setting the scene.)

At the A2 level, the key intuition is: if you mention a specific, finished time frame (na segunda-feira, durante duas horas, ontem), the preterite is natural. If the state serves as a backdrop to another action, you will eventually use the imperfect. For now, focus on the preterite forms -- the imperfect is covered in Imperfect Overview.

The estar + a + infinitive pattern in the past

In European Portuguese, the progressive is formed with estar a + infinitive. In the preterite, this describes an activity that was in progress over a finished period.

Estive a trabalhar o dia todo.

I was working all day.

Estivemos a estudar até à meia-noite.

We were studying until midnight.

This construction emphasises the continuous nature of the activity within the bounded time. It is the EP equivalent of what Brazilian Portuguese expresses with estar + gerund (estive trabalhando).

Estivemos vs estamos -- a one-letter contrast

The preterite nós form estivemos differs from the present nós form estamos by a whole syllable and vowel pattern, but because both describe a "we were / we are" state, learners sometimes produce the present by mistake when narrating the past. Lock the contrast in by pairing them.

Present	Preterite
Estamos em casa.	Estivemos em casa ontem.
Estamos cansados.	Estivemos cansados depois da viagem.

Unlike most -ar verbs (e.g. falar: present falamos vs. preterite falámos), estar has a completely different preterite stem — estiv- — so the two forms cannot be confused in writing or in speech.

Common mistakes

❌ Fui em casa ontem.

Wrong verb — location in the past uses estar, not ser/ir. Also 'em' with ir is colloquial BR, not EP.

✅ Estive em casa ontem.

I was at home yesterday.

❌ Estava doente na segunda-feira e não fui trabalhar.

Borderline — if the sick day is a single completed day, EP prefers the preterite to frame it as bounded. The imperfect suggests it was a backdrop.

✅ Estive doente na segunda-feira e não fui trabalhar.

I was sick on Monday and didn't go to work.

❌ Esterou muito frio ontem.

Invented regular form — estar is irregular. The ele/ela preterite is esteve, not esterou.

✅ Esteve muito frio ontem.

It was very cold yesterday.

❌ Estivemos em casa quando começou a chover.

Tense mismatch — for a background state interrupted by another event, EP uses the imperfect estávamos, not the preterite.

✅ Estávamos em casa quando começou a chover.

We were at home when it started raining.

❌ Ele estou no aeroporto às oito.

Person mismatch — estou is the eu present form. For 'he was' in the past, use esteve.

✅ Ele esteve no aeroporto às oito.

He was at the airport at eight.

For the full preterite system, see Preterite Overview. For the present-tense forms of this verb, see Present Indicative of Estar. For a strong preterite with the same stem pattern, see Preterite of Ter.