Preterite: Regular -ar Verbs | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

The preterite (pretérito perfeito simples) is the main tense for talking about completed actions in the past. For -ar verbs, the pattern is fully predictable: remove -ar from the infinitive, then add the preterite endings. Once you know this table, you can put hundreds of verbs into the past tense.

The endings

The model verb is falar (to speak). Its stem is fal-. Add the following endings:

Person	Ending	falar	English
eu	-ei	falei	I spoke
tu	-aste	falaste	you spoke
ele / ela / você	-ou	falou	he/she spoke; you spoke
nós	-ámos	falámos	we spoke
(vós)	(-astes)	(falastes)	(you all spoke)
eles / elas / vocês	-aram	falaram	they spoke; you all spoke

Eu falei com o médico ontem.

I spoke with the doctor yesterday.

Tu falaste com a Maria?

Did you speak to Maria?

The accent on falámos

In European Portuguese, the nós form in the preterite carries a written accent: falámos. This is not optional -- it is the only way to distinguish the preterite from the present tense in writing.

Tense	Form	Example	Meaning
Present	falamos (no accent)	Falamos português todos os dias.	We speak Portuguese every day.
Preterite	falámos (accent)	Falámos com ele ontem.	We spoke with him yesterday.

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The accent on -ámos is mandatory in EP orthography. Every regular -ar verb follows this rule: comprámos, estudámos, trabalhámos. Forgetting this accent is one of the most common writing mistakes, even among native speakers. Always double-check the nós preterite form.

Practice with common verbs

The same endings apply to every regular -ar verb. Here are common verbs in natural past-tense sentences:

Infinitive	Meaning	eu	nós
trabalhar	to work	trabalhei	trabalhámos
comprar	to buy	comprei	comprámos
estudar	to study	estudei	estudámos
chegar	to arrive	cheguei	chegámos
jantar	to have dinner	jantei	jantámos
morar	to live (reside)	morei	morámos

Ontem trabalhei até às seis.

Yesterday I worked until six.

Comprámos uma casa nova no ano passado.

We bought a new house last year.

Ela chegou atrasada à reunião.

She arrived late to the meeting.

Estudaste para o exame?

Did you study for the exam?

Eles jantaram fora ontem à noite.

They ate out last night.

Spelling changes in the eu form

Some -ar verbs need a spelling adjustment in the eu form to preserve the consonant sound before -ei. These are not irregular -- the pronunciation stays the same; only the spelling changes.

-car verbs: c becomes qu -- ficar → fiquei, tocar → toquei
-gar verbs: g becomes gu -- chegar → cheguei, jogar → joguei
-çar verbs: ç becomes c -- começar → comecei, dançar → dancei

Fiquei em casa o dia todo.

I stayed at home all day.

Comecei a estudar português em janeiro.

I started studying Portuguese in January.

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These spelling changes only affect the eu form. All other persons keep the original spelling: tu ficaste, ele chegou, nós começámos. The sound never changes -- it is purely an orthographic adjustment. For the full list, see Spelling Changes.

Negation

To negate a preterite verb, place não directly before the conjugated form. No auxiliary verb is needed.

Não falei com ele.

I didn't speak with him.

Não comprámos nada.

We didn't buy anything.

Questions

Questions in the preterite follow the same word order as statements. In speech, rising intonation alone marks the question. In writing, the question mark does the job.

Falaste com a Maria?

Did you speak to Maria?

Onde jantaram ontem?

Where did you eat dinner yesterday?

Common mistakes

1. Forgetting the accent on -ámos. Without the accent, falamos looks identical to the present tense. Always write falámos, comprámos, estudámos in the preterite.

2. Confusing the eu preterite with the present. In the present, the eu form ends in -o (falo); in the preterite, it ends in -ei (falei). These are distinct endings, but beginners sometimes mix them when thinking quickly.

3. Using the present perfect for completed actions. In EP, single completed past actions use the preterite, not the present perfect. Say Ontem falei com ela (Yesterday I spoke with her), not Ontem tenho falado com ela.

For the parallel preterite patterns with -er and -ir verbs, see Preterite: Regular -er/-ir Verbs. For an overview of the preterite tense, see Preterite: Overview. For the present-tense -ar pattern, see Present Indicative: Regular -ar Verbs.