Breakdown of Eles viram um filme longo ontem.
um
a
o filme
the movie
ver
to see
eles
they
ontem
yesterday
longo
long
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Portuguese grammar?”
Portuguese grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning PortugueseMaster Portuguese — from Eles viram um filme longo ontem to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
More from this lesson
Questions & Answers about Eles viram um filme longo ontem.
Why do we use Eles instead of Elas?
In Portuguese, Eles is the masculine or mixed-gender plural pronoun, while Elas is exclusively feminine. If you’re talking about a group that’s entirely female, you’d use Elas, but if it’s a group of men or a mixed group, Eles is correct.
What does viram mean here?
In this sentence, viram is the past tense (pretérito perfeito) of the verb ver (“to see”). So, here it means “(they) saw.” It’s used to express a completed action in the past.
Is viram ever confusing because it also comes from vir (“to come”)?
Yes, the same spelling viram can be the past tense of both ver (“to see”) and vir (“to come”). The distinction is made through context. When you see “Eles viram um filme,” it clearly comes from ver because you “see” a film.
Why is the adjective longo placed after filme?
In Portuguese, it’s common for adjectives to come after the noun. Adjectives can appear before the noun too, but placing them after is often the neutral or most common choice. In this case, um filme longo is a natural way to say “a long movie.”
Can we put ontem somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes, ontem (meaning “yesterday”) can come at different places, like the beginning or after the subject, for example: Ontem, eles viram um filme longo or Eles ontem viram um filme longo. However, putting it at the end is very common and sounds quite natural in Portuguese.