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Portuguese (Portugal)

The simple past tense (Pretérito Perfeito Simples) of the core verbs **ter** (to have), **estar** (to be), **poder** (to be able to), and **saber** (to know) is highly irregular.

While their stems change dramatically, notice that they all share similar endings. Pay special attention to the *eu* and *ele/ela/você* forms. For **saber**, they are identical. For the others, the root vowel changes slightly between the first and third person (e.g., *tive* vs. *teve*).

| Pronoun | Ter (to have) | Estar (to be) | Poder (to be able to) | Saber (to know) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eu | tive | estive | pude | soube |
| Tu | tiveste | estiveste | pudeste | soubeste |
| Ele / Ela / Você | teve | esteve | pôde | soube |
| Nós | tivemos | estivemos | pudemos | soubemos |
| Eles / Elas / Vocês | tiveram | estiveram | puderam | souberam |

### Ter and Estar

Use the past tense of **ter** and **estar** to describe past states, conditions, or possession, such as being sick or having a fever.

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### Poder

Use **poder** to talk about what you were (or weren't) able to do in the past. Notice that the *ele/ela/você* form (**pôde**) has a circumflex accent to distinguish it from the present tense *pode*.

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### Saber

When **saber** (to know) is used in the simple past tense, it usually translates to "found out" or "learned" a new piece of information, rather than a continuous state of knowing.

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### Bringing It Together

Because these four verbs are essential building blocks of Portuguese, you will frequently combine them to explain past situations, abilities, and discoveries.

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Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Already and not yet (já, ainda não)

Question	Answer
the flu	a gripe
serious, severe (an illness, a situation)	grave
I had a severe flu.	Tive uma gripe grave.
I was sick on Tuesday.	Estive doente na terça-feira.
the fever	a febre
Did the boy have a high fever yesterday?	O menino teve febre alta ontem?
The student couldn't come to school because he had a fever.	O aluno não pôde vir à escola porque teve febre.
the pain	a dor
The doctor (f) couldn't take away the severe pain.	A médica não pôde tirar a dor forte.
He had a severe pain in the morning.	Ele teve uma dor forte de manhã.
the interview	a entrevista
She was at the interview with the director.	Ela esteve na entrevista com o diretor.
I couldn't go to the interview by subway.	Não pude ir à entrevista de metro.
Were you at home on Wednesday?	Vocês estiveram em casa na quarta-feira?
the exam	o exame
They were at the exam on Thursday.	Eles estiveram no exame na quinta-feira.
Couldn't you take the exam on Friday?	Não pudeste fazer o exame na sexta-feira?
the result	o resultado
I found out the exam result today.	Soube o resultado do exame hoje.
the grade	a nota
Did you already find out the exam grade?	Já soubeste a nota do exame?
the courage	a coragem
I didn't have the courage to look at the grade.	Não tive coragem de olhar para a nota.
They didn't have the courage to tell the truth.	Eles não tiveram coragem de dizer a verdade.
We found out the interview result on Sunday.	Soubemos o resultado da entrevista no domingo.
She found out the truth on Saturday.	Ela soube a verdade no sábado.
the solution	a solução
We couldn't find the solution.	Não pudemos encontrar a solução.
Did you find out the secret last night?	Vocês souberam o segredo ontem à noite?
I had a severe flu and could not go out.	Tive uma gripe grave e não pude sair.
The student was here, but did not know the solution.	O aluno esteve aqui, mas não soube a solução.

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