In Portuguese, the verb haver is used to say "there is" or "there are" (há). When talking about the past ("there was" or "there were"), you must choose between two forms depending on the context: havia and houve.
Like the present tense, both past forms are invariable—they never change to plural, even when talking about multiple things or people.
Havia: Setting the scene
Havia is the pretérito imperfeito (past continuous) form. You use it to describe ongoing situations, continuous states, or how things used to be. When recounting a story, havia provides the background description—it answers "what was going on?" or "what was the situation like?".
| In the past, there was no general tension in this assembly. | Antigamente, não havia tensão geral nesta assembleia. |
| There were many agitated residents when the mayor arrived. | Havia muitos moradores exaltados quando o autarca chegou. |
Houve: A punctual event
Houve is the pretérito perfeito (simple past) form. You use it to report specific, completed events or actions that occurred and ended. If an incident happened suddenly, or if you are stating that a specific event took place, you use houve. It answers "what happened?".
| Suddenly, there was an uproar in the assembly. | De repente, houve um tumulto na assembleia. |
| The mayor wanted to reject the proposal, but there was no vote. | O autarca queria rejeitar a proposta, mas não houve votação. |
Combining "havia" and "houve"
When telling a story—like recounting a chaotic local town hall meeting—these two forms naturally work together. You use havia to set the scene and describe the ongoing atmosphere, and houve to state the specific events that broke out as a result.
| There was a lot of tension, and then there was an agitated protest. | Havia muita tensão, e depois houve um protesto exaltado. |
| There was a lot of confusion, but finally there was a general vote. | Havia muita confusão, mas finalmente houve uma votação geral. |
