Question 1

Since the current lesson is about verbs of change like ficar and tornar-se, why aren't they used in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

This sentence describes the "before" picture rather than the change itself. Costumava ser (used to be) shows an ongoing past reality before any change happened. If the sentence continued to explain how he changed, you would then use a change-of-state verb, for example: mas tornou-se mau (but he became evil).

Question 2

How does the verb costumar work to mean "used to"?

Accepted Answer

Costumar means "to be in the habit of." When you use it in the imperfect past tense (costumava) and follow it with an infinitive verb like ser (to be), it perfectly translates the English concept of "used to [do/be something]."

Question 3

Could I just say O vilão era um homem calmo instead of using costumava ser?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Both are perfectly natural. Using era (the imperfect of ser) simply means "was" as an ongoing past state. Costumava ser just adds a slightly stronger emphasis on the fact that this was a past reality that is definitely no longer true today.

Question 4

What happens to the word vilão if there is more than one villain?

Accepted Answer

The plural is vilões. Nouns ending in -ão can be tricky because they might pluralize to -ões, -ães, or -ãos, but changing to -ões is the most common pattern in Portuguese.

O vilão costumava ser um homem calmo.

Breakdown of O vilão costumava ser um homem calmo.

Questions & Answers about O vilão costumava ser um homem calmo.

Learn O vilão costumava ser um homem calmo and more in Portuguese