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Estive doente na terça-feira.

Estive doente na terça-feira.
I was sick on Tuesday.
From Lesson 78:Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Estive doente na terça-feira.

Why do we use estive here instead of fui for "I was"?
We use the verb estar for temporary states, like being sick. The verb ser is used for more permanent characteristics. Because you were only sick temporarily on Tuesday, we use the past tense of estar, which is estive for the "I" form.
What makes estive an irregular verb form?
Regular verbs ending in -ar normally drop the -ar and add -ei for the "I" form in the past tense. However, estar is irregular because it changes its entire base to estiv-, making the "I" form estive.
Why does the sentence use na before terça-feira?
In Portuguese, we use the preposition em (which means "on" in this context) plus the definite article (the word for "the") before days of the week. Because terça-feira is a feminine word, em combines with a to become na.
Is it wrong to say Eu estive doente?
It is not wrong, but dropping the pronoun eu is much more common and natural in European Portuguese. The unique form of estive already makes it perfectly clear that "I" am the one who was sick.

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