Question 1

Why do we use era instead of foi for 'was' in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Era is the Pretérito Imperfeito (imperfect past) of the highly irregular verb ser (to be). We use this tense to describe ongoing states, background situations, or how things used to be over an unspecified period of time. If we used the Perfeito (foi), it would sound like their life was only difficult for one specific, isolated, and completed event.

Question 2

What verb is tínhamos from, and why does it have an accent mark?

Accepted Answer

It is the nós (we) form of the verb ter (to have) in the Pretérito Imperfeito. Ter is a highly irregular verb in this tense. The accent mark on tínhamos is required because the spoken stress falls on the third-to-last syllable (tín-ha-mos). In Portuguese, any word stressed on the third-to-last syllable automatically needs a written accent.

Question 3

Why is there an A before nossa vida?

Accepted Answer

In European Portuguese, it is the rule to put a definite article (o, a, os, as) before possessive words like nossa (our) or meu (my). Because vida (life) is a feminine singular noun, we say a nossa vida (literally: 'the our life').

Question 4

Why does the adjective bons come before the noun hábitos?

Accepted Answer

Normally in Portuguese, adjectives come after the noun they describe. However, a few very common, short adjectives—especially bom (good) and mau (bad)—are exceptions and usually come before the noun. Since hábitos is masculine and plural, we use the masculine plural form bons.

A nossa vida não era fácil, mas tínhamos bons hábitos.

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