Breakdown of Naquele tempo, a casa não tinha um fogão.
a casa
the house
não
not / no
ter
to have
um
a / an / some (all forms)
naquele
in that over there (m/sg), naquela (f/sg), naqueles (m/pl), naquelas (f/pl)
o tempo
the time
o fogão
the stove
Questions & Answers about Naquele tempo, a casa não tinha um fogão.
Why do we use tinha instead of the simple past tense teve?
tinha is the Imperfect tense of ter (to have). We use the Imperfect here because it describes an ongoing state or background condition in the past (the house lacked a stove over a general period of time), rather than a single, completed action.
Is ter irregular in the Imperfect tense?
Where does the word Naquele come from?
It is a mandatory contraction of the preposition em (in/on/at) and the demonstrative pronoun aquele (that). So, em + aquele blends together to form naquele.
Could I say Naquela vez instead of Naquele tempo to mean "At that time"?
Not in this context. The word vez means "time" as a specific instance or occasion (like "that one time"). The word tempo is used for "time" as an era, duration, or period. Since we are talking about how things generally used to be "back then", tempo is the right choice.
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