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Eu tinha uma panela mais velha do que esta.

Eu tinha uma panela mais velha do que esta.
I had an older pot than this one.
From Lesson 86:Irregular verbs in the imperfect (era, tinha)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Eu tinha uma panela mais velha do que esta.

Why is 'I had' translated as tinha and not tive?
tinha is the Pretérito Imperfeito (past continuous) of the irregular verb ter (to have). We use the Imperfeito here because having a pot is an ongoing past state or description, not a single action that started and finished at a specific moment in the past.
Why is there a do in mais velha do que? Doesn't que already mean 'than'?
To say 'more [adjective] than', Portuguese usually uses mais ... do que. While it is grammatically possible to drop the do and just say mais velha que, keeping do que is extremely common and natural in Portugal.
Why is the word for old velha and not velho?
Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because panela (pot) is a feminine word, the adjective takes the feminine form velha.
Why does the sentence end with esta instead of isto?
esta means 'this' or 'this one' and refers to a specific feminine noun—in this case, another panela. You would only use isto for a general situation, an abstract idea, or an object you do not know the name of yet.

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