Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O menino dormia quando apanhou um susto e gritou. - The boy was sleeping when he got a fright and shouted.

O menino dormia quando apanhou um susto e gritou.

The boy was sleeping when he got a fright and shouted.

Breakdown of O menino dormia quando apanhou um susto e gritou.

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a / an / some (all forms)

Questions & Answers about O menino dormia quando apanhou um susto e gritou.

Why do we use dormia (imperfect) here instead of dormiu (perfect)?

Dormia is the Pretérito Imperfeito (Imperfect tense). We use it here because the boy "was sleeping" — it was an ongoing, background action in the past. If we used dormiu, it would mean he completed the entire action of sleeping, like "he slept".

Why do the verbs switch to the perfect tense for apanhou and gritou?

Because these are sudden, completed actions that happened while he was sleeping. When a specific event interrupts an ongoing background action, we use the Pretérito Perfeito Simples for that interruption. The ongoing sleeping was interrupted when he "got" a fright and "shouted".

I thought apanhar meant "to catch". Why does it mean "got" here?

You are right, apanhar usually translates to "to catch". However, Portuguese uses the fixed expression apanhar um susto (literally "to catch a fright") to mean "to get a fright" or "to be startled".

Is the word quando a clue for mixing these two past tenses?

Yes, it is a very common trigger! In Portuguese, quando (when) often links an ongoing background action in the Imperfect (dormia) with the sudden, completed action in the Perfect (apanhou) that interrupts it.