B1grammar· 6 min· +30 XP
The Imperfect

The pretérito imperfeito is the past for things that kept going or kept happening: "I used to live there", "it was raining", "she was always smiling".
| Pronoun | -ar (falar) | -er (comer) | -ir (abrir) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eu | falava | comia | abria |
| Você / Ele / Ela | falava | comia | abria |
| Nós | falávamos | comíamos | abríamos |
| Vocês / Eles / Elas | falavam | comiam | abriam |
Only four verbs are irregular here, and they're all worth memorising:
| Pronoun | Ser | Ir | Ter | Vir |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eu | era | ia | tinha | vinha |
| Você/Ele/Ela | era | ia | tinha | vinha |
| Nós | éramos | íamos | tínhamos | vínhamos |
| Vocês/Eles/Elas | eram | iam | tinham | vinham |
Brazilians often translate imperfeito with English "used to" — "Eu jogava futebol" = "I used to play football".
Pick the imperfect form
Match the pattern
Translate
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