Preterite
The Portuguese word “pretérito” is an adjective that means “what has passed.” It is used instead of the word “past” in the Portuguese past tenses (pretérito perfeito, pretérito imperfeito, pretérito mais-que-perfeito, etc).
The English “preterite” is the preferred term when referring to the Portuguese “pretérito perfeito” to avoid confusing this tense with the English “past perfect,” which does not correspond to the Portuguese “pretérito perfeito.”
We use the Preterite (pretérito perfeito) to talk about one-off, completed actions. It may correspond to:
- The English past simple - Eu viajei ontem (I travelled yesterday);
- The English present perfect - Eu vi esse filme (I have seen that movie);
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Viajei, vi, estive. The Portuguese preterite for one-off finished actions, its three regular patterns, and the irregulars where ser and ir look identical.
Written for level A2–B1. Every lesson has its own, anywhere from A1 to B2.
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