PRETÉRITO IMPERFEITO IN PORTUGUESE (-IR Conjugation)

Final list about the imperfect past tense. This time we will introduce the conjugation of regular verbs ending in -IR. We will also mention 3 more contexts in which we should use the imperfect past tense.

Rule number 7: We use the imperfect past tense to describe an action that was ongoing in the past when another action occurred. Example: Eu falava (imperfect past tense) com o Pedro quando vi (simple past tense) a Maria! = I was talking to Maria when I saw Pedro!

Rule number 8: We use the imperfect past tense a lot with a conditional value to talk about desires we have for the future. Example: No próximo ano eu gostava de visitar o Brasil!

Pro Tip: This use of the imperfect tense can be quite confusing for students who only associate it with the past. But in reality, the use of the verb ‘gostar’ – (to like) in the imperfect past tense with a conditional value is a daily usage among the Portuguese.

Rule number 9: Finally, it’s worth mentioning that we also use the imperfect past tense to make suggestions. Example: ‘Amanhã podíamos ir ao cinema, o que achas?’ = “Tomorrow we could go to the movies, what do you think?”. I would say this is the least important of the rules for the imperfect past tense

The example we used for conjugation of regular verbs ending in -IR was precisely the verb IR (to go)

To listen to the AUDIO in Portuguese, go to OPTIONS and switch the AUDIO to ON. To turn on the AUDIO, go to FLASHCARDS and click on the COG WHEEL (top right).

To learn and consolidate this list, you should follow the following STUDY METHOD:

1-FLASH CARDS

2-LEARN

3-SPELL

4-ASSESS

5-COMBINE