Past tenses

Two simple pasts, and the difference is the same one Spanish and French make.

Pretérito perfeito — finished, once

Ontem comi peixe. — Yesterday I ate fish. A single completed event.

Note falámos with an accent in Portugal, falamos without in Brazil — the accent marks the past against the present, and Brazil relies on context instead.

Pretérito imperfeito — used to, was doing

Quando era pequeno, comia peixe todos os dias. — When I was small, I used to eat fish every day.

Background, habit, description, and age: the imperfect sets the scene, the perfect moves the story on.

The imperfect as a polite conditional

This is the thing that most quickly stops you sounding like a textbook. Spoken Portuguese uses the imperfect where the conditional would be correct:

• Queria um café. — I'd like a coffee. (not quereria)
• Podia ajudar-me? — Could you help me?
• Precisava de falar consigo. — I'd need to speak with you.

The perfect that is not a perfect

Tenho falado does not mean "I have spoken". It means "I have been speaking, repeatedly, lately". Portuguese has no simple present-perfect: for "I have eaten", say comi.

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