The Imperfect Continuous tense, also known as Pretérito Imperfeito do Indicativo in Portuguese, is one of the past tenses used in the Portuguese language. It is used to describe ongoing or continuous actions in the past. This tense is commonly used to set the background or provide context for another event or action that occurred in the past.
Conjugation of the Imperfect Continuous Tense
To conjugate verbs in the Imperfect Continuous tense in Portuguese, you need to take the stem of the verb and add the appropriate endings for each person. The endings vary depending on the verb group (-ar, -er, or -ir). Let’s take a look at the conjugation of regular verbs in the Imperfect Continuous tense for each verb group.
Conjugation of -ar verbs:
Eu (I) – estava (was)
Tu (you, singular informal) – estavas (were)
Ele/Ela/Você (he/she/you, singular formal) – estava (was)
Nós (we) – estávamos (were)
Vós (you, plural informal) – estáveis (were)
Eles/Elas/Vocês (they/you, plural) – estavam (were)
Example sentence:
Eu estava estudando para a prova. (I was studying for the exam.)
Conjugation of -er verbs:
Eu (I) – estava (was)
Tu (you, singular informal) – estavas (were)
Ele/Ela/Você (he/she/you, singular formal) – estava (was)
Nós (we) – estávamos (were)
Vós (you, plural informal) – estáveis (were)
Eles/Elas/Vocês (they/you, plural) – estavam (were)
Example sentence:
Eu estava comendo quando o telefone tocou. (I was eating when the phone rang.)
Conjugation of -ir verbs:
Eu (I) – estava (was)
Tu (you, singular informal) – estavas (were)
Ele/Ela/Você (he/she/you, singular formal) – estava (was)
Nós (we) – estávamos (were)
Vós (you, plural informal) – estáveis (were)
Eles/Elas/Vocês (they/you, plural) – estavam (were)
Example sentence:
Eu estava dormindo quando começou a chover. (I was sleeping when it started raining.)
Irregular verbs in the Imperfect Continuous tense
While regular verbs follow a predictable pattern of conjugation, there are some irregular verbs in the Imperfect Continuous tense that do not follow the standard rules. Here are a few examples of irregular verbs in this tense:
Ser (to be):
Eu era (I was)
Tu eras (you were)
Ele/Ela/Você era (he/she/you were)
Nós éramos (we were)
Vós éreis (you were)
Eles/Elas/Vocês eram (they/you were)
Example sentence:
Ela era uma aluna dedicada. (She was a dedicated student.)
Ver (to see):
Eu via (I was seeing)
Tu vias (you were seeing)
Ele/Ela/Você via (he/she/you were seeing)
Nós víamos (we were seeing)
Vós víeis (you were seeing)
Eles/Elas/Vocês viam (they/you were seeing)
Example sentence:
Nós víamos o pôr do sol todos os dias. (We used to watch the sunset every day.)
Ter (to have):
Eu tinha (I had)
Tu tinhas (you had)
Ele/Ela/Você tinha (he/she/you had)
Nós tínhamos (we had)
Vós tínheis (you had)
Eles/Elas/Vocês tinham (they/you had)
Example sentence:
Eu tinha muito medo de escuro quando era criança. (I used to be very afraid of the dark when I was a child.)
Usage and Examples
The Imperfect Continuous tense is used in Portuguese to describe ongoing or continuous actions in the past. It is often used to set the background or provide context for another event or action that occurred in the past. Here are a few examples of how the Imperfect Continuous tense is used in sentences:
Eu estava estudando para a prova.
(I was studying for the exam.)
In this example, the Imperfect Continuous tense is used to describe the ongoing action of studying for the exam in the past.
Ela estava assistindo televisão quando o telefone tocou.
(She was watching TV when the phone rang.)
Here, the Imperfect Continuous tense is used to describe the ongoing action of watching TV when the phone rang.
Nós estávamos conversando quando ele chegou.
(We were talking when he arrived.)
In this sentence, the Imperfect Continuous tense is used to describe the ongoing action of talking when he arrived.
Você estava dançando muito bem na festa.
(You were dancing very well at the party.)
Here, the Imperfect Continuous tense is used to describe the ongoing action of dancing at the party.
Eles estavam brincando no parque quando começou a chover.
(They were playing in the park when it started raining.)
In this example, the Imperfect Continuous tense is used to describe the ongoing action of playing in the park when it started raining.
Conclusion
The Imperfect Continuous tense, Pretérito Imperfeito do Indicativo, is a past tense in Portuguese used to describe ongoing or continuous actions in the past. It is conjugated differently for each verb group (-ar, -er, -ir), and irregular verbs have their own conjugation patterns. This tense is commonly used to set the background or provide context for another event or action that occurred in the past. By understanding the conjugation and usage of the Imperfect Continuous tense, you can express ongoing past actions and provide a richer narrative in Portuguese.
Originally posted 2023-07-16 17:44:16.