Brazilian Portuguese Grammar
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The Correct Usage of Portuguese Verb Tenses |
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Presente do indicativo |
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| Habitual actions in the present tense | Vou ao teatro sempre que posso. | I go to the theater whenever I can. |
| Permanent facts and states with verbs ser and ficar |
Ela
é muito feliz.
O Brasil fica na América do Sul. |
She's very happy.
Brazil lies in South America. |
| Temporary states with verb estar | Ele está cansado. | He's (feeling) tired. |
| Future actions and states, with adverbs of time | Vou para Manaus amanhã à noite. | I'm going to Manaus tomorrow evening. |
| Polite orders, instead of the imperativos | Todos ficam aqui até que pare de chover, está certo? | Everybody stay here until it stops raining, all right? |
| Historic present: present tense used instead of past tenses to give your story a dramatic effect | De repente, ele me vê e sai correndo em direção ao parque. | Suddenly, he sees me and runs toward the park. |
| Conditional clauses expressing future possibility, instead of the presente do subjuntivo | Se você vai embora, ninguém virá aqui. | If you go away, no one will come around. |
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Pretérito perfeito do indicativo |
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| Finished single past actions | Eu a vi assim que ela entrou na sala. | I saw her as soon as she came into the room. |
| Pretérito perfeito composto do indicativo | ||
| Past actions that are still true in the present | Temos trabalhado muito este ano. | We have been working a lot this year. |
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Pretérito imperfeito do indicativo |
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| Habitual past actions | Eu sempre viajava com meus amigos. | I always traveled with my friends. |
| Actions, facts and states that were true in the past but are different. |
Ela
era feliz.
Ele tinha cabelos compridos. |
She used to be happy.
He had long hair. |
| Past actions happening at the same time | Ela lia enquanto ele escrevia. | She was reading while he was writing. |
| Polite requests | Queria saber se você pode atender uma ligação telefônica agora. | I would like to know if you could take a phone call now. |
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Pretérito mais-que-perfeito do indicativo |
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| Past actions that happened before other past actions | Ela saíra quando cheguei lá. | She had left when I got there. |
| Sentences expressing something you wish you could do | Pudera eu passar um tempo no Rio! | If only I could spend some time in Rio! |
| Pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto do indicativo | ||
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Past actions that happened before
other past actions
= pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples do indicativo |
Ela tinha saído quando cheguei lá. | She had left when I got there. |
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