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BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE · A2

Portuguese past tenses: pretérito perfeito or imperfeito?

Use the simple perfective past to present an event as a bounded whole, and the imperfect for background, habitual or ongoing viewpoints. Duration alone does not decide: a long event can still be presented as completed.

English explanations · Brazilian usage · Original teaching resource; independent linguistic review pending

A background and an event can appear together

In a short account, an imperfect form can describe the situation already in progress when a bounded event occurs. The choice is about how the account presents the events, not whether one action physically took more seconds than the other.

Eu estudava quando a professora chegou.

I was studying when the teacher arrived.

A long period can still have boundaries

A speaker can present years of work as one completed period. Conversely, an imperfect can describe a brief moment from inside the scene. Avoid a rule that assigns perfective to short actions and imperfect to long ones.

Trabalhei naquela escola durante dez anos.

I worked at that school for ten years, presented as a bounded period.

Habits belong to a viewpoint too

An imperfect can describe a repeated routine in a past setting. Context establishes the time frame. Changing the tense can change how the story packages that routine, so a practice question needs enough context or an explicitly requested form.

Naquela época, eu caminhava até a escola.

At that time, I used to walk to school.

Practise, then recall it later

The matching grammar block includes guided practice, a separate mastery check and spaced review. The first 10 blocks of each course are free; other available blocks require course access or an eligible trial.

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References and scope

Original explanations and examples informed by grammar references. The level assignment organizes practice; these short tasks do not certify complete CEFR proficiency.