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Lesson 3. Irregular verbs in the pretérito perfeito simples: fui, estive, tive, fiz
I can say where I was, what I had, and what I did: use fui, estive, tive, and fiz, and tell when fui means “was” and when it means “went”.
Four special verbs: fui, estive, tive, fiz
Four special verbs: fui, estive, tive, fiz
You can't talk about the past without these four verbs: they're the most common in the language. Their forms don't follow a rule; learn them by heart from the table.
estar and ter change the whole stem: estive, tive. In fazer the eu form is fiz and the ele form is fez: one letter changes the person.
ser and ir share one set of past forms: fui, foste, foi, fomos, foram. What follows shows which verb it is: Fui ao Porto — “I went”; Fui estudante — “I was”. But English “was” is also estar: Estive em casa.
From this lesson on, the lesson words show two forms after a verb, with a semicolon: fazer (faço; fiz) — first the eu form today, then the eu form yesterday.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ontem eu fazi o trabalho” — Ontem fiz o trabalho.
• NOT “Eu estei em casa” — Eu estive em casa.
• NOT “A Mariana estive em Lisboa” — A Mariana esteve em Lisboa.
• NOT “Eles foi ao café” — Eles foram ao café.
Four special verbs in the past tense
ser and ir share the same forms: fui means both “was” and “went”.
| Who | ser and ir | estar | ter | fazer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | fui | estive | tive | fiz |
| tu | foste | estiveste | tiveste | fizeste |
| ele, ela, você | foi | esteve | teve | fez |
| nós | fomos | estivemos | tivemos | fizemos |
| eles, elas, vocês | foram | estiveram | tiveram | fizeram |
fui — two verbs at once
What follows the form shows the meaning, not the form itself.
| Phrase | Which verb | How to tell |
|---|---|---|
| Fui a Lisboa. | ir — went | fui is followed by a preposition: a, ao, à |
| Fui para Coimbra. | ir — went | fui is followed by the preposition para |
| Fui estudante. | ser — was | no preposition; a job follows |
| Fui professor. | ser — was | no preposition; a job follows |
Lesson notes
Four special verbs: fui, estive, tive, fiz
You can't talk about the past without these four verbs: they're the most common in the language. Their forms don't follow a rule; learn them by heart from the table.
estar and ter change the whole stem: estive, tive. In fazer the eu form is fiz and the ele form is fez: one letter changes the person.
ser and ir share one set of past forms: fui, foste, foi, fomos, foram. What follows shows which verb it is: Fui ao Porto — “I went”; Fui estudante — “I was”. But English “was” is also estar: Estive em casa.
From this lesson on, the lesson words show two forms after a verb, with a semicolon: fazer (faço; fiz) — first the eu form today, then the eu form yesterday.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ontem eu fazi o trabalho” — Ontem fiz o trabalho.
• NOT “Eu estei em casa” — Eu estive em casa.
• NOT “A Mariana estive em Lisboa” — A Mariana esteve em Lisboa.
• NOT “Eles foi ao café” — Eles foram ao café.