I can say what I did yesterday and last week: put -ar verbs in the past tense, write the eu forms (cheguei, fiquei) without mistakes, and say what did NOT happen yesterday.
Yesterday: the past tense of -ar verbs
Yesterday: the past tense of -ar verbs
The past tense is for things that are over: yesterday, last week, last month. At this level there is only one.
Start with the time expression: ontem, anteontem, ontem à noite, na semana passada, no mês passado, no ano passado, no sábado passado. The word passado means “last”.
The form: -ar verbs add the endings ei, aste, ou, ámos, aram to the stem. You can leave out the subject: the ending shows who.
In the eu form, some stems change their spelling: ficar — fiquei, chegar — cheguei, jogar — joguei, começar — comecei. Same sound, different letters: quei, guei, cei.
falámos with the accent mark is the past; falamos without it is the present. Only the sound of the a differs, and writing doesn't test it: listen and choose.
Negative: não before the verb: Ontem não trabalhei. Question: the voice goes up; same word order, no “did”: Falaste com a Ana?
This tense covers English “I worked” and, for something finished, “I have worked”: Visitei o Porto. Never tenho visitado.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ontem eu falo com a Sofia” — after a past time word, use the past: Ontem falei com a Sofia.
• NOT “Eu chegei cedo” — Eu cheguei cedo.
• NOT “Ele ficaram em casa” — Ele ficou em casa.
• NOT “Ontem não trabalhei não” — one não, before the verb.
Past time expressions
The word passado means “last”: the time expression tells you which tense to use.
| Time expression | Translation |
|---|---|
| ontem | yesterday |
| anteontem | the day before yesterday |
| ontem à noite | yesterday evening, last night |
| na semana passada | last week |
| no mês passado | last month |
| no ano passado | last year |
| no sábado passado | last Saturday |
The past tense: -ar verbs (falar)
The ending shows the person, so you can leave out the subject.
| Who | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | falei |
| tu | falaste |
| ele, ela, você, o senhor | falou |
| nós | falámos |
| eles, elas, vocês | falaram |
The “eu” form: the letters change, the sound doesn't
Three groups of verbs whose stem changes its spelling before -ei.
| Infinitive | eu form | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| ficar | fiquei | c → qu |
| chegar, jogar | cheguei, joguei | g → gu |
| começar | comecei | ç → c |
Lesson notes
Yesterday: the past tense of -ar verbs
The past tense is for things that are over: yesterday, last week, last month. At this level there is only one.
Start with the time expression: ontem, anteontem, ontem à noite, na semana passada, no mês passado, no ano passado, no sábado passado. The word passado means “last”.
The form: -ar verbs add the endings ei, aste, ou, ámos, aram to the stem. You can leave out the subject: the ending shows who.
In the eu form, some stems change their spelling: ficar — fiquei, chegar — cheguei, jogar — joguei, começar — comecei. Same sound, different letters: quei, guei, cei.
falámos with the accent mark is the past; falamos without it is the present. Only the sound of the a differs, and writing doesn't test it: listen and choose.
Negative: não before the verb: Ontem não trabalhei. Question: the voice goes up; same word order, no “did”: Falaste com a Ana?
This tense covers English “I worked” and, for something finished, “I have worked”: Visitei o Porto. Never tenho visitado.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Ontem eu falo com a Sofia” — after a past time word, use the past: Ontem falei com a Sofia.
• NOT “Eu chegei cedo” — Eu cheguei cedo.
• NOT “Ele ficaram em casa” — Ele ficou em casa.
• NOT “Ontem não trabalhei não” — one não, before the verb.