Unit 11 · The pastA2Lesson 1 of 5: Yesterday
Yesterday (the past tense) in European Portuguese
This lesson opens Unit 11, The past (O fim de semana passado), an A2 unit in which you say what you did yesterday, last weekend and last year. You will meet 8 new words, such as falei (I spoke), falaste (you spoke) and trabalhei (I worked), in 10 short sentences you can listen to. The unit’s grammar notes cover “The past: -ar, -er and -ir verbs” and “Falámos or falamos?”.
Words in this lesson
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
falei | I spokePast of falar: falei, falaste, falou, falámos, falaram. |
falaste | you spokeThe tu form of the past ends in -aste: falaste, trabalhaste, compraste. |
trabalhei | I worked |
jantei | I had dinner |
comprei | I bought |
fiquei | I stayedFicar → fiquei: the c becomes qu to keep the hard sound. |
ontem à noite | last night |
anteontem | the day before yesterday |
Example sentences
- Eu trabalhei muito ontem.I worked a lot yesterday.In the past, the eu form of -ar verbs ends in -ei: trabalhei.
- Eu falei com a Ana ontem à noite.I spoke to Ana last night.Falar com = to talk to someone.
- Tu falaste com o Pedro?Did you talk to Pedro?
- Eu jantei em casa com a minha família.I had dinner at home with my family.
- No sábado eu fiquei em casa.On Saturday I stayed at home.Ficar → fiquei: the c changes to qu before e.
- Tu trabalhaste ontem?Did you work yesterday?Trabalhaste is the tu form. With extra respect: trabalhou.
- Eu comprei pão no supermercado.I bought bread at the supermarket.
- Anteontem eu jantei fora.The day before yesterday I ate out.
- Eu levantei-me às seis.I got up at six.In the past the pronoun still goes after the verb: levantei-me.
- Tu compraste o bilhete?Did you buy the ticket?
Grammar notes
The grammar notes for this lesson are on the page for Unit 11: The past: