Pretérito Perfeito

The pretérito perfeito (simple past) describes completed actions at a specific point in the past, equivalent to the English simple past ("I spoke," "I ate"). This tense is formed by adding specific endings to the verb stem: -AR verbs take -ei, -aste, -ou, -ámos, -aram, while -ER and -IR verbs share endings like -i, -este, -eu, -emos, -eram. Unlike Spanish, Portuguese uses this tense (not the compound past) for recent events: "Eu comi hoje" (I ate today). Many common verbs like ser, ir, ter, and estar are irregular in this tense, making it one of the most important areas to practice for achieving fluency in Portuguese.