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Comparing verb tenses between English and Portuguese
Those who studied English must ask themselves about the Verb tense parallel between English and Portuguese. In other words, how Portuguese verb tenses are encopresis by English tense verbs?
Here, we show a table comparing the English and Portuguese verb tenses. Note that while some tenses have a direct equivalent, there might be nuanced differences in usage and formation.
| English Verb Tense | Portuguese Verb Tense | Example in English | Example in Portuguese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | Presente do Indicativo | I speak. | Eu falo. |
| Present Continuous | Presente Contínuo | I am speaking. | Eu estou falando. |
| Present Perfect | Pretérito Perfeito Composto do Indicativo | I have spoken. | Eu tenho falado. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | — (No direct equivalent) | I have been speaking. | — |
| Past Simple | Pretérito Perfeito do Indicativo | I spoke. | Eu falei. |
| Past Continuous | Pretérito Imperfeito Contínuo | I was speaking. | Eu estava falando. |
| Past Perfect | Mais-que-perfeito Composto do Indicativo | I had spoken. | Eu tinha falado. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | — (No direct equivalent) | I had been speaking. | — |
| Future Simple | Futuro do Presente do Indicativo | I will speak. | Eu falarei. |
| Future Continuous | — (No direct equivalent) | I will be speaking. | — |
| Future Perfect | Futuro Perfeito do Indicativo | I will have spoken. | Eu terei falado. |
| Future Perfect Continuous | — (No direct equivalent) | I will have been speaking. | — |
| Conditional (Would) | Condicional (Futuro do Pretérito) | I would speak. | Eu falaria. |
| Conditional Perfect (Would have) | Condicional Composto (Futuro do Pretérito Composto) | I would have spoken. | Eu teria falado. |
For the Subjunctive mood:
| English Verb Tense | Portuguese Verb Tense | Example in English | Example in Portuguese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Subjunctive | Presente do Subjuntivo | That I speak. | Que eu fale. |
| Past Subjunctive | Pretérito Imperfeito do Subjuntivo | If I spoke. | Se eu falasse. |
| Future Subjunctive | Futuro do Subjuntivo | When I speak. | Quando eu falar. |
| — | Pretérito Perfeito Composto do Subjuntivo | — | Que eu tenha falado. |
| — | Pretérito Mais-que-perfeito Composto do Subjuntivo | — | Se eu tivesse falado. |
It’s important to say the table doesn’t cover all nuanced cases, and sometimes, context might shift the way tenses are used. Portuguese grammar varies between European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. The examples are based on Brazilian Portuguese, but the general tenses apply to both.