Unit 14 · Work and studyA2Lesson 5 of 5: When I was a child
“When I was a child” in European Portuguese
This is the last of 5 lessons in Unit 14, Work and study (Trabalho e estudos), an A2 unit in which you talk about your job and your studies, and describe how things used to be. You will meet 7 new words, such as a criança (child), tinha (I had (used to have)) and morava (I lived), in 10 short sentences you can listen to. Building on School and university, it gets you to sentences like Eu queria ser médica (“I wanted to be a doctor”). The unit’s grammar notes cover “The imperfect: how things used to be” and “Imperfect or perfect?”.
Words in this lesson
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
a criança | childAlways feminine, even for a boy: O Rui é uma criança. |
tinha | I had (used to have)The imperfect of ter: tinha, tinhas, tinha, tínhamos, tinham. |
morava | I lived-ar verbs: morava, moravas, morava, morávamos, moravam. |
ia | I used to goThe imperfect of ir: ia, ias, ia, íamos, iam. |
antigamente | in the old days |
brincar | to playHow children play. For games and sport, use jogar. |
havia | there wasThe past of há: Havia um café nesta rua. |
Example sentences
- Quando eu era criança, morava no Porto.When I was a child, I lived in Porto.Era and morava are in the imperfect: they describe how things were.
- Antigamente não havia telemóveis.In the old days there were no mobile phones.Havia is the past of há: there was, there were.
- Eu ia à escola a pé.I used to walk to school.Ia = I used to go. Costumar also means "to usually do": costumava ir.
- Nós brincávamos na rua todos os dias.We used to play in the street every day.The nós form of the imperfect has an accent: brincávamos.
- O meu filho não comia peixe, mas agora come.My son didn't use to eat fish, but now he does.-er verbs: comia, comias, comia, comíamos, comiam.
- Quando eu era pequena, tinha medo do escuro.When I was little, I was afraid of the dark.Ter medo de = to be afraid of. Em pequena = as a little girl.
- Quando tu eras criança, o que querias ser?When you were a child, what did you want to be?
- Eu queria ser médica.I wanted to be a doctor.Queria is the imperfect of querer: I wanted. It also makes requests polite: Eu queria um café.
- Eu fumava, mas já não fumo.I used to smoke, but I don't any more.Já não = not any more.
- Antigamente o meu pai trabalhava num banco.My father used to work in a bank.
Grammar notes
The grammar notes for this lesson are on the page for Unit 14: Work and study: