tinha + Participle

Mais-Que-Perfeito Composto

Level 3

The Mais-Que-Perfeito Composto is the standard way to say 'had done' something. It layers events in the past to show which one happened first.

How It Works

In modern Portuguese, this compound tense is the most common way to express the pluperfect. It is essential for storytelling and reporting speech.

1. Formation:

  • Auxiliary: Use tinha (the imperfect of 'ter').
  • Main Verb: Use the past participle. For regular verbs, this ends in -ado (AR verbs) or -ido (ER/IR verbs).

2. Usage:
It functions exactly like the English 'had + past participle'. If you are talking about a past event (e.g., 'I arrived'), and you want to mention something that happened even earlier (e.g., 'the train had left'), you use this tense.

3. Pronoun Placement:
Object pronouns usually attach to the auxiliary verb tinha. In Brazil, they often come before (o tinha visto), while in Portugal, they usually attach with a hyphen (tinha-o visto).

4. Register:
While a simple form exists (e.g., falara), it is almost exclusively found in literature. In daily conversation and standard writing, the compound form with tinha is the universal choice.

Examples (4)

  1. Quando cheguei à estação, o comboio já tinha partido.

    When I arrived at the station, the train had already left.

    Word by Word: When I-arrived at-the station, the train already had left.

    Shows that the train leaving happened before the arrival.

  2. Eu não sabia que vocês já tinham comido.

    I didn't know that you had already eaten.

    Word by Word: I not knew that you already had eaten.

    The act of eating occurred before the speaker's state of 'not knowing'.

  3. Ela disse-me que nunca tinha estado em Braga.

    She told me she had never been to Braga.

    Word by Word: She told-me that never had been in Braga.

    Used here for reported speech to describe a state prior to the conversation.

  4. Nós já tínhamos terminado o trabalho quando ele ligou.

    We had already finished the work when he called.

    Word by Word: We already had finished the work when he called.

    Note the accent on 'tínhamos' to maintain the correct stress.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the past participle agree with the subject.

    Elas tinham chegadas cedo.
    Elas tinham chegado cedo.

    In compound tenses with 'ter', the past participle is invariable and always ends in -o.

  • Forgetting the accent on the first person plural (we) form.

    Nós tinhamos feito tudo.
    Nós tínhamos feito tudo.

    The word 'tínhamos' is a proparoxytone and must have an acute accent on the 'í'.

  • Confusing it with the Pretérito Perfeito Composto (tenho falado).

    Eu tenho visto o filme ontem.
    Eu tinha visto o filme antes de ontem.

    'Tenho visto' implies a repeated action up to now, while 'tinha visto' is for a completed action before another past point.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

tinha + ParticipleLevel 3Mais-Que-Perfeito Composto

Learn This First

To form the Mais-Que-Perfeito Composto, you need to know the imperfect conjugation of the verb 'ter' and understand how past participles are used to create compound tenses. Conceptually, you must also understand the basic past tense to see how this pattern describes actions that occurred prior to other past events.

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Words in This Pattern

ter