punha/punhas/punha/púnhamos/punham

Pretérito Imperfeito De Pôr

Level 2

The verb pôr is one of only four irregular verbs in the Pretérito Imperfeito. It uses the stem punh- and is essential for describing past routines or setting a scene.

How It Works

The Pretérito Imperfeito de Pôr is a distinctive conjugation pattern. Because pôr historically comes from the Latin ponere, it retains a nasal stem (punh-) similar to other irregular verbs like ter and vir.

1. Conjugation Table:

  • Eu punha
  • Tu punhas
  • Você/Ele/Ela punha
  • Nós púnhamos (Note the accent!)
  • Vós púnheis (Rarely used in modern speech)
  • Vocês/Eles/Elas punham

2. Key Functions:

  • Habitual Actions: Describing things you did repeatedly. Eu punha a mesa todos os dias. (I used to set the table every day.)
  • Background Descriptions: Setting the scene in a story. O sol se punha no horizonte. (The sun was setting on the horizon.)
  • Polite Requests: Softening a statement. Eu punha uma questão... (I would like to raise a question...)

3. Derived Verbs:
This pattern is also used for all verbs based on pôr, such as compor (compunha), supor (supunha), and propor (propunha).

Examples (4)

  1. Antigamente, ela punha sempre muito açúcar no café.

    In the past, she always used to put a lot of sugar in her coffee.

    Word by Word: Formerly, she put always much sugar in the coffee.

    This shows a habitual action in the past using the third-person singular form 'punha'.

  2. Nós púnhamos a mesa enquanto a minha mãe cozinhava.

    We used to set the table while my mother cooked.

    Word by Word: We put the table while the my mother cooked.

    Note the circumflex accent on the 'nós' form (púnhamos), which is mandatory.

  3. Enquanto o sol se punha, nós caminhávamos pela praia.

    While the sun was setting, we were walking along the beach.

    Word by Word: While the sun itself put, we walked by the beach.

    Here, 'punha' is used to describe a continuous background action (the sunset).

  4. Eles punham os livros na estante todas as noites.

    They used to put the books on the shelf every night.

    Word by Word: They put the books on the shelf all the nights.

    The third-person plural form 'punham' indicates a repeated past routine.

Common Mistakes

  • Regularizing the verb as 'ponhava' or 'poia'.

    Eu ponhava o casaco no armário.
    Eu punha o casaco no armário.

    Learners often try to apply regular -ar or -er endings. However, 'pôr' is irregular and must use the 'punh-' stem.

  • Confusing 'punha' (Past Indicative) with 'ponha' (Present Subjunctive).

    Espero que ele punha o livro aqui.
    Espero que ele ponha o livro aqui.

    'Punha' is for the past ('used to put'), while 'ponha' is for the Present Subjunctive ('that he may put').

  • Omitting the accent in the 'nós' form.

    Nós punhamos as chaves ali.
    Nós púnhamos as chaves ali.

    The 'nós' form of all four irregular imperfect verbs requires a written accent to show the stressed syllable.

How It Connects

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

punha/punhas/punha/púnhamos/punhamLevel 2Pretérito Imperfeito De Pôr

Learn This First

To learn the irregular imperfect forms of 'pôr' (punha), you first need to understand the general concept of the Pretérito Imperfeito used for past habits and descriptions. Additionally, familiarity with subject pronouns and the behavior of -ER verbs is essential, as 'pôr' follows a unique stem change based on its historical -ER roots.

Words in This Pattern

pôr