vinha/vinhas/vinha/vínhamos/vinham

Pretérito Imperfeito De Vir

Level 2

Vinha is the past imperfect form of vir (to come). It translates to 'was coming' or 'used to come.'

How It Works

The verb vir is one of the four irregular verbs in the Portuguese imperfect tense.

1. Conjugation:
Unlike regular -er and -ir verbs that use the -ia ending, vir (along with ter, pôr, and ser) uses a unique set of endings attached to the stem vinh-:

  • Eu vinha
  • Tu vinhas
  • Ele/Ela/Você vinha
  • Nós vínhamos (Note the mandatory accent!)
  • Eles/Elas/Vocês vinham

2. Usage:
Use this pattern to describe:

  • Habits: Things you did repeatedly in the past. (e.g., Eu vinha aqui todos os dias.)
  • Ongoing Actions: What was happening in the background. (e.g., Eu vinha para casa quando te vi.)
  • Politeness: The imperfeito de cortesia is used to soften requests or express wishes more gently than the present tense. (e.g., Eu vinha pedir um favor. — I was coming to ask a favor.)

3. Important Note:
Be careful with the first-person plural vínhamos. The acute accent on the 'í' is required to show that the stress is on the third-to-last syllable (proparoxytone).

Examples (4)

  1. Antigamente, eu vinha a este parque todos os dias.

    In the past, I used to come to this park every day.

    Word by Word: Formerly, I came to this park all the days.

    Shows a habitual action in the past using the first-person singular 'vinha'.

  2. Nós vínhamos pela estrada quando o carro parou.

    We were coming along the road when the car stopped.

    Word by Word: We were-coming by-the road when the car stopped.

    Demonstrates an ongoing background action interrupted by another event. Note the accent on 'vínhamos'.

  3. Eles vinham de longe para nos visitar.

    They were coming from far away to visit us.

    Word by Word: They were-coming from far to us visit.

    Uses the third-person plural 'vinham' to describe a past movement or habit.

  4. Você vinha sempre aqui quando era criança?

    Did you always come here when you were a child?

    Word by Word: You came always here when were child?

    A question about a past habit using the 'você' form.

Common Mistakes

  • Regularizing the verb as 'viia' or 'viria'.

    Eu viia aqui sempre.
    Eu vinha aqui sempre.

    Learners often try to follow regular -ir verb rules. 'Viria' is actually the conditional tense ('would come'), not the imperfect.

  • Confusing 'vinha' (from vir) with 'via' (from ver).

    Eu vinha o filme ontem.
    Eu via o filme ontem.

    'Vinha' means 'was coming', while 'via' means 'was seeing/watching'. They look similar but come from different verbs.

  • Omitting the accent in 'vínhamos'.

    Nós vinhamos cedo.
    Nós vínhamos cedo.

    In Portuguese, all proparoxytone words (stressed on the third-to-last syllable) must have a written accent.

How It Connects

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

vinha/vinhas/vinha/vínhamos/vinhamLevel 2Pretérito Imperfeito De Vir

Learn This First

To learn the irregular imperfect forms of 'vir' (vinha, vínhamos, etc.), learners need to understand the basic subject pronouns and the general concept of the Pretérito Imperfeito (past continuous/habitual actions). Knowing the verb 'vir' in other tenses is also helpful for recognizing its irregular behavior.

Words in This Pattern

vir