Past participle (e.g.: falado, dito, vindo, comido)

An Overview of Past Participles

The past participle is commonly used after the auxiliary ter (e.g.: tu tens falado) and also with estar (e.g.: o copo está partido) and ser (e.g.: a explicação é complicada).

When the past participle is used as an adjective with ser or estar, it agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies:

• As portas estão abertas.

However, there is no agreement when the past participle is used with ter, because it forms part of the verb:

• As raparigas têm aberto as portas.

How to form the Past Participle

The past participle is formed by replacing the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) with:

• -ado for -ar verbs
  comprar → tenho comprado

• -ido for -er / -ir verbs
  comer → ele tem comido
  viver → têm vivido bem

⚠️ Important note

In Portuguese, verbs whose stems end in a vowel typically do not take -ído (unlike Spanish), but may involve accent changes:

• ler → lido

• ouvir → ouvido

Common irregular past participles

Double past participles

Some verbs have two forms:

• The regular form is used with ter

• The irregular form is often used as an adjective

Example:

• O professor tem confundido os alunos.

• O exame é confuso.

Other examples:

🧠 Key rule

The past participle only agrees in gender and number when used as an adjective:

• As portas estão fechadas.

There is never agreement with ter:

• As mulheres têm escolhido a jovem
  ❌ têm escolhidas

The rules of Portuguese are not always predictable—but by practicing and applying them in writing, you will master both the general patterns and the most important exceptions.

Questions

• Questions about Past Participles