B2Lesson 2: Compound Tenses & Aspect
Aspect in Brazilian Portuguese shows HOW an action unfolds through time (completed, ongoing, repeated, or habitual) using compound tenses like estar + gerund, ter + participle, andar + gerund, and other auxiliary verb combinations, creating nuances that simple tenses can't express alone.
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Tense tells you WHEN (present, past, future)
Aspect tells you HOW (completed, ongoing, repeated, starting, finishing)
Think of it like a movie:
| Aspect Type | Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive | estar + gerund | ongoing action | estou comendo |
| Perfect | ter + participle | completed with relevance | tenho comido |
| Continuative | andar + gerund | recent continuous | ando comendo |
| Gradual | vir + gerund | gradual development | venho comendo |
| Habitual | costumar + infinitive | usual habit | costumo comer |
| Iterative | viver + gerund | repeated action | vivo comendo |
| Prospective | ir + infinitive | about to | vou comer |
| Resultative | ficar + participle | resulting state | ficou decidido |
