Past participle and the adjectival passive
A2 Particípio passado e a passiva adjetival (estar + particípio) 24 / 55
In short
The past participle is the -ed form of a verb - fechado (“closed”), escrito (“written”), feito (“done”). Portuguese builds it regularly for most verbs and irregularly for a short, high-frequency list you simply memorise. Its first job, the one this lesson teaches, is to work as an adjective of result: it describes the state a thing is in after something happened to it. Used that way it agrees in gender and number, exactly like the adjectives of Lesson 5 - a porta fechada, as janelas abertas. The one contrast to master is estar + participle (a state: A loja está fechada) against ser + participle (an action done to the subject: A loja foi fechada). English hides this behind a single “is closed”; Portuguese makes you choose.
The rule
Forming the participle
- -ar verbs take -ado: falar -> falado, fechar -> fechado, comprar -> comprado.
- -er and -ir verbs take -ido: comer -> comido, vender -> vendido, partir -> partido, dormir -> dormido.
A number of common verbs have an irregular participle that you must learn as a unit (they do not follow -ado / -ido): aberto, dito, escrito, feito, visto, posto, coberto, vindo, and a handful more in the table below. There is no shortcut - these are all everyday verbs, so they pay for themselves fast.
The participle as an adjective: it agrees
When the participle describes a noun’s state, it behaves like any adjective and takes the noun’s gender and number: um livro vendido, uma carta escrita, os documentos assinados, as portas fechadas. This is why the endings move: -o / -a / -os / -as.
estar + participle (state) vs ser + participle (action)
Both patterns pair a form of ser or estar with an agreeing participle, but they say different things:
- estar + participle = the resulting state, the condition something is in now. A loja está fechada. = the shop is (in a) closed (state). Nothing is said about who closed it.
- ser + participle = the action, the true passive - something is done to the subject. A loja foi fechada. = the shop was closed (someone closed it).
You already have the tenses you need for this from Lessons 8, 21 and 22. Match the verb to the moment:
- A porta está fechada. - it is closed right now (present of estar, a state).
- A porta estava fechada. - it was closed / stood closed (imperfeito of estar, an ongoing past state).
- A porta foi fechada. - the closing happened (PPS of ser, a completed event).
The full passive with an agent (foi fechada pela polícia) and the passive se belong to Lesson 39; here, just fix the estar-state versus ser-event split, because that is what English speakers get wrong.
Short vs long participles - a first look
A few verbs have two participles: a regular long one and a short irregular one. The short form is the one you use with estar and ser: A conta está paga (not pagada), A roupa está limpa (not limpada), A encomenda foi entregue (not entregada). The long form (limpado, entregado) goes with the auxiliary ter, which is the next lesson - though the very common pagar, ganhar and gastar use their short form (pago, ganho, gasto) with ter too in modern European Portuguese. Rule of thumb for now: with estar/ser, use the short form.
Forms & patterns
Regular participles:
| Infinitive | Ending | Participle |
|---|---|---|
| falar (to speak) | -ado | falado |
| fechar (to close) | -ado | fechado |
| comer (to eat) | -ido | comido |
| vender (to sell) | -ido | vendido |
| partir (to leave/break) | -ido | partido |
Common irregular participles:
| Verb | Participle | Verb | Participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| abrir | aberto | pôr | posto |
| dizer | dito | ver | visto |
| escrever | escrito | vir | vindo |
| fazer | feito | cobrir | coberto |
| morrer | morto | aceitar | aceite |
| pagar | pago | entregar | entregue |
| gastar | gasto | limpar | limpo |
Agreement, and the state / action contrast:
| Estar + participle (state) | Ser + participle (action) |
|---|---|
| A janela está aberta. | A janela foi aberta. |
| Os testes estão corrigidos. | Os testes foram corrigidos. |
| O trabalho está feito. | O trabalho foi feito. |
| As cartas estão escritas. | As cartas foram escritas. |
Examples
| Português | English |
|---|---|
| O restaurante está fechado ao domingo. | The restaurant is closed on Sundays. |
| A carta já está escrita. | The letter is already written. |
| As lojas foram abertas às nove. | The shops were opened at nine. |
| O bolo está feito, só falta o café. | The cake is done, only the coffee is left. |
| A conta já está paga. | The bill is already paid. |
| A encomenda foi entregue ontem. | The parcel was delivered yesterday. |
| Estas palavras são muito usadas. | These words are very commonly used. |
| A casa estava coberta de neve. | The house was covered in snow. |
| Os documentos estão assinados e enviados. | The documents are signed and sent. |
| O quadro foi pintado por um amigo. | The painting was done by a friend. |
Common mistakes
- A porta é fechada. -> A porta está fechada. - a current state uses estar; ser / foi describes the action of closing, not the condition.
- As janelas está abertas. -> As janelas estão abertas. - both the verb and the participle agree with the plural subject: estão + abertas.
- A janela está aberto. -> A janela está aberta. - the participle agrees in gender too; a feminine noun takes aberta.
- O trabalho está fazido. -> O trabalho está feito. - fazer has the irregular participle feito; there is no fazido.
- A conta está pagada. -> A conta está paga. - the short participle is pago / paga, and pagar uses it throughout, including with ter (tinha pago, Lesson 25).
- A encomenda foi entregada. -> A encomenda foi entregue. - same short-form rule: entregue, not entregada, after ser.
- A casa foi coberta de neve (for the state) -> A casa estava coberta de neve. - an ongoing state in the past is estava + participle, not the eventive foi.
Tips
- Build regular participles by ear: -ar verbs give -ado, -er / -ir verbs give -ido. Then drill the short irregular set (feito, dito, visto, posto, aberto, escrito) - they are all high-frequency.
- As an adjective the participle agrees: a porta fechada, as portas fechadas. If you can put an article and a noun around it, treat it like any adjective from Lesson 5.
- Decide estar vs ser by asking “state or event?”: está fechada = it is closed (condition); foi fechada = it got closed (something happened).
- Pick the tense from the moment: está (state now), estava (state in the past, imperfeito), foi (the event, PPS).
- When a verb has two participles, use the short one with estar / ser (está limpo, foi pago, foi entregue); the long form waits for ter in the next lesson.
- In Brazil: several short participles differ - EP says aceite where Brazil says aceito, and Brazilian usage leans more on the regular forms; keep aceite, entregue, ganho, gasto for European Portuguese.