Era vs. Tinha: Describe People and Possessions in Past Portuguese Stories
Era and tinha often appear together in background descriptions, but they answer different questions: what someone was like and what they had.
Real Life Portuguese · 5 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Era is the imperfect form of ser for eu, ele, ela, and você. It describes a background state, role, or characteristic: when I was a child, when the town was smaller, or what a person was like.
Use era for past identity or description
The imperfect often sets the scene before a completed event. A story might say the café era pequeno, then describe what happened one afternoon.
Quando eu era criança, morava no interior.
When I was a child, I lived in a small town.
A casa era antiga, mas muito bonita.
The house was old, but very beautiful.
Ela era professora naquela época.
She was a teacher at that time.
Use tinha for what someone had or there was
Tinha is the imperfect of ter. Use it for possessions and, in everyday Brazilian speech, to say that something existed: eu tinha uma bicicleta (I had a bicycle) and tinha muita gente (there were many people).
As with other imperfect verbs, tinha can describe a continuing situation or a repeated experience in the past. The surrounding story shows whether it means ‘had’ or ‘there was.’
Eu tinha dois irmãos e um cachorro.
I had two siblings and a dog.
Tinha muita gente no show.
There were a lot of people at the concert.
Quando a gente morava lá, tinha uma padaria na esquina.
When we lived there, there was a bakery on the corner.
Put it into practice
Use era for past identity or description and tinha for possession or existence. Both often provide background in a story.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “She was a teacher at that time”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
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