Portuguese C2: Literary past: the simple pluperfect · Grammar

Next to tinha feito, written Portuguese has a one-word pluperfect: take the third person plural of the pretérito perfeito, drop -ram and add -ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -reis, -ram: fizeram → fizera, disseram → dissera, estiveram → estivera. It belongs to literature and journalism. It also survives in set phrases: Quem dera! (if only!), Pudera! (no wonder!), Tomara que… (I hope that…).

• fizera — had done (literary)
• dissera — had said (literary)
• estivera — had been (literary)
• quem dera — if only
• pudera — no wonder
• tomara que — I do hope that
• outrora — formerly
• o conto — short story

• Quem me dera! — If only!
• Tomara que faça sol amanhã. — I really hope it’s sunny tomorrow.
• A casa onde outrora vivera estava em ruínas. — The house where she had once lived was in ruins.
• Pudera, com aquele frio! — No wonder, with that cold!