An Investigation into the Equivalents of the Present Perfect in Brazilian Portuguese and the Challenges that Students face

by Karen Bond

This investigation involved both the consultation of grammars and language consultants, and some small-scale classroom research.  The aim of this research was to discover the challenges that students may face when using the present perfect.  As L1 transfer is a major factor, I decided to concentrate on this. Firstly, a number of sentences were selected, which represented a variety of uses of the present perfect. These were then translated into Portuguese. Next the students were given this list, and asked to translate into English via email. The results were tabulated, showing the percentage of aspect and adverbial errors that the students made when translating from Portuguese to English.  Please note that this is a condensed version of the original paper. 

The English present perfect is represented in Portuguese by a number of combinations of verbs in the past, present and perfect and also adverbials, as it cannot be translated exactly into Portuguese. Santos (1996) explains: 

“Different parts of its global meaning have different possibilities of a wholly satisfying translation in Portuguese.  There is a real difference between parallel description of two linguistic devices in different languages and its use in practice in those very same languages”. 

Therefore, L1 transfer is a significant factor when students attempt to use the present perfect in English.

Below is a description of uses of the present perfect in English, and how these can be translated into Portuguese. Below each Portuguese example, a literal translation can be found, followed by a Standard English translation. The sentences selected for the translation test are indicated with the symbol ð. Possible errors are also discussed.

An example of the preterit indicative is: 

ð Quebrei minha perna.  Veja, ela está engessada.

I broke my leg. Look! It’s broken.

I’ve broken my leg. 

This use of this form is complex, as it is not only used in this sense, but also to describe situations that, in English, would take the simple past, particularly those which do not refer to repetition or continuity (Williams, 1942).  It can be used to refer to recent events, e.g. `Eu falei com o Tomas hoje` (I spoke with Tomas today) or to events that happened a long time ago, e.g. `Eu comi chocolate todo dia na minha infancia` (I ate chocolate every day in my youth).  It is also used for past narration.  It is not considered to denote perfect aspect in Portuguese and thus speakers of Portuguese, when translating `Quebrei minha perna`, would most likely say `I broke my leg`, not `I’ve broken my leg’ (73% of respondents). 

The past progressive is sometimes a translation equivalent of English present perfect progressive, when an event verb is used.  The verb estar (to be) is used in the simple past with another verb in the progressive form: 

ð  Você esteve chorando?

You were crying?

Have you been crying? 

This sentence was translated correctly into English by 88% of the students interviewed (See Appendix A for further percentages).  

já + Preterit Indicative – `já` is a near-equivalent of the English `already`, `ever`, and ‘yet`.  It can even be used in sentences where, in English, there would be no adverbial. As it has several meanings in English, it may be difficult for learners, when translating from L1, to know which adverb to use. However, the present perfect was used by 100% of the students in the research.                 

ð  Você já esteve em Salvador?

       You already were in Salvador?

Have you already/ever been to Salvador? 

What can also be used in the verb `conhecer` (to know/to get to know/to meet) in the present tense: 

ð  Conheço London.

I know London.

I’ve been to London. 

This verb often causes L1 interference, and students may find it challenging to translate to `I’ve been to London`, for example.  64% of students in the research made errors. 

There are several more adverbials that may be used with the preterit indicative as an experiential perfect (Schutz 2000):  

nunca + Preterit Indicative        

This form is used like the one above but to talk about indefinite past experiences or events that have never actually happened up to the present time. `Nunca` means `never`, and is the equivalent of the English `never` and a near equivalent of `yet`. It was easily translated by the respondents. 

ð  Você nunca visitou a Inglaterra?

You never visited England?

Have you never been to England?                                           

ainda não + Preterit Indicative 

ainda não is translated as not yet.  This seems to be quite easy for students to recognize (82% did), but they may still use the incorrect aspect: 

ð  Ainda não terminei meu projeto.

Not yet I finished my assignment.

I haven’t finished my assignment yet. 

sempre +Preterit Indicative  

`sempre` is the equivalent of `always`. 

ð  Eu sempre lhe amei.

                              I always loved him.

                             I’ve always… 

It is used to describe an event that finished a short while ago and is used in the preterit indicative form. 

ð Ela acabou de sair.

    She just left.

                      She’s… 

This form is the nearest equivalent of `have just`, and is often considered by teachers to be quite easy for Brazilian learners.  But in the research, a number of errors could be found, regarding aspect, adverbial, and past participle usage, in the translation of this sentence. For example: 

             Ñ She is just gone.

                Ñ She has just leaved.

             Ñ She's gone right now. 

These adverbs are translated as `recently` or `lately`. 

ð  Estou trabalhando muito ultimamente.

I am working a lot lately.

I’ve been working… 

This does not seem to be a problem for learners (27% made errors), but the present progressive or even the present perfect simple may be used instead of the present perfect progressive: 

Ñ I´m working a lot recently.

Ñ I've worked a lot lately. 

há + que (that) + Present Simple is sometimes used, and can be seen as the near-equivalent of the English present perfect with `for`.  Há comes from the verb `haver` (to have) and means `There is`.                 

ð  Há dez anos que vou a Mallorca todo ano.

There is ten years that I go to Mallorca every year.

I’ve been to Mallorca every year for the last ten years. 

This near-equivalent is formed in a totally different way to that in English, so it can be difficult for learners, with 36% of students making errors: 

Ñ I have been to Mallorca every year since ten years ago.

Ñ Since ten years,I´m going to Mallorca every year. 

The Analytic Preterit Perfect can also be used, but is less common: 

Tenho ido para Mallorca em férias nos últimos dez anos

I have going to Mallorca on holiday in the last ten years.

I’ve been going on holiday to Mallorca for the last ten years. 

ð  Há um ano que eu moro no Brasil.

There is one year that I live in Brazil.

I’ve lived/been living in Brazil for a year.  

Again, there are errors (54.5%): 

                 Ñ I live….

Ñ I´m living…. 

`desde` is translated as`since`: 

ð  Estou aqui desde as 10 horas.

I am here since 10 o’clock.

I’ve been here/I’ve been waiting here… 

There is a tendency for learners to use the Present Progressive tense and to confuse `since` and `for`: 

Ñ Since ten years, I´m going to Mallorca every year. 

Only 55.5% of respondents were able to translate the sentence correctly. 

              Preterit Indicative: 

Eu sempre gostei de estudar.

I always liked to study.

I’ve always liked to study. 

já + Preterit Indicative: 

ð Já liguei para ele pelo menos dez vezes hoje.

Already I called him at least ten times today.          

I’ve already called…. 

Present Simple: 

Há quanto tempo você mora aqui?

There is how long you live here?

How long have you been living here?           

Present Progressive: 

Há quanto tempo você está morando aqui?"

There is how long you are living here?

How long have you been living here? 

           Preterit Indicative: 

A bolsa caiu.

The stockmarket collapsed.

The stockmarket has collapsed. 

Analytic Preterit Perfect: 

A bolsa tem estado ruim desde as últimas eleições.

The stockmarket has been bad since the last election. 

ð  Você já viu `As Panteras`?

You already saw `Charlie’s Angels`?

Have you (already) seen… 

This use was not difficult for the students in the research. 

                               Eu limpei a casa.

I cleaned the house.

I’ve cleaned…. 

              A conjugated `estar` with the progressive form of a verb is used: 

ð  Estou arrumando a casa desde cedo.

I am cleaning the house since early.

I’ve been cleaning the house all day. 

45% of respondents made aspectual errors when translating this sentence. 

   This is made up of the verb `ter` (to have) plus a gerund. 

ð  Tem chovido muito (ultimamente). 

Have raining much lately.

It has rained a lot/It has been raining a lot (lately). 

Learners may use the present progressive instead of the present perfect progressive (73%).

             Three forms could be used here, the first being more commonly used by the students in the research: 

ð  Estou estudando muito esses dias.  (present progressive)

     I am studying a lot these days.

I’ve been…. 

54% of students made errors when translating the above sentence.        

Tenho estudado muito.    (analytic preterit perfect)

I have studying a lot.

I’ve been… 

ð  Faz um mês que moro com o Tom.(fazer + que + Present Simple)

It is a month that I live with Tom.

I’ve been living with Tom for a month. 

91% of students translated this last sentence incorrectly. 

This is another aspect that may be used to convey an English present perfect sense, although is often described as an aspect that describes the past, being a near-equivalent of the English past progressive, `used to`, `would`, and `kept on` + past participle (Williams, 1942). Williams explains that it is used to describe a “continuing, repeated or habitual state in a completely elapsed past”.  However, it can also be used to refer to something in the past that has no clear beginning or ending, and might still be happening, and seem to be easily translated into English. Schutz (2000) gives this example: 

ð Onde é que você andava?

                       Where is that you were?

                               Where have you been?

Conclusion and Recommendations

The present perfect cannot be simply translated into Portuguese, and a whole host of aspects and adverbials are used instead, which can lead to significant L1 interference.  This research shows though that Brazilian students find some uses of the present perfect more difficult than others.  For example, most students in the survey found it difficult to identify a past event with a present result, but sentences using `recently` were easily translated.

Although this would not be considered a very communicative activity, it might be useful for the teacher to give students a Portuguese to English translation exercise like the one used in this assignment, and vice versa, as this would raise their awareness of the issue of L1 interference.  Common errors should be highlighted, and numerous activities should be given to practise this difficult aspect of English.

References 

Santos, D. (1996), Tense and Aspect in English and Portuguese: A Contrastive Semantical Study (on-line) Available: http://www.portugues.mct.pt/Diana/tese.html. 

Schutz, R. (2000), O Perfect e seus Equivalentes em Português (on-line) Available: http://www.english.sk.com.br/sk-perf.html. 

Williams, E. (1942), An Introductory Portuguese Grammar pp45, New York: Dover Publications  

©Karen Bond 2001. All rights reserved.