Há vs. A in Portuguese: Talk About Time in the Past and Future — Practice
A guided practice lesson with English explanations, Brazilian Portuguese examples, and answers you can check. Read the examples, recall the meaning, then say a version of your own.
Use há to look back from now
In a time expression, há can say that something happened a certain amount of time ago. The reference point is now: há dois dias means two days ago. The same form can describe how long a situation has lasted when it continues into the present.
Do not confuse this time use of há with a meaning “to” or “in” for a future time. In careful writing, the accent helps distinguish há from a.
| Brazilian Portuguese | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Cheguei há dois dias. | I arrived two days ago. |
| Moro aqui há três anos. | I have lived here for three years. |
| Ela saiu há pouco. | She left a little while ago. |
Use a or daqui a for a point in the future
A can mark the amount of time remaining before a future event. Daqui a duas horas means two hours from now. A useful contrast is yesterday versus tomorrow: olhei o e-mail há duas horas (I looked at the email two hours ago) and vou olhar de novo daqui a duas horas (I’ll look again in two hours).
| Brazilian Portuguese | English meaning |
|---|---|
| A reunião começa daqui a vinte minutos. | The meeting starts in twenty minutes. |
| Vamos voltar a este assunto daqui a uma semana. | We’ll return to this topic in a week. |
| O ônibus chega daqui a cinco minutos. | The bus arrives in five minutes. |
Remember: Use há for elapsed time and a or daqui a for time ahead. Ask whether you are measuring backward from now or forward to a future event.
Check your understanding
Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.
Recall the Portuguese, then say it
Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.
I arrived two days ago.
Show a Portuguese answer
Cheguei há dois dias.
I have lived here for three years.
Show a Portuguese answer
Moro aqui há três anos.
She left a little while ago.
Show a Portuguese answer
Ela saiu há pouco.
The meeting starts in twenty minutes.
Show a Portuguese answer
A reunião começa daqui a vinte minutos.
We’ll return to this topic in a week.
Show a Portuguese answer
Vamos voltar a este assunto daqui a uma semana.
The bus arrives in five minutes.
Show a Portuguese answer
O ônibus chega daqui a cinco minutos.
Make the phrase useful to you
Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.
Use há for elapsed time and a or daqui a for time ahead. Ask whether you are measuring backward from now or forward to a future event.
Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.
Sources and your next lesson
This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Há vs. A in Portuguese: Talk About Time in the Past and Future lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.
To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.
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