emprestei

Emprestei is the first person singular form of the Portuguese verb emprestar in the pretérito perfeito do indicativo (simple past). It means that the speaker lent something to someone in the past. The form is used in both European and Brazilian Portuguese, though Brazilian usage often relies on the subject pronoun eu for clarity in narrative.

Conjugation (pretérito perfeito do indicativo) of emprestar:

- eu emprestei

- tu emprestaste

- você/ele/ela emprestou

- nós emprestamos

- vós emprestastes

- vocês/eles/elas emprestaram

Usage notes:

Emprestar describes the act of giving something to another person with the understanding that it will be returned. The corresponding verbs for borrowing are pegar emprestado or tomar emprestado (to borrow), with the borrower being the subject. The past passive form, foi emprestado (it was lent), can describe items that have already been lent out. Pronoun placement varies by dialect; examples include Eu emprestei o livro para o João, or Eu lhe emprestei o livro, depending on formality and region.

Etymology:

Emprestar is formed from em- (in, into) with prestar (to lend/provide), whose root prest- comes from Latin praestare, meaning to render or provide. The noun empréstimo (loan) derives from the same root.

See also:

Lend and borrow in Portuguese: emprestar, pegar emprestado, tomar emprestado; related term empréstimo (loan) and the adjective emprestado (lent).