recuperei

Recuperei is the first-person singular form of the Portuguese verb recuperar in the pretérito perfeito, the simple past tense. It translates to "I recovered" or "I retrieved" in English and is used to describe a completed action in the past.

Etymology and morphology: Recuperei derives from Latin recuperare, formed from re- (back, again) and capere (to take), conveying the sense of taking back or regaining something. As a regular -ar verb, its pretérito perfeito forms include eu recuperei, tu recuperaste, você/ele/ela recuperou, nós recuperamos, vocês/eles/elas recuperaram. Dialectal variation occurs: in European Portuguese, tu recuperaste is common; in Brazilian Portuguese, você recuperou is typical, with corresponding subject pronouns.

Usage: Recuperei is used in narrative and descriptive contexts to denote a past, completed action. It can signify physically retrieving an item, recovering data, or regaining a state such as health or energy. Examples: "Eu recuperei os meus documentos perdidos." "Depois da doença, eu recuperei a minha força." The form is versatile across formal and informal registers.

See also: Recuperar, Pretérito Perfeito, Portuguese verbs.