tinha

Tinha is the imperfect indicative form of the verb ter in Portuguese, meaning "had" or "used to have." It is used to describe past possession, ongoing states in the past, or habitual actions. For example: "Eu tinha uma bicicleta quando era criança" (I had a bicycle when I was a child).

The form also functions as an auxiliary in compound tenses, particularly the pluperfect (pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto). In this use, it combines with a past participle to indicate an action completed before another past moment: "Ela tinha ido ao médico antes de sair" (She had gone to the doctor before leaving).

Conjugation in the imperfect is relatively straightforward: eu tinha, você/ele/ela tinha, nós tínhamos, vocês/eles/elas tinham. The precise pronouns vary by dialect, but the overall pattern is consistent across standard Portuguese varieties.

Etymology and cognates: Tinha derives from the verb ter, which in Latin is traced to habēre. It is cognate with the Spanish imperfect tense "tenía," reflecting common Ibero-Romance development of the imperfect of possession verbs. Dialectal variations exist in pronunciation and usage between Brazilian Portuguese and European Portuguese.

Other uses: As a standalone word, तinha is primarily a verb form and does not carry a separate meaning in standard Portuguese. In some texts or names, it may appear as part of a proper noun or transliteration in other languages, but such uses are not common in Portuguese-language reference works.