"Ele tinha podado a grama."

Translation: He had pruned the grass.

[andreaparker]

We would never say to prune the grass in English. Pruning is for bushes and trees with branches.

[Gaspard]

Same in Portuguese. The common way to say it "Ele tinha cortado a grama" (cortar -> to cut)

[FlawyerLawyer]

Exactly!