A ocorrência foi perto de casa.

The incident was near home.

Breakdown of A ocorrência foi perto de casa.

• ser: to be
• a casa: the house
• perto de: near
• a ocorrência: the incident; occurrence

Questions & Answers about A ocorrência foi perto de casa.

Why is ocorrência used here? Is it a common everyday word?

Ocorrência usually means something like incident, occurrence, or case. In Brazilian Portuguese, it often sounds formal or official, especially in contexts like:

• police reports
• emergency services
• news reports
• administrative language

So A ocorrência foi perto de casa sounds more like The incident happened near home than a casual everyday sentence.

In everyday conversation, people might more naturally say:

• Isso aconteceu perto de casa. = That happened near my house/home.
• O caso foi perto de casa. = The case/incident was near my house/home.

Why is it a ocorrência and not o ocorrência?

Because ocorrência is a feminine noun in Portuguese, so it takes the feminine article a.

• a ocorrência
• uma ocorrência

A lot of nouns ending in -ência are feminine, such as:

• a experiência
• a emergência
• a paciência

So the article has to match the noun’s gender.

Why does the sentence use foi?