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Ontem à noite o concerto foi fantástico.

Ontem à noite o concerto foi fantástico.
Last night the concert was fantastic.
FromLesson 26inHardcore Portuguese (Portugal)

Breakdown of Ontem à noite o concerto foi fantástico.

ser
to be
o concerto
the concert
fantástico
fantastic
ontem à noite
last night

Questions & Answers about Ontem à noite o concerto foi fantástico.

Why is there a grave accent on à in ontem à noite?
  • It's a contraction of the preposition a
    • the definite article a (crase).
  • In Portuguese we use à noite to mean “at night” or “in the evening.”
Why do we say de manhã but à tarde and à noite?
  • manhã takes de: de manhã (“in the morning”).
  • tarde and noite are feminine and take a + a = à: à tarde, à noite.
  • This is just the standard way to express different times of day.
Can we say ontem na noite instead of ontem à noite?
  • na noite comes from em + a = na, and usually indicates location or specific events (“in the night of Halloween”).
  • For general time expressions, the fixed phrase is ontem à noite.
  • You might see na noite de [evento] (“on the night of [event]”), but not for everyday contexts.
Why does concerto have the definite article o before it?
  • Portuguese often requires a definite article before nouns, unlike English.
  • o concerto means “the concert,” referring to a particular show both speaker and listener know.
Could you use an indefinite article and say um concerto fantástico?
  • Yes. You could say Ontem à noite foi um concerto fantástico.
  • um concerto (“a concert”) emphasizes one among many, while o concerto refers to a specific known event.
Why is the verb foi used instead of era or estava?
  • foi is the pretérito perfeito of ser, used for completed actions or facts in the past.
  • era (pretérito imperfeito of ser) describes ongoing states or habitual actions.
  • estava (pretérito imperfeito of estar) describes temporary conditions or locations.
Why is fantástico ending in -o?
  • Adjectives in Portuguese agree in gender and number with their noun.
  • concerto is masculine singular, so the adjective is fantástico.
  • If the noun were feminine (e.g., música), you’d say fantástica.
Is the word order Ontem à noite o concerto foi fantástico fixed?
  • It’s very common to start with a time expression (ontem à noite).
  • You could also say O concerto foi fantástico ontem à noite, but leading with the time phrase places emphasis on “last night.”
Why can’t we say Ontem à noite concerto foi fantástico without the article?
  • Portuguese generally requires articles before common nouns.
  • Omitting o sounds ungrammatical; you need o concerto to make it complete.
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