Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): O Pedro foi muito corajoso quando falou com o diretor. - Pedro was very brave when he spoke with the director.

O Pedro = literally the Pedro, but it just feels like Pedro in English.
This usage is normal and neutral in Portugal.
You can also say just Pedro, but in everyday speech you will often hear o Pedro, a Maria, etc.

In Brazilian Portuguese, using the article with names is less common and can sound regional or informal, but in Portugal it’s standard.

What verb is foi from? Is it ser or ir, and how do I know?

Foi can be:

3rd person singular past (pretérito perfeito) of ser – he/she/it was
3rd person singular past (pretérito perfeito) of ir – he/she/it went

In this sentence it must be from ser, because:

O Pedro foi muito corajoso = Pedro was very brave
Pedro went very brave does not make sense in Portuguese or English.

You know from context: if it’s followed by an adjective (corajoso, feliz, alto, etc.), it’s almost always ser.

Why is it foi and not era? Aren’t they both was in English?

Both foi and era translate as was, but they express different types of past:

foi (pretérito perfeito) – a completed event/state, seen as a whole:
- O Pedro foi muito corajoso quando falou com o diretor.
  → He was brave at that specific moment/situation.
era (pretérito imperfeito) – a continuous, habitual, or descriptive past:
- O Pedro era muito corajoso em criança.
  → Pedro was (used to be) very brave as a child (in general, over a period).

Here, the sentence talks about one specific situation (when he spoke to the director), so foi is the natural choice.

Why is it corajoso and not corajosa? How does adjective agreement work here?

Adjectives in Portuguese agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

Pedro is masculine singular → the adjective must be masculine singular: corajoso.
If the subject were feminine, you would change the ending:
- A Ana foi muito corajosa quando falou com o diretor.

More examples:

O aluno é inteligente. (masculine)
A aluna é inteligente. (feminine – some adjectives don’t change form)
Os alunos são corajosos. (masculine plural)
As alunas são corajosas. (feminine plural)

What is the role of muito in muito corajoso? Could I say foi corajoso muito?

Muito here is an adverb meaning very.

muito corajoso = very brave

Word order:

The usual order is muito + adjective:
- muito corajoso, muito alto, muito caro

You cannot say foi corajoso muito in this meaning; that sounds wrong in Portuguese.

Be careful: muito can also be an adjective meaning much/a lot of, and then it agrees in gender/number:

muito trabalho (much work)
muita coragem (a lot of courage)
muitos livros (many books)
muitas pessoas (many people)

In muito corajoso it stays invariable because it is an adverb modifying an adjective.

Why is there no subject pronoun ele before falou?

Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns (like eu, tu, ele) can be omitted when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

falou = 3rd person singular past (he/she/it spoke)
From context, we know it still refers to o Pedro.

So:

O Pedro foi muito corajoso quando falou com o diretor.
is completely natural.

You could say:

O Pedro foi muito corajoso quando ele falou com o diretor.

…but in European Portuguese this often sounds unnecessary unless you want to:

contrast subjects (e.g., he vs. someone else), or
avoid ambiguity.

Why is falou used here instead of something like falava?

Again, this is the contrast between:

falou – pretérito perfeito (completed action)
falava – pretérito imperfeito (ongoing, repeated, or background action)

Quando falou com o diretor focuses on that single, complete act:

when he spoke / when he had that conversation

If you said:

O Pedro foi muito corajoso quando falava com o diretor.

it would sound more like:

Pedro was very brave when(ever) he used to talk with the director
(repeated/ongoing action)
or
while he was talking with the director (backgrounded, in-progress action).

For a one-off event, falou is the natural choice.

How does quando work here? Does it always mean when?

Yes, quando here is a subordinating conjunction meaning when in a temporal sense.

quando falou com o diretor = when he spoke with the director

Key points:

It introduces a time clause.
The verb after quando is conjugated like any normal verb; there is no special tense rule just because of quando, but certain combinations are more natural:
- Past + past (as in this sentence)
- Future + future subjunctive:
  - Quando falar com o diretor, liga-me.
    → When you talk to the director, call me.

You can move the clause:

Quando falou com o diretor, o Pedro foi muito corajoso.
(When he spoke with the director, Pedro was very brave.)

The meaning is the same; only the emphasis or rhythm changes slightly.

Why is it com o diretor and not something like ao diretor or para o diretor?

The preposition com means with and is the normal choice with falar for speaking with (someone):

falar com alguém = to speak/talk with someone

Other prepositions change the meaning:

falar a alguém – less common; can mean to say something to someone, often in more formal or literary contexts.
falar para alguém – to speak to someone (more like in the direction of, sometimes used when the listener is passive or not truly interacting).

In this sentence, it’s a two-way interaction (a conversation), so com o diretor is the natural prepositional phrase.

Why is it o diretor and not o director? Is there a spelling rule?

In modern Portuguese orthography (both in Portugal and Brazil), the standard spelling is:

diretor (masculine)
diretora (feminine)

Previously, in Portugal, the spelling director was common, but the spelling reform simplified many consonant clusters that were not pronounced:

director → diretor
objecto → objeto
acto → ato, etc.

So diretor is the current correct spelling in Portugal.

Can I change the word order, for example move muito or the quando clause?

Some movement is possible, but not everything is flexible.

Moving the quando‑clause – OK:
- O Pedro foi muito corajoso quando falou com o diretor.
- Quando falou com o diretor, o Pedro foi muito corajoso.
Both are natural.
Moving muito – generally not OK:
- ✔ O Pedro foi muito corajoso…
- ✘ O Pedro foi corajoso muito… (sounds wrong)
- ✘ O Pedro muito foi corajoso… (also wrong)

Adverbs like muito that modify adjectives usually stay just before the adjective.