Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Depois do exame, a conversa com o Pedro foi boa. - After the exam, the conversation with Pedro was good.

So depois do exame literally means after the exam (a specific exam that both speakers have in mind).
If you said depois de exame, it would sound strange here, like after exam without specifying which one. You need the article to show it’s a particular exam, so do exame is the natural choice.

Why do we say depois DO exame and not depois O exame?

In Portuguese, depois normally needs the preposition de before a noun or verb:

depois de
- noun: depois do exame, depois da aula
depois de
- verb (infinitive): depois de estudar, depois de comer

So you cannot say depois o exame; it must be depois de o exame, which then contracts to depois do exame.
This de is obligatory in standard Portuguese in this structure.

Is the comma after exame necessary? Could I omit it?

The comma in Depois do exame, a conversa… is standard and recommended.

Here, Depois do exame is an introductory time phrase (an adverbial phrase) placed at the beginning of the sentence. In Portuguese, when such a phrase comes first, it is normally followed by a comma:

Depois do jantar, fomos ao cinema.
No verão, faço mais exercício.

You might see it omitted sometimes in informal writing, but the version with the comma is what you should aim for.

Why is it a conversa and not just conversa?

Portuguese uses definite articles (o, a, os, as) much more than English.

Here, a conversa means the conversation, referring to a specific conversation that happened after the exam. Without the article:

Conversa com o Pedro foi boa – this sounds wrong/unnatural.
Uma conversa com o Pedro foi boa – a conversation with Pedro was good (introduces it as one of several possible conversations).

So a conversa is used because you are clearly talking about one concrete conversation that both people know about.

Why is it o Pedro instead of just Pedro?

In European Portuguese, it is very common to use a definite article before people’s first names:

o Pedro, a Maria, o João, a Ana

This is normal and sounds natural in everyday speech and informal writing. In more formal or careful written Portuguese (e.g. academic texts, official documents), the article is often dropped: Pedro, Maria, etc.

In Brazilian Portuguese, the article before names is less consistent; some regions use it a lot, others hardly at all. But for Portugal, o Pedro here is exactly what you would expect.

Why is the adjective boa and not bom?

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

conversa is a feminine noun: a conversa
therefore, the adjective must be feminine: boa

So we say:

a conversa foi boa (feminine)
o exame foi bom (masculine)

Bom is the masculine form; boa is the feminine form.

Why is it foi boa and not era boa?

Both foi and era translate as was, but they are different tenses:

foi – past simple (pretérito perfeito), a completed event
era – imperfect (pretérito imperfeito), used for ongoing, habitual, or background descriptions

A conversa com o Pedro foi boa evaluates one specific conversation as a finished event: it happened, it’s over, and you’re judging it as good.

A conversa com o Pedro era boa would usually suggest something like:

The conversation with Pedro used to be good (whenever we talked), or
a contrast: In the past, the conversation with Pedro was good, but now it isn’t.

For a single, specific conversation in the past, foi is the natural choice.

Could I say estava boa instead of foi boa? What’s the difference?

In theory, yes, but it changes the nuance and is less typical with conversa.

foi boa (with ser) – evaluates the whole event as good:
A conversa foi boa. → The conversation was good (overall).
estava boa (with estar) – focuses on a temporary state at a certain moment:
A conversa estava boa. → The conversation was going well / in a good state (at that time).

With events like conversations, meals, parties, etc., Portuguese usually uses ser for an overall evaluation:
A festa foi ótima. / O jantar foi excelente.

Estava boa is extremely common with food or drink (as something you taste):
A sopa estava boa. / O vinho estava ótimo.

You might hear A conversa estava boa in a context like: the conversation was going well at that particular moment, but as a general evaluation, foi boa is the default.

Could I say Depois do exame, tive uma boa conversa com o Pedro instead? Is it still natural?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly natural:

Depois do exame, tive uma boa conversa com o Pedro.
After the exam, I had a good conversation with Pedro.

The nuance changes slightly:

A conversa com o Pedro foi boa – focuses on the quality of that particular conversation.
Tive uma boa conversa com o Pedro – focuses more on the fact that you had a good conversation (the event itself).

Both are correct and idiomatic in European Portuguese; the choice depends on what you want to highlight.

Can I put the time expression at the end and say A conversa com o Pedro foi boa depois do exame?

You can, and it is grammatically correct, but the feel changes a bit.

Depois do exame, a conversa com o Pedro foi boa.
Clearly sets the time first: After the exam, the conversation with Pedro was good.
A conversa com o Pedro foi boa depois do exame.
This can sound slightly more ambiguous, as if you might be contrasting:
- before the exam vs. after the exam, or
- some other time vs. after the exam.

In most contexts, people will still understand it the intended way, but putting Depois do exame at the beginning is the clearest and most neutral option.

Is there any difference between depois do exame and após o exame?

Both mean after the exam, but they differ in style:

depois de / depois do – very common, neutral, used all the time in speech and writing.
após o exame – more formal or literary in tone.

So:

Everyday speech: Depois do exame, a conversa com o Pedro foi boa.
More formal style (e.g. report, article): Após o exame, a conversa com o Pedro foi boa.

Both are correct in European Portuguese.