The past tense of "ser" and "ir"
The verbs ser (to be) and ir (to go) are highly irregular. However, they share a very helpful secret: their forms in the simple past tense (pretérito perfeito) are exactly the same!
| Pronoun | ser / ir past form |
|---|---|
| eu | fui |
| tu | foste |
| ele / ela / você | foi |
| nós | fomos |
| eles / elas / vocês | foram |
How do you know which verb is being used? Context is key:
- When it means "to go" (ir), the verb is usually followed by a destination (often using the preposition a).
- When it means "to be" (ser), it is usually followed by an adjective or noun to describe a past event, person, or experience.
Here are examples of using these forms to mean "went":
| I went to a fantastic show yesterday. | Ontem fui a um espetáculo fantástico. |
| My sister went to the store to buy food. | A minha irmã foi à loja comprar comida. |
Because they share the exact same conjugation, you can easily use both meanings back-to-back to say where you went and how the experience was:
| We went to the concert and the atmosphere was wonderful. | Nós fomos ao concerto e o ambiente foi maravilhoso. |
| Did you go to the party on Friday? Was it fun? | Vocês foram à festa na sexta-feira? Foi divertida? |
You will frequently use the past tense of ser when reviewing things like meals, services, or trips. Look out for strong descriptive adjectives like horrível (horrible), incrível (incredible), or péssimo (awful):
| The service at the restaurant was horrible. | O serviço no restaurante foi horrível. |
| Yesterday's dinner was incredible. | O jantar de ontem foi incrível. |
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