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### 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":

{{item:948909}}

{{item:948911}}

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:

{{item:948914}}

{{item:948916}}

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):

{{item:948919}}

{{item:948921}}

Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

prep

preposition

pron

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstratives and the verb to be (isto é, o, a)

Subject pronouns and negation (eu, não)

Yes/no questions and question words (quem, o que)

Plural pronouns, articles, and verbs (somos, são, os, as)

Origin and possession (de, do, da)

Introductions (chamar-se)

Indefinite articles (um, uma, uns, umas)

The verb to be for locations (estar)

Contrasting the two verbs to be (ser vs. estar)

Preposition for locations (em, no, na)

Numbers 0 to 10 (zero, um, dois)

The verb to have (tenho, tem)

Regular -ar verbs (falar, trabalhar)

Regular -er verbs (comer, beber)

Regular -ir verbs (abrir, partir)

My, your, and our (o meu, a nossa)

His, hers, and theirs (dele, dela)

Adjective agreement and placement

Days of the week (segunda-feira)

Months of the year (janeiro)

Counting by tens to 100 (trinta, quarenta...)

Telling time (é uma, são...)

Asking about time (quando, a que horas)

The verb to go (ir)

Prepositions of direction (a, para)

Preposition a contractions (ao, à, aos, às)

Prepositions of place (ao lado de, em frente de...)

Demonstratives (este, esse, aquele)

Contractions with demonstratives (neste, desse, daquele)

Asking which and how many (qual, quanto)

Plurals ending in -ão (-ões, -ãos, -ães)

Plurals ending in consonants (-ns, -is, -es)

The verb to like (gostar de)

The verb to need (precisar de)

The verb to want (querer)

The verb can or may (poder)

Expressing obligation (ter de)

Adverbs of degree (muito, pouco)

Quantifiers (muito, pouco)

Comparatives (mais... do que, menos... do que)

Equality comparisons (tão... como)

The preposition com (comigo, contigo)

Coordinating conjunctions (e, mas, ou, porque)

The preposition por (pelo, pela)

Double negation (nunca, nada, ninguém)

Present continuous (estar a)

Near future (ir)

Past tense of regular -ar verbs

Past tense of regular -er and -ir verbs

Direct object pronouns (me, te, o, a, nos, os, as)

Pronoun placement with negatives and questions

Greetings and courtesy (bom dia, obrigado)

Physical states with ter (ter fome, ter frio)

Asking the way (à direita, sempre em frente)

Colours (vermelho, amarelo, cor-de-rosa)

Money and shopping (custar, a moeda)

Getting around (o motorista, a paragem de autocarro)

Weather and seasons (faz calor, o inverno)

Omitting the subject pronoun

Where things are: ficar (Onde fica...?)

Richer questions: que + noun and é que

Numbers above 100 (cento e vinte, mil)

First-person sound changes (durmo, prefiro)

Advice and ability: dever and saber

Asking why: porquê and porque

When one thing happens: quando-clauses

Here and there: aqui, aí, ali (cá e lá)

Formal and plural possessives: o seu, o vosso

Irregular presents: ver, vir, dar

Present irregulars

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Stem-changing reflexives

Attached object pronouns (-lo, -la, -los, -las)

Nasal attached pronouns (-no, -na, -nos, -nas)

Pronoun placement with adverbs

Past tense of fazer, dizer, and trazer

Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber

Past tense of querer and vir

Past tense of ver, dar, and ler

Past tense reflexive verbs (-se)

Time elapsed in the past (há)

Already and not yet (já, ainda não)

Question	Answer
the show	o espetáculo
fantastic	fantástico
I went to a fantastic show yesterday.	Ontem fui a um espetáculo fantástico.
the food	a comida
My sister went to the store to buy food.	A minha irmã foi à loja comprar comida.
the atmosphere / the environment	o ambiente
wonderful	maravilhoso
We went to the concert and the atmosphere was wonderful.	Nós fomos ao concerto e o ambiente foi maravilhoso.
fun	divertido
Did you go to the party on Friday? Was it fun?	Vocês foram à festa na sexta-feira? Foi divertida?
the service	o serviço
horrible	horrível
The service at the restaurant was horrible.	O serviço no restaurante foi horrível.
incredible	incrível
Yesterday's dinner was incredible.	O jantar de ontem foi incrível.
The trip was not easy.	A viagem não foi fácil.
The actors were very nice.	Os atores foram muito simpáticos.
The flight from Lisbon was fast.	O voo de Lisboa foi rápido.
The bus trip was incredible and fun.	A viagem de autocarro foi incrível e divertida.
Didn't you go to the cinema yesterday?	Tu não foste ao cinema ontem?
awful	péssimo
The weekend in the countryside was awful.	O fim de semana no campo foi péssimo.
The show was fantastic, but the service was awful.	O espetáculo foi fantástico, mas o serviço foi péssimo.
The food was horrible, but the environment was wonderful.	A comida foi horrível, mas o ambiente foi maravilhoso.