Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Nós íamos responder ao comentário, mas distraímo-nos. - We were going to reply to the comment, but we got distracted.

Íamos is the Pretérito Imperfeito (past continuous) of the verb ir (to go). When you combine it with an infinitive like responder, it translates to "we were going to reply". This is the standard way to express an unfulfilled past intention—something you planned to do, but usually didn't, which is why it is often followed by mas (but).

Why do we use two different past tenses (íamos and distraímo-nos) in the same sentence?

This is a classic past-tense combination! Íamos is in the Imperfeito because it describes a background state or ongoing intention ("we were going to"). Distraímo-nos is in the Pretérito Perfeito because getting distracted was a sudden, completed event that interrupted the plan.

Why is the 's' missing in distraímo-nos? Shouldn't the "we" form be distraímos?

Yes, the normal past tense "we" form is distraímos. However, Portuguese has a strict spelling rule: whenever you attach the pronoun nos to a verb that ends in -s, you must drop that final -s. Therefore, distraímos + nos becomes distraímo-nos.

Why is it ao comentário instead of just o comentário?