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Nós fomos ao concerto e o ambiente foi maravilhoso.

Nós fomos ao concerto e o ambiente foi maravilhoso.
We went to the concert and the atmosphere was wonderful.
From Lesson 66:Past tense of ser and ir (fui, foi)·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Nós fomos ao concerto e o ambiente foi maravilhoso.

Wait, are fomos and foi from the same verb here?
No, but they share the exact same forms in this past tense! fomos comes from ir (to go), meaning "we went". foi comes from ser (to be), meaning "it was". You can always tell which verb is meant by looking at the context. Here, you go to a concert, and the atmosphere is wonderful.
Why does the sentence use ao before concerto?
In Portuguese, when you go to a specific place, you usually combine the preposition a (to) with the definite article (the). Since concerto is a masculine noun, we combine a + o to make ao (to the).
Why is the atmosphere described with foi (from ser) instead of a past tense form of estar?
This is a great question, since an atmosphere feels temporary! However, we use ser to evaluate how an event turned out or how it was experienced as a whole. Because the concert was a specific, completed event, we say foi maravilhoso (it was wonderful).
Doesn't ambiente usually mean "environment"?
Yes! While ambiente is the literal word for "environment" (like nature), it is also the most common word used to talk about the "atmosphere", "mood", or "vibe" of a place or event.

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