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Ela esteve na entrevista com o diretor.

Ela esteve na entrevista com o diretor.
She was at the interview with the director.
From Lesson 78:Past tense of ter, estar, poder, and saber·Portuguese (Portugal)

Questions & Answers about Ela esteve na entrevista com o diretor.

Why does this sentence use esteve instead of foi for 'was'?
In English, both map to 'was', but in Portuguese, we use estar for temporary states and locations. Because she was temporarily at an event (the interview), we use the past tense of estar, which is esteve. If you used foi (from ser), it would sound like she was the interview itself!
Is esteve an irregular verb form?
Yes, estar is highly irregular in the simple past tense (Pretérito Perfeito Simples). Instead of taking a standard ending, the stem changes completely. For ela, ele, or você, it becomes esteve.
Why does the sentence say na entrevista instead of just em entrevista?
In Portuguese, locations and events usually require the definite article. You must combine the preposition em (in/at) with the feminine article a (the, matching the feminine word entrevista) to make na. It literally translates to 'at the interview'.
I have also learned estava for 'was'. Could I use that here?
You could say Ela estava na entrevista, but it changes the meaning slightly. estava (the imperfect past) sets an ongoing background scene, like 'She was at the interview (when her phone rang)'. Using esteve (the simple past) focuses on a completed, isolated event: she attended the interview, and that action is now finished.

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