Breakdown of Eles estiveram no exame na quinta-feira.
eles
they (m)
estar
to be (temporary / location)
em
in / on / at
a quinta-feira
the Thursday
Questions & Answers about Eles estiveram no exame na quinta-feira.
Why use estiveram here instead of foram if both can mean 'were' in the past?
Estiveram is the past tense (Pretérito Perfeito) of estar, which we use for temporary states or physical locations, like being at a specific event. Foram is the past tense of ser (which is used for permanent characteristics) and ir (which means 'to go'). Since the sentence describes their temporary location at the exam, estar is the correct verb to use.
How do I form this past tense version of estar?
Estar is highly irregular in the simple past tense. Instead of keeping its normal stem, the base of the word changes completely to estiv-. To say 'they were', you take this irregular base and add the 'they' ending -eram, giving you estiveram.
Why do we say no exame and na quinta-feira instead of just using the preposition em?
In Portuguese, the preposition em (in/on/at) must merge with the definite articles o and a (the). Because exame is a masculine noun, em + o becomes no (at the). Quinta-feira is a feminine noun, so em + a becomes na (on the). It is mandatory to use these merged forms for days of the week and specific events.
Do I always have to include the -feira part when saying the day of the week?