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Al día siguiente, todo estaba tranquilo.

Al día siguiente, todo estaba tranquilo.
The next day, everything was calm.
From Lesson 281:Time words in reported speech (al día siguiente, el día anterior)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Al día siguiente, todo estaba tranquilo.

Why is it "Al día siguiente" and not "En el día siguiente" to say "On the next day"?
In Spanish, you do not use en to say something happened "on" a specific day. To say "on the next day" or "the following day", the standard phrase uses al (which is the preposition a combined with the masculine article el).
Could I use próximo instead of siguiente to say "the next day"?
Generally, no. Próximo means "next" from the perspective of right now (like el próximo martes for "next Tuesday"). Siguiente means "following" from a point in the past or future. Since this sentence tells a story in the past, siguiente is the right word.
Why do we use the imperfect tense estaba instead of the preterite estuvo?
The imperfect tense (estaba) is used here to describe a background setting or an ongoing state in the past. It sets the scene by describing how things were, rather than talking about a completed action with a clear beginning and end.
Why use estar (estaba) instead of ser (era) with tranquilo?
We use estar to describe conditions or states at a specific moment. Here, things were in a temporary state of calm on that day. If you used ser (era), it would imply that the place is permanently calm by nature, rather than just describing the temporary vibe on that particular day.

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