fui/foste/foi/fomos/foram

Pretérito Perfeito De Ser/Ir

Level 2

In Portuguese, the verbs ser (to be) and ir (to go) share the exact same forms in the simple past tense: fui, foste, foi, fomos, foram. Context and prepositions tell them apart.

How It Works

The Pretérito Perfeito Simples is used for actions that happened at a specific point in time and are now finished.

1. Identical Forms:
Because ser and ir share these forms, you must look at the words following the verb to understand the meaning:

  • Ir (to go): Usually followed by a preposition of direction like a or para (e.g., fui ao banco). In informal Brazilian Portuguese, it is very common to use the preposition em (e.g., fui no banco).
  • Ser (to be): Usually followed by an adjective or a noun (e.g., fui feliz).

2. Conjugation Table:

  • Eu fui (I was / I went)
  • Tu foste (You were / You went - informal)
  • Você/Ele/Ela foi (You/He/She was / went)
  • Nós fomos (We were / We went)
  • Vocês/Eles/Elas foram (You all/They were / went)

3. Nuance of Ser:
While ser often describes permanent traits, in the past tense, fui is used to summarize a completed period of time or a specific event (e.g., 'The party was good').

Examples (5)

  1. Ontem eu fui ao cinema com meus amigos.

    Yesterday I went to the cinema with my friends.

    Word by Word: Yesterday I went to-the cinema with my friends.

    Here, 'fui' means 'went' because it is followed by the preposition 'ao' (to the).

  2. A festa de aniversário foi maravilhosa.

    The birthday party was wonderful.

    Word by Word: The party of birthday was wonderful.

    In this case, 'foi' means 'was' because it describes the quality of the party.

  3. Eles foram viajar para a Europa no verão passado.

    They went traveling to Europe last summer.

    Word by Word: They went to-travel to the Europe in-the summer past.

    When 'foram' is followed by another verb (viajar), it indicates the action of going to do something.

  4. Eu fui professor durante dez anos.

    I was a teacher for ten years.

    Word by Word: I was teacher during ten years.

    Even though being a teacher is a profession (ser), we use 'fui' because the ten-year period is a completed block of time.

  5. Nós fomos à praia no sábado.

    We went to the beach on Saturday.

    Word by Word: We went to-the beach in-the Saturday.

    The use of 'à' (contraction of a + a) indicates movement, so 'fomos' means 'went'.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding a Spanish-style accent to 'fui' or 'foi'.

    Eu fuí ao mercado e o dia foí bom.
    Eu fui ao mercado e o dia foi bom.

    In Portuguese, 'fui' and 'foi' never take an accent mark. This is a common error for those who also study Spanish.

  • Confusing 'fui' (ser) with 'estive' (estar).

    Eu fui em casa ontem à noite.
    Eu estive em casa ontem à noite.

    Use estive for location or temporary states. Use 'fui' for identity or to mean 'went'.

  • Misplacing the stress on 'foram'.

    Eles forAM (stressed on the end).
    Eles FOram (stressed on the first syllable).

    The past tense 'foram' is always stressed on the first syllable. Stressing the last syllable makes it sound like the future tense 'farão'.

How It Connects

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fui/foste/foi/fomos/foramLevel 2Pretérito Perfeito De Ser/Ir

Learn This First

To learn the preterite forms 'fui/foste/foi/fomos/foram', learners must first be familiar with the present tense of the verbs 'ser' (to be) and 'ir' (to go), as these two verbs share identical forms in the past tense. Additionally, knowledge of subject pronouns is necessary to correctly apply each conjugated form.

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