Portuguese · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 43
Fui para a praiaI went to the beach
Travel and holidays. Vocabulary: a viagem, viajar, as férias, o hotel, a passagem, o aeroporto, a mala, o passaporte, conhecer, o passeio. Key point: the IRREGULAR PRETERITE. In chapter 34 you learned the regular past (comprei, comi, abri). But four very travel-useful verbs do NOT follow that pattern: IR (to go) and SER (to be) — both have the same form → eu fui, você/ele foi, nós fomos, eles foram; FAZER (to do/make) → eu fiz, você/ele fez, nós fizemos, eles fizeram; TER (to have) → eu tive, você/ele teve, nós tivemos; ESTAR (to be) → eu estive, você/ele esteve, nós estivemos. This is how you tell about a trip: "Fui para a praia, o hotel foi ótimo, fiz muitas fotos, tive um dia lindo e estive em Salvador" (I went to the beach, the hotel was great, I took many photos, I had a lovely day and I was in Salvador). Trap number one: confusing "eu fui" (I) with "eu foi" (wrong) — "foi" is for você/ele. English speakers also try to regularise ("eu fazi" ✗ instead of "eu fiz" ✓).
Dialogue
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Eu foi / eu fui; eu fazi / eu fiz
- BiaMike, você sumiu na semana passada! Onde você foi?Mike, you disappeared last week! Where did you go?
- MikeEu foi para o Rio! E eu fazi um passeio de barco.I went to Rio! And I did a boat trip. (two slips: "eu foi" should be "eu fui"; "fazi" should be the irregular "fiz")
- BiaQue bom! Só duas coisinhas: com "eu" é "fui", não "foi". E de "fazer" o passado é "fiz", não "fazi".How nice! Just two little things: with "eu" it is "fui", not "foi". And from "fazer" the past is "fiz", not "fazi".
- MikeAh, é verdade — são irregulares! Então: eu fui para o Rio e fiz um passeio de barco.Ah, right — they are irregular! So: I went to Rio and I did a boat trip.
- BiaIsso! E como foi? Você teve um bom tempo?That's it! And how was it? Did you have good weather?
- MikeTive, sim! Foi inesquecível. Estive na praia todos os dias.Yes, I did! It was unforgettable. I was on the beach every day.
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As férias do ano passado— Last year's holiday
- LucasBia, para onde você foi nas férias do ano passado?Bia, where did you go on holiday last year?
- BiaEu fui para o Nordeste. Estive em Recife e depois em Salvador.I went to the Northeast. I was in Recife and then in Salvador.
- LucasQue inveja boa! E o que você fez por lá?What lovely envy! And what did you do there?
- BiaFiz um passeio de barco, comi muito acarajé e tive dias de sol lindos.I did a boat trip, I ate a lot of acarajé and I had lovely sunny days.
- LucasE o hotel, foi bom? A viagem foi cara?And the hotel, was it good? Was the trip expensive?
- BiaO hotel foi simples, mas tivemos tudo o que precisávamos. Valeu cada centavo.The hotel was simple, but we had everything we needed. It was worth every cent.
Vocabulary
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- a viagem
n.f.trip, journey
- viajar
verbto travel
- as férias
n.f.pl.holidays, vacation
- o hotel
n.m.hotel
- a passagem
n.f.ticket (travel)
- o aeroporto
n.m.airport
- a mala
n.f.suitcase
- o passaporte
n.m.passport
- conhecer
verbto get to know, visit (for the first time)
- o passeio
n.m.outing, walk, tour
- a praia
n.f.beach
- inesquecível
adjectiveunforgettable
- no ano passado
adverblast year
Grammar
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The irregular preterite: fui/foi, fiz/fez, tive, estive
Explanation
In chapter 34 you saw the regular past: comprei, comi, abri. Now, four essential travel verbs have an IRREGULAR past — worth memorising as blocks. (1) IR (to go) and SER (to be) have EXACTLY the same past form, and context tells which: eu FUI, você/ele/ela FOI, nós FOMOS, eles/elas FORAM. "Fui para a praia" (went) and "A viagem foi ótima" (was). (2) FAZER: eu FIZ, você/ele FEZ, nós FIZEMOS, eles FIZERAM — "Fiz muitas fotos" (I took many photos). (3) TER: eu TIVE, você/ele TEVE, nós TIVEMOS, eles TIVERAM — "Tivemos um dia lindo" (We had a lovely day). (4) ESTAR: eu ESTIVE, você/ele ESTEVE, nós ESTIVEMOS, eles ESTIVERAM — "Estive em Salvador" (I was in Salvador). Notice the "tive/estive" pattern (with -IVE) and "fiz/fez". The main TRAP: the "eu" form and the "você/ele" form are different — it is "eu FUI" and "você FOI", never "eu foi" ✗. Because these verbs appear so often, English speakers tend to regularise them by chapter 34's pattern ("eu fazi" ✗, "eu estei" ✗); but they are irregular: "eu fiz" ✓, "eu estive" ✓. Put it all together to tell about a holiday: "No ano passado fui a Portugal, fiz um passeio de barco, o hotel foi simples mas tive umas férias inesquecíveis" (Last year I went to Portugal, I took a boat trip, the hotel was simple but I had an unforgettable holiday).
Examples
- No ano passado eu fui para a praia com a minha família.Last year I went to the beach with my family.
- A viagem foi longa, mas o hotel foi muito bom.The trip was long, but the hotel was very good.
- Fiz muitas fotos e conheci lugares novos.I took many photos and got to know new places.
- Nós tivemos um dia lindo e estivemos na montanha.We had a lovely day and we were in the mountains.
- Onde você foi nas férias? Eu estive em Portugal.Where did you go on holiday? I was in Portugal.
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