This is the 150th most frequent Catalan word.
vam
"Vam" is the first-person plural past tense of the auxiliary verb "anar" used to form the periphrastic past tense, meaning "we went" or "we did" (depending on context).
The word 'vam' is used as an auxiliary verb here to indicate the past tense for the first person plural (we) in Catalan.
Ahir vam anar al cinema.
Yesterday we went to the cinema.
'Vam' again serves as an auxiliary verb for past tense indication for 'nosaltres' (we), working with the main verb 'escoltar' and later 'ens vam' with 'sorprendre'.
Quan vam escoltar la notícia, ens vam sorprendre.
When we heard the news, we were surprised.
'Vam' is used to indicate the completed action of studying within the past for 'nosaltres' (we).