Thread: Fui/Era

Is there any trick or advice you could give me to understand how to seperate the difference.. between Fui/Era.. I understand that one is imperfect and the other is preterit but I still can't grasp the Idea..

fui could be I was / I've been

era means "I used to be" or "It used to be" depending on the context / person

Also, for instance "where was it"? referring to a place means "dónde era?"

hope it helps

Originally Posted by nickdisipio

Is there any trick or advice you could give me to understand how to seperate the difference.. between Fui/Era.. I understand that one is imperfect and the other is preterit but I still can't grasp the Idea..

The context is important. For example:
Yo era un niño cuando asesinaron a Kennedy. I was a boy when Kennedy was murdered.
Yo fui un tonto cuando vendí mi casa. I was a fool when I sold my house.

There are not interchangeable in those sentences. "Era" is an action that continued for certain time. "Fui" is something that only lasted a few moments. At least, that´s the way I use them.

Originally Posted by fernando el casir

The context is important. For example:
Yo era un niño cuando asesinaron a Kennedy. I was a boy when Kennedy was murdered.
Yo fui un tonto cuando vendí mi casa. I was a fool when I sold my house.

There are not interchangeable in those sentences. "Era" is an action that continued for certain time. "Fui" is something that only lasted a few moments. At least, that´s the way I use them.

Thank you so much.. that REALLY helps me, I new it was a continued action but I didnt quite understand what that meant but your explanation helped me alot.. thank you!