What's the difference between estuve and estaba?

Question

Los dos estan en pasado, pero necesito saber cual es exactamente ka diferencia entre los dos.

Answer 1

Estuve is the first person singular form of the verb estar in the preterit tense while estaba is the first or third person singular form of estar in the imperfect tense. The imperfect tense is used to describe past events that aren't easily defined as having a definite ending while the preterit tense is used when describing something that happened at a particular moment in time. In my experience, the imperfect tense appears much more often than not when a story is being told.

Answer 2

Estuve= I was (estar form) Estaba= he, she, it, or you(formal usted form of you) was/were (estar form) Estuviste= you were(informal)(estar form)

Welcome to the forum and hope this helps!

Answer 3

Thank you both!!