Translation needed!

Question

Could anyone please tell me what tenía and era mean?
The dictionary doesn't show me the correct meaning so that I feel so strange with that.

Gracias

Marco

Answer 1

tenia is the past tense of tener (to have). Tenia is then had. El tenia mucho dinero. = He had a lot of money. Ella tenia catarro. = She had a cold.

Era is the past tense of ser. Era is then was. El era el presidente de la compañía. = He was the president of the company.
Era also has the same meaning as the word era in English.

Answer 2

Mucho gracias, Javier.