fue vs. era

Question

imperfect vs. preterite

summer is not helping my spanish mind.
a little refresher would be extremely helpful!!

is there a lesson on here, that i just havent found yet.'''

Answer 1

The difference between "era" and "fue" has to do with the difference between imperfect and preterite, as these differences apply to all verbs. However, after applying those rules, one can come up with a simple and useful rule that works pretty well most of the time:

"era" is used for descriptions (how things were)
"fue" is used for narrations (how things happened)

Answer 2

i hate everything in my life

I'm so sorry... just try to remember that everybody feels down sometimes and although it can feel as though you're all alone, you're not really. - hollyjollyberry, ENE 9, 2012

Answer 3

There is a lesson here about the preterit and the imperfect, however I'm not certain that it covers fue and era specifically. It is lesson 2.10. http://my.spanishdict.com/learn/show/27

I think Paralee puts it this way in the lessons. Think of the imperfect as creating a setting for the action.
Estaba enojado cuando(I was angry when) dije eso. (I said that.)

Answer 4

Well, there are countless threads on the forum that have to do with questions about the preterite vs. Imperfect. Do a search on the forum first. Also, here is the article about using the preterite from the reference section of this site: http://www.spanishdict.com/reference/verbs/preterit#uses. Here is the article about the imperfect: http://www.spanishdict.com/reference/verbs/imperfect.

I hope that those links help you. Don't hesitate to come back here with any questions you have.