When should I use ser preterite vs ser imperfect?

Question

What ser conjugation should I use in these simply past tense sentences? I am trying to learn how to use fui and era. When I use the machine translators, they go crazy.

I was happy...I was tired...during the show, I was tired...I was impatient...I was fat...I was a teacher.

I've tried to include conditions, characteristics, and a professsion, as I think these have something to do with how fui and era are used.

Also, are the preterite and imperfect forms of ser combined with infinitives, etc. to give different meanings.

Can you recommend reading material?

Answer 1

As far as reading material...

type "era vs. fue" into Google.

Answer 2

Also, don't forget that the rules concerning when to use estar and ser still apply (just to complicate matters )

I was a teacher would use ser. I was happy would use estar in most cases.

Answer 3

Preterite usually refers to something you just did such as "I did the laundry" or "I kicked the cat."

Imperfect refers to things you HAVE done, like when you were a child. When I was a kid, I climbed trees. You can also use it for something like story telling, "It was a dark and stormy night."

Do you do much flying, Daedalus? - CalvoViejo, Sep 28, 2010

Answer 4

Root, if you do a quick search for preterite vs imperfect, you will find plenty of threads that have dealt with this question, including some game threads that are currently open and still generating discussion.