Era un niño.
If I use to be a child, then I have completed that stage of my life.
I accept the fact that "era" refers to actions that have not been completed, imperfect. But, this confuses me. Help.
3 Answers
You're on to something there, but you got it a bit wrong. The imperfect tense refers to actions that hadn't been completed at that particular time in the past, not all the way until the present.
So, if you talk about an event that happened during your childhood, even if that was ten years ago, you can refer to yourself as "era un niño" because at that time you were still a boy, even if you are not anymore now.
Another example: if you were reading a book yesterday, regardless of whether you have finished reading it or not, and you want to talk about something that happened while you were reading the book, you would say: "ayer mientras leía un libro comprobé lo cómodo que es este sillón".
The real translation of your sentence is:
Si suelo ser un niño, entonces he completado esa etapa de mi vida.
Cuando existía la peseta en España, yo todavía era una niña. When the peseta was in Spain, I still was a child
Yo fui una niña muy inquieta. I was a very restless child (and this have finished)
And subjuntive sentences:
Si fuera una niña, no tendría tantas responsabilidades If I *were a child I wouldn't have so many responsibilities (utopian)*
Que sea una adulta no quiere decir que en ocasiones mi comportamiento no sea infantil. That I am an adult does not mean that my behavior sometimes is not childish.
Please, correct my English if it slips.
Era = Was
Like "once was"
I do not know if this answers anything, but who knows.
