Era/Fue/Estaba...What's the difference?!

Question

please explain clearly! Thank you SO much!

Answer 1

Here are the links to the reference sections that explain the difference between preterit and imperfect tenses.

Imperfect tense

Used for:

1. Actions Repeated Habitually

2. Actions that Set the Stage for other Actions

3. Telling Time and Dates in the Past

4. Describing a Scene or Person in the Past

5. Describing Mental/Emotional States or Desires in the Past

Preterit tense

Used:

1. To Indicate Single Events Took Place in the Past

2. To Indicate an Action that Happened at or for a Specific Amount of Time

3. To Narrate Individual Events

4. To Indicate the Beginning or End of an Action in the Past

Please read the reference articles, you need to study a lot of examples and practice using both.

Answer 2

Era and fue are, respectively, imperfect and preterite forms of the verb ser.

Estaba is the imperfect tense of the verb estar. (The preterite tense is estuve in the first person singular.)

Please see the verb conjugation tables for more info.

And if you don't understand imperfect and preterite, they are the two simple "past tense" forms in Spanish. You'll neen to learn about that.

What is the difference between estuve forms and imperfect (estaba) ? - sarahkalen, Dec 14, 2010