Fue vs era in past tense descriptions.

Question

Say I'm describing someone who is dead. I'm describing their characteristics.

I want to say that He was rich. She was important. He was a politician. She was considered beautiful.

Etc.

In such cases I have heard "era" used a lot and I have heard "fue" a lot. For example I have heard the same person described in different pieces, "el era un Jefe" and "el fue un miembro de la organización"

Can they both be used. Should I interchange which one I use, or is there a correct option?

cheers.

Hi Hitch, I is always spelled with a capital letter, as you very well know;) - 00494d19, Feb 21, 2011

I make this mistake because I am accustomed to programmes capitalising "I" for me automatically. Sorry. - El_Hitch, Feb 21, 2011

Answer 1

This depends on exactly what you want to say.

For example, She was important. If you use era, she was important for an indefinite period in the past, and possibly still important now. If you use fue, she was important once and then no longer. It's over.

You may want to review the conditions for which preterite (fue) and imperfect (era) tense apply.

Here's a good recent answer that may help. You can use the Search feature of the Answers forum to find plenty of others. Search for "preterite vs imperfect".

preterite-and-imperfect-tenses

Answer 2

Fue importante. Era diputado. She was important. He was a politician.

Toma nota es era diputado y no era un diputado. - kenwilliams, Feb 21, 2011

Answer 3

It very much depends on exactly what you want to say/are trying to say

Ser is used for occupations and to describe the characteristics of a person

Por ejemplo:

1 Los estudiantes son inteligente =The students are inteligent

The imperfect is used for describing a Scene or Person in the Past

2 Mi padre era jardinero. (My father was a gardener.) era is the imperfect tense of ser

3 Mi tío era marinero (My uncle was a sailor)

The imperfect tense is also used to describe the physical emotional or mental condition of a person:

por ejemplo Mi madre era muy hermosa cuando pequeña = My mother was very beautiful when she was young

( El) Era rico = He was rich

(Ella) Era famosa = She was famous

La fiesta fue un gran éxito = The party was a great success

I hope that helps

Era marinero, not era un marinero and tio is uncle not brother. - kenwilliams, Feb 21, 2011

Thank you Ken I had already corrected the mistake about Uncle that was simply an oversight since I had changed my mind about whether to use brother or uncle in the example - FELIZ77, Feb 21, 2011