I didn't know who he was.

Question

Im trying to use a sentence with the rough meaning of - I didn't know who this guy was but I thought he was a doctor.

For the record, the subject is from the past,, ie someone now dead.

Usually I would guess that its "no sabia quien era" as I always thought to use era when doing descriptions in the past, but I have seen "quien fue" used a lot too.

So would it be "no sabia quien era este hombre Simon, pero pensaba que era un médico" or "no sabia quien fue este hombre Simon, pero pensaba que fue un médico" or fue then era, or does it not make a difference, or something else?

cheers,

Answer 1

Definitely I would use "era". You are not talking about a specific time frame.

No sabía quien era este hombre Simón, pero pensaba que era un médico.

Some tildes are missing in your original post.

Answer 2

What determines imperfecto or pretérito in this case is when your not knowing occurred. If it occurred while the guy was alive, then imperfecto would be appropriate.

If your not knowing occurred after the guy had died, then pretérito should be used.

Answer 3

No sabía quien era este hombre Simon, pero creía (pensaba) que era médico.

Creer is probably better than pensar here. Also the definite article should not be used before médico....that is era médico NOT era un médico.

The imperfect tense is correct for the 4 verbs. The preterite of saber ..supe...means I found out. Simon was always Simon regardless of whether alive or dead.....so era and not fue. I was thinking... covered an indefinite time, therefore creía and not creí.

Answer 4

I should have said indefinite and not definite article. Pide disculpas.

Era médico and not era un médico. Unlike English, Spanish does not put an indefinite article after ser before professions

Answer 5

I would probably say something like,

No lo conocí pero me parece que se dedicó como médico - I didn't know him but I think he was a doctor.

Its not "i think" but "I thought". I know better now, I know that he wasnt a doctor, but I thought he was. Also, my fault for not pointing this out earlier but I am talking about a historical figure. - El_Hitch, Apr 26, 2012

As such doctor perhaps may not have been the best noun to use. Say instead, the proffession is - a General. - El_Hitch, Apr 26, 2012