I have a question about estar and ser
I saw a sentence "el libro fue escrito en español por mi profesor" I would have used estuvó because writing is an action.
2 Answers
This is a prime example of the passive voice.
When we have a constrution such as your example (Subject + action + preformer)
Ser is used for the action itself
Estar is used for the condition that results from the action.
So when we say that something is done BY someone, we will use ser for the action.
Elena fue detenida POR la policía.
La ensalada fue preparada POR mi mamá.
Los espaguetis son cocinados POR mi abuela.
Los espaguetis están cocinados. (como resultado de cocinarlos)
Ella está detenida. (como resultado de detenerla)
Brady´s answer is awesome. Just look for cases when fue is followed by a past participle, and you´ll know you´re dealing with the passive voice.
Fue hecho por ellos. It was done by them.
You have to keep an eye out that the participle won´t always be in its base form (i.e. ending in O) but sometimes -a, or -os, or -as, since it´s functioning as a predicate adjective.
