Preterite of Ser and Ir

Question

The preterite of ser and ir. Seems like it can mean different things like Went, Was, It was etc.. Can someone tell me about the different meanings of the preterite of Ser and Ir it confuses me,

Answer 1

The preterite of ser and ir are identical so fui can mean I was or I went, fuiste can mean you (tú) were or you went, fue can mean you (usted) were, he / she was / went etc.

This is not a confusing as it seems because you can always tell from context of the sentence which it means. The verb ir for example is often followed by the preposition a while ser is usually not.

:) - ian-hill, Jul 18, 2014

Great answer Jubilado :) - FELIZ77, Jul 19, 2014

Answer 2

Jubilado nailed it. These verbs separate themselves better in the past tense in the imperfect form. Also, usually to communicate the past tense of "ser" for something "you were" you would use the imperfect.

"Cuando era joven fui a una universidad muy grande. Iba a estudiar para hacerme profesor, pero no tenía suficiente dinero."

"Ese hombre era bien alto pero estaba triste porque no iba a ser capaz de jugar en el NBA."

*Los que hablan español como tu primer idioma, corríjame por favor .

Very good examples! - Jubilado, Jul 19, 2014

:) - FELIZ77, Jul 19, 2014