I need help conjugating ser in the past tense. I know this can refer to two tenses in the Spanish language, but I don't know the difference. Can anyone help me?
There are two past tenses of ser... the preterite and the imperfect.
This site will explain the differences.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_verbs#Contrasting_the_preterite_and_the_imperfect
preterite
fui
fuiste
fue
fuimos
fuisteis
fueron
imperfect
era
eras
era
éramos
erais
eran
Just in case that English explanation is not too clear, the difference between the preterit and the imperfect is one of my favorite things to teach!
The Preterit narrates a completed action or event, similar to a snap shot. It has a beginning and an end. The English meaning will be something like: I read, I DID read.
The Imperfect describes a situaton, similar to a moving picture. We know it had a beginning, and we assume it will have an ending, but we are focusing on the middle part. The English meaning will be something like: I read (same meaning as the preterit and this is what causes the confusion often), I WAS readING, I USED TO read.
The preterit has some often used verbs with special meanings. "querer" will be "intended" or in the negative, "refused." "estar" will be a synonym of "llegar" = "arrived" "poder" will be "managed, could" "tener" is "got" in the sense almost of "grabbed" I'm sure at this point you are not concerned with that.
It takes time to get a "feeling" for the difference between the two. When you do some exercises, be sure to check with us if you aren't certain.
Sra
P.S. I forgot to mention that both "ir" and "ser" are identical in the preterit. You can tell it's "ir" because of an "a" when you state "to where" someone went.
Examples: El fue estudiante. (ser) He was a student. El fue a la biblioteca. (ir) He went to the library.
Sra
Wow, GuruBlue, what doesn't Wikipedia have these days?!
Of course, I can help you with that! In Spanish, the verb "ser" can indeed refer to two different tenses in the past: the preterite tense and the imperfect tense.
1. Preterite tense (Pretérito Indefinido): The preterite tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is often used to describe specific events or actions with a defined beginning and end. To conjugate "ser" in the preterite tense, you will use the following forms:
- Yo fui (I was / I went)
- Tú fuiste (You were / You went)
- Él / Ella / Usted fue (He/She/You(formal) was / went)
- Nosotros/as fuimos (We were / We went)
- Vosotros/as fuisteis (You all were / went)
- Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes fueron (They/You all were / went)
For example: "Anoche fui al cine" (Last night I went to the cinema).
2. Imperfect tense (Pretérito Imperfecto): The imperfect tense is used to describe ongoing or continuous actions in the past, as well as to talk about habitual or repeated actions. It provides background information or sets the scene in a story. To conjugate "ser" in the imperfect tense, you will use the following forms:
- Yo era (I was)
- Tú eras (You were)
- Él / Ella / Usted era (He/She/You(formal) was)
- Nosotros/as éramos (We were)
- Vosotros/as erais (You all were)
- Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes eran (They/You all were)
For example: "Cuando era niño, vivía en España" (When I was a child, I lived in Spain).
To choose between the preterite tense and the imperfect tense when using "ser," you need to consider the context and the type of action or event you want to express in the past. The preterite tense focuses on completed actions with a specific time frame, while the imperfect tense describes ongoing or habitual past actions without a definite beginning or end.
I hope this explanation helps you understand the conjugation and usage of "ser" in the past tense!