![]() “Ser” is used because we are identifying a person.The basic structure of sentences in the passive voice uses the “to do” verb ser conjugated in the same tense as the main verb in the active voice. If I had said, “Yo fui doctor.” then I would be implying that I was a doctor, but it was temporary (ending point). The on going situation was that I was a doctor. There is not a focus on when I was a doctor and when I stopped being a doctor. In this case, because we use the imperfect, we are implying that I was always a doctor. The imperfect is used because you do not want to express a specific starting and ending point. We use “ser” because when you talk about nationality “ser” is used. We use “ser” in the imperfect to express “was/were” in an on going sense. (Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes) Eran- They/ All of you (plural) were There was a start and a finish to the action. We use the preterit because we are trying to convey that the situation was not on going. We use “ser” because we are talking about “to be” with “para” to express what something was intended for. If you said, “Yo era el primero en llegar.” then you would be saying “I used to always be the first to arrive.” We use “ser” instead of “estar” because we are identifying who it was that arrived.Įl dinero fue para Marcos. ![]() We use preterit because the act of arriving is not on going. Here are two examples of “ser” being used in the preterit and an explanation on why. We use the regular conditions for “ser” in deciding whether or not to use this verb, but we must think about if the situation is on going (imperfect) or if it has a defined starting and ending point (preterit). (Yo) Fui – I was (Tú) Fuiste – You were (Él/Ella/Usted) Fue – He/ She/ It was (Nosotros/as) Fuimos – We were (Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes) Fueron- They/ All of you (plural) were The imperfect is used because the speaker isn’t specifying the starting and ending points of the condition. “Estar” is used because we are talking about a condition. “Ella estaba contenta con la situación.” (She was happy with the situation.) “Estar” is used because the speaker is talking about what they were doing at that moment. This is an action that was ongoing and does not specify when it started or when it ended. “Yo estaba hablando por teléfono.” (I was talking (on going) on the telephone.) The following are two examples of when to use “estar” in the imperfect tense. Again, the same basic rules for “estar” are used. The start and end of the action is not fixed. We know that you use the imperfect to convey that an action was on going. (Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes) Estaban – They/ All of you (plural) were So if you want to imply that the sickness happened and then it was over you would use the preterit. If we said, “los chicos estaban enfermos.” we would assume that the sickness was ongoing. They were sick on Saturday and then we assume they got over it. ![]() We know that the verb needs to be in the preterit because there is a defined time line of when they were sick. This time we know we have to use “estar” because we are talking about a condition. “Los chicos estuvieron enfermos el sábado pasado.” (The boys were sick last Saturday.) The preterit is used because we have a defined timeline of when he wasn’t in class. “Estar” is used because we are talking about location. “Juan no estuvo en clase ayer.” (Juan wasn’t in class yesterday.) The following are examples of sentences that would need “estar” in the preterit: Now you just need to think about how that may work in the past tense. Like I mentioned before, you are still using the same rules of when to use “ser” and “estar”. (Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes) Estuvieron- They/ All of you (plural) were The following is a chart to show the conjugations for “ser” and “estar” in the past tenses and examples of when to use them. Basically the imperfect tense is used for talking about something that was on going in the past and the preterit is used for talking about a past event that has a clear starting and ending point. ![]() The previous lesson goes into the differences between these two verb tenses. When using “ser” and “estar” in the past tense the same basic rules apply, but you need to think about if the situation calls for the “preterit” or the “imperfect”. ![]() Go to the bottom of the page for worksheets to practice this skill. ![]()
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