Era vs Fue

Era vs Fue
 

If I want to say "I met a girl in Madrid and she was from Seville, do I say:

conocí a una chica en madrid era de sevilla...

or

conocí a una chica en madrid fue de sevilla...

or are both ok?

Unless you want to communicate that she had moved from Seville by the time you met her, only the first is correct.

thanks Rusty! but if I met her in Madrid she must have moved by the time I met her, no?

Or maybe a simpler scenario:

I want to say "this girl, she was from Seville"

is this correct?

"Esta chica, era de Sevilla"

or

"Esta chica, fue de Sevilla"

Is "fue" like saying "this girl used to be in Seville" where as "era" is simply saying "this girl, she was from Seville"?

or does it need more context?

or maybe if she has moved to Madrid to live, i would say:

"Esta chica, fue de Sevilla"

its ok i have found a solution!

To indicate where someone was living at the time when something else happened in the past, we use the imperfect tense (era de, in your case).
To indicate where someone used to live (had moved from) when something else happened in the past, we use the preterit tense (fue de, in your case).

The explication above uses the verb 'live' to teach the English equivalent. Your sentences used 'to be from (ser de)', but the same concept applies. Either the person is still from the place named or has moved from the place named when something else happened in the past.


You could totally skirt the issue if you drop the verb altogether.
Esta chica de Sevilla ...

This could mean she grew up in Seville, still lives in Seville, or used to live in Seville (has moved from Seville, whether or not she grew up there).
If the person you're speaking with cares to know more detail about where she lives, was living, or used to live, you'll have to include the specifics (by using the verb 'ser de' or 'vivir en'). As you later wrote it, providing that information in a comma-delimited clause already makes it less important than the information in the main clause.

In any event, she either was living (era) or was no longer living (fue) in Seville.

Care to post your solution?

I mostly agree with Rusty, but some of us would be careful with "fue" in this context. Using it might suggest the girl is no longer alive.
I'd use "era" in every case, even if she was living in a city and never went back. ;)

I had that in mind, too. "Was no longer living" suggests she died. So, yes, be careful.