Era vs Fue

Era vs Fue
 

When exactly should these be used? Is it the same meaning if I said something like "Fue bueno que ganaras el partido" and "Era bueno que ganaras el partido"??

"Fue" if it has already happened.
"Era" if you're talking about the moment when it was happening. :thinking:

Aw! I was expecting for your answer... :rolleyes:

Ok Lou Ann? Can you set us up straight? :)

You must know this, right?

This is an interesting statement, because I don't know what you mean. Were you hoping for or expecting? What would you have said in Spanish?

Uh oh - I missed this last night. I actually make this mistake all the time, and am still trying to work out my own approach to it.

Era is the imperfect tense, so I think of it more as a verb that creates a setting or a descriptor, or an action whose end is unclear (right?).

Fue is the preterite tense, so I think of it more as an action in the past with a clearly understood beginning and end.

I'm looking at some examples on a different website, and see a discussion based on two similar sentences:

Él era guapo.
Él fue guapo.

Which sentence means what? I imagine that if I am telling a story about something that happened in the past and I'm trying to set the scene, I might use "él era guapo", and then go on to add other scene-setting details ... "la noche era muy oscura y tranquila", etc....

Then I would guess that the other sentence would be used to explain something that happened and is over. "Mi padre falleció hace ocho años. Él fue guapo."

Is any of this correct?

I thought I wrote in English... :rolleyes:

I was expectant, I was sure Angelica was going to answer.

In Spanish "esperar" is used for wait/expect and hope. ;)

I think all of those are correct. The problem is that Spanish grammar rules does not really provide a clear cut on these examples, and there are always discussions on these. The people that know try to make it even more confusing to let people who don't know grammar, as me, to think whatever. :wicked:

La tipa esa fue guapa en su juventud, pero ya no lo es.
La tipa esa era guapa en su juventud, pero ya no lo es.

In the case of the original question: "Fue bueno que ganaras el partido" and "Era bueno que ganaras el partido"

Fue bueno que ganaras el partido. The match has been won and it feel really good because you were on the winning team.

Era bueno que ganaras el partido. I am talking about the times when you used to play football and while something else was going on, the fact that you were in the winning team signified something really important to you and who knows maybe the country? :)

It depends on context.

I would have to agree with Perikles on this. Your statement in English was confusing. The question was asked. Angelica answered it. Then you said "Aw! I was expecting for your answer... :rolleyes:". In English, that sounds like you were expecting her answer, and then she didn't give it. It was also a bit ambiguous as to whom you were talking ... Angelica? Or someone else? That's why he asked the question.... I almost did the same...

"Mi padre falleció hace ocho años. Él era guapo." (with "fue" you are trying to coordinate the tense with "falleció" which is in another sentence). I can't think of a sentence containing "fue guapo" with guapo meaning handsome, because I can't imagine the exact situation, precise chronology or time of ceasing to be handsome as a point of interest in speech. The key point is not if some situation is over but if you need to set the action including a label of it being over, for instance, there's no need to describe the looks of you dead father by also stating the coordinated dead of his looks.

For a person, I was always taught that it was supposed to be with "era", never "fue" Actually I think Rusty taught me that the first time on this site :D

Angelica, what exactly do you mean? I don't quite understand.

Maybe I should have added.

I was expecting for your answer to be accurate and knowledgeable...? (who know what my head thinks):)

Thanks for clarifying. That makes more sense now. But you still don't want the "for" there...

Now that you say it and I read it again.... you're right!

Fue bueno que ganaras el partido: You have already won the game and I'm glad you did.
Era bueno que ganaras el partido: You were winning the game and at that moment I was thinking it was good that you did. (Or, you were winning the game and I thought that it was good until something made me change my mind).


Juan era guapo: Something happened and he's not good looking anymore, but I'm describing him as he used to be.
Juan fue guapo: His good looks are buried in the past and there is no memory of them.

La casa era grande: I describe the house as it used to be.
La casa fue grande: A part of it was demolished and it's smaller now.

Mi abuelo sabía contar historias: I remember my grandfather's talent for telling stories.
Mi abuelo supo contar historias: Sometimes in the past, my father told some opportune story.

Thanks - these are really useful examples. The differences between preterite and imperfect in Spanish are difficult for the English speaker, because they are not the same differences as in English.

Sorry I'm just getting back to this. Crazy week. :yuck: These examples are wonderful, Malila ~ and extremely helpful! I have a quick question, though, about the can of worms that I opened (apparently) with the "fue guapo / era guapo" comment.

What if I were telling a story, and I was setting a scene. "The night was cold, the restaurant was smoky, the man with me was handsome. The waitress approached us and........"? I haven't seen that man again since that night. I don't anything of him all these years later....

The night was cold... La noche era fría... (Imperfect)
the restaurant was smoky... El restaurante era lleno de humo... (Imperfect)
the man with me was handsome... El hombre conmigo era guapo... (???) (Imperfect??)
The waitress approached us... La maza nos acercó.... (Preterite)
:?::?::?:

True, true!!

Fue bueno que vinieses.

To was good you come.

Before were good to eat in the street, but now that's not good to eat for a lot of illness.
Antes era bueno comer en la calle, pero ahora no es bueno comer por tantas enfermedades.

I hope my example can help you.

Comments and corrections above...

But check the meaning of "maza" in the dictionary... it would have been rather scary if such a thing approached us. ;)

Yeah, maza - ingredient in tortillas. I had it in my head because of the thing I asked about in a different thread (tener las manos en la maza). And I didn't realize that "mozo" is pejorative in Mexico. The word was used all the time in Argentina. "Camarero" would be more generic for all countries? I am following the other corrections you made ... but am glad that I chose imperfect vs. preterite correctly each time. :-/ Thanks, Malila!

No, dear. "Masa" is the one for making tortillas.
"Maza" is a mace (the weapon).

"Camarero" might be fine when people notice you're a foreigner, but just for the sake of regionalisms, in Mexico it's only used in dubbed movies. ;)

masa, maza ... ugh! My spelling has been all over the map these past few days.

I asked a Salvadoran friend about this, and she said that they mostly use "mesero", but she didn't realize that "mozo" is pejorative... She didn't really think that "camarero" would be common.... I'll keep working on my regionalisms! Thank you!! :)