Difference Between Fue and Era

Fue vs Era

Fue and era happen to be past tenses of ser that are very confusing for someone learning the nuances of the Spanish language. In general, it is easier to master the tense of a verb as there are two forms known as preterite and imperfect and one has to use preterite tense for an event that was held at a known time in the past while imperfect tense has to be used for events and actions that happened in the past but on several occasions with no definite end. This article attempts to find out the differences between fue and era to make it easier for students of Spanish language to master these past tenses.

Fue

Fue is a past tense of the action verb ser in Spanish language that is imperfect in nature. It can be used when the speaker is talking about an event from the past, and he is sure about when that happened. If you want to let another person know that you or some other person was having difficulty in controlling the shots while playing tennis, it is better to use the preterite tense of ser, which is fue. In general, fue is the past tense of ser that is to be used when one desires to recount events or to explain how things happened. Use fue when you are sure of the beginning and the end of an event.

Era

Era is an imperfect past tense of ser that is to be used when one is not sure of a definite beginning or ending of an event. Similarly, when talking about a relationship or any other thing instead of a person, it is better to make use of imperfect past tense of ser that is era. Thus, one can use the imperfect era without any worry as long as he is talking about things in general and not referring to a specific event or time from the past.

Fue vs Era

• Era and fue are past tenses of the action verb ser in Spanish language, but whereas fue is preterite, era is imperfect past tense of ser.

• Era is to be used when one is talking about things that happened in the past in general, and there is no specific beginning or ending.

• Fue is a past tense of ser that has to be used when one is talking about an event that has a definite beginning and ending.

• Use era if you are not sure whether the event took place at a given time in the past.