Answers
Dec 23, 2012 - 09:05 PM
It should be "estuvo". "Estuve" is incorrect.
Dec 25, 2012 - 11:45 AM
Yes, estuve would be used only when you are talking in first person, like yo estuve. Use estuvo for the others.
Dec 26, 2012 - 02:21 PM
Thank you for your comments. But why use "estuvo" (estar) in the first sentence and "fue" (ser) in the second, when they seem so similar?
Dec 29, 2012 - 09:40 AM
I do recall there are instances where the distinction is a bit fuzzy, and either is acceptable. Google translate prefered "fue" in both instances, did not give "estuvo" as an alternative, although for the first example it did give "estaba" as an alternative which is the imperfect of estar. Maybe someone from Fluenz should wade in here.
Dec 29, 2012 - 04:56 PM
I think they use different verbs for the same reason we would use different verbs in English (i.e. for variety). Also, I believe in the second example, fue actually comes from the verb ir not ser. I translate it as "our flight to Madrid WENT quickly and comfortably."
Dec 29, 2012 - 10:58 PM
I notice that a lot of times when I hear fue I can translate it as WENT also and it sounds fine. So sometimes that's how I think of it when it is used in conjunction with the verb Ir. However in general it is very confusing to me also.
Jan 01, 2013 - 12:55 PM
"Estar" is used for temporary conditions, while "Ser" is used for descriptions of permanent conditions. If I heard "el vuelo fue rapido y comodo" I would believe that the speaker was assessing a permanent condition such that if I took the same flight I would expect the same, but if I heard "estuve corto pero maravilloso" I would believe that the speaker's judgment didn't go beyond that particular "viaje"
Mar 14, 2013 - 12:03 PM
jim, ir and ser are conjugated the same in the preterite (simple past).
Jul 17, 2014 - 01:57 PM
The problem is we not only have two past tenses, Preterit and Imperfect, but we ALSO have two sets of criteria to use to determine if to use the preterit or the imperfect: -1>Does a PERMANENT or TEMPORARY condition exist? 2>was the action COMPLETED or ON GOING?
It get's worse. The decision process is fuzzy: should the decision begin with the question of PERMANENCE or begin with the question of COMPLETED or ON GOING action? Order in the decision process might result in the lack of a unique answer.
A flow chart might be useful :(
It get's worse. The decision process is fuzzy: should the decision begin with the question of PERMANENCE or begin with the question of COMPLETED or ON GOING action? Order in the decision process might result in the lack of a unique answer.
A flow chart might be useful :(
Jul 17, 2014 - 05:07 PM
Estuve is wrong in that sentence, it should be "fue" or "estubo"