For English speakers, the Spanish past tense can feel like a grammar jungle 🌴. In English, I was works everywhere. But in Spanish, you’ll bump into fui, era, estuve, iba... What? 🤯 But why so many options? Because Spanish sees the past in a different way: it separates completed 📸vs ongoing actions 📹.
Let’s untangle it together in this ultimate showdown! 💥👇
1️⃣ Why does ser and ir turn into fui?🔄
At first glance, ser (‘to be’) and ir (‘to go’) don’t seem related. But in Latin, their past tense forms merged. That’s why in modern Spanish they share the same preterite forms: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. 👉Context is everything:
👨🏻⚕Fui médico durante diez años → I was a doctor for ten years (ser).
🍿Fui al cine ayer → I went to the cinema yesterday (ir).
So yes, fui can mean I was or I went. 🤓
2️⃣Fui, era, preterite, imperfect… what’s going on? 😵💫
In Spanish, the past splits into two main tenses:
Preterite (pretérito indefinido) → actions seen as finished ✅
Imperfect (pretérito imperfecto) → ongoing, descriptive, repeated 🔁
In English, we just say I was. But don’t panic! 😅 In the following sub-sections we’ll look at each case step by step, with clear examples so you won’t get lost.
⚠️Think of preterite as a photo 📸 (complete, closed) and imperfect as a video 📹 (ongoing, descriptive).
🆚 Fui (ser), Era (ser), Fui (ir), Iba (ir):
| Verb and tense | Example in Spanish | Translation and explanation in English | |
| fui (ser, preterite) | Fui profesor durante cinco años | I was a teacher for five years (completed, finished identity) | |
| era (ser, imperfect) | Era profesor cuando vivía en Londres | I was a teacher when I lived in London (ongoing description, background) | |
| fui (ir, preterite) | Fui al supermercado ayer | I went to the supermarket yesterday (completed action of going) | |
| iba (ir, imperfect) | Iba al trabajo en tren cada día | I used to go / was going to work by train every day (habitual, ongoing) | |
3️⃣ Fui vs Estuve: the ser and estar challenge 🧩
Apart from the past tense issue, Spanish learners face another famous problem: ser vs estar. Both mean to be, but…
Ser = identity, essence, definition 💡 (who/what you are).
Estar = condition, state, location 🌍 (how/where you are).
This meaning applies to all tenses — present, past, future... But in the past:
👩🏻💼Fui la responsable del evento → I was the person in charge of the event (role/identity).
💻Estuve en la reunión todo el día → I was at the meeting all day (location).
⚽ Fui muy buen jugador en mi juventud → I was a very good player in my youth (general identity).
🤒Estuve enfermo toda la semana → I was ill all week (state).
👉 In English it’s always I was, but Spanish obliges you to choose: was it about being something (ser) or about being somewhere/feeling somehow (estar). And of course, estar also has its own past tense showdown. Let’s now look at the difference between estuve and estaba in state meaning, because Spanish loves to keep us on our toes! 😅
🆚 Estuve vs estaba
| Verb and tense | Example in Spanish | Translation and explanation in English | |
| estuve (preterite) | Estuve en Madrid el mes pasado | I was in Madrid last month (state / location completed) | |
| estaba (imperfect) | Estaba en Madrid cuando me llamaste | I was in Madrid when you called me (state / location ongoing / descriptive) | |
The choice shows whether the speaker sees the state/location as closed (estuve) 📸 or as part of the background (estaba) 📹.
🎉 Conclusion - was, went?
Let’s recap with a quick cheat sheet 📋:
fui (ser, preterite) → identity💡, finished 📸.
era (ser, imperfect) → identity💡, background description📹.
fui (ir, preterite) → completed action of going ⏩📸.
iba (ir, imperfect) → habitual 🔁, ongoing📹.
estuve (estar, preterite) → state/location🌍, completed📸.
estaba (estar, imperfect) → state/location🌍, ongoing📹.
🤓 Interactive quiz 🇪🇸✨
👉 Now it’s your turn:
Have you ever mixed up fui, era, estaba or estuve in a funny way?
Share your story — we’ve all been there! 😅 💬