Learning Spanish One verb at a Time. Ser. Imperfect and simple past. Imperfect subjunctive.

 

Learning Spanish

One Verb at a Time

Ser- To Be

Imperfect past, simple past and imperfect subjunctive.

These tenses represent a challenge for the student because they can be translated in the same way into English.

And so we can see that in: “fuiste el mejor estudiante; eras el más joven de tu casa and Ojalá fueras mi vecina the verb Ser is understood in English as Were.

I am sure that these natural phrases and the context expressed will help you to understand it and learn it easily and correctly. There's a light at the end of this tunnel.

  

Fui el primero en llegar a la clase ayer. I was the first to get to class yesterday.

Luis era el más alto de la clase. Luis was the tallest in the class.

Si yo fuera millonario, viajaría por todo el mundo. If I were a millionaire I would travel all over the world.

Fuimos seleccionados para el equipo. We were selected for the team.

Eran las siete de la mañana cuando me desperté. It was 7 a.m. when I woke up.

Siempre fuiste muy amable conmigo. You were always very nice to me.

Éramos buenos amigos cuando éramos niños. We were good friends when we were kids.

Si ella fuera doctora, salvaría muchas vidas. If she were a doctor, she would save many lives.

Yo no haría eso si fuera tú. I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

Éramos los mejores jugadores del equipo. We were the team’s best players.

Si fueras más organizado, todo se te haría más fácil. If you were more organized, everything would become easier for you.

Bárbara era gerente en la tienda. Barbara was manager at the store.

Era un día lluvioso cuando  Rina se fue. It was a rainy day when Rina left.

Si yo fuera presidente, cambiaría muchas cosas. If I were president, I would change so many things.

One by one

In this section you will find sentences classified according to the conjugation of the verb Ser.

It is important to associate the verb tenses(conjugations) with moments, that is to say, the verb tense obeys to the moment in which an action happens in relation to the present moment and so we call past to any moment previous to now, future to what we are going to live and of course; the present describes the "current moment".

Imperfect Past:

• Cuando yo era niño, era muy travieso. When I was a child, I was very playful / naughty.

• Mi abuela era una mujer muy sabia. My grandmother was a very wise woman.

• El cielo era de un azul intenso cada verano. The sky was deep blue every summer. 

• Las calles eran de tierra y piedra en esa época. Streets were made of dirt and stone at that time.

• La casa de mis abuelos era grande y acogedora. My grandparents' house was big and cozy.

• Mis padres eran muy jóvenes cuando se casaron. My parents were very young when they got married.

• Recuerdo que la comida era deliciosa en aquel restaurante. I remember the food was delicious at that restaurant

• La música era muy alegre y contagiosa. The music was lively and catchy.

• El ambiente era muy tranquilo y relajado. The atmosphere was very calm and relaxed.

• La película era muy interesante y emocionante. The movie was very interesting and exciting.

Simple Past:

• No fui yo. It wasn’t me.

• Fui director de la escuela por dos años. I was the school principal for 2 years.

• Laura fue la campeona del torneo. Laura was the tournament champion.

• El final de la película fue triste. The end of the movie was sad.

• Viajar en barco fue algo inolvidable. Traveling by boat was unforgettable.

• Fuimos los últimos en llegar a la fiesta. We were the last to arrive at the party.

• Disculpa, no fue mi intención. Sorry, I didn’t mean to. / Sorry it wasn’t my intention.

Imperfect Subjunctive:

• Ojalá fuera millonario. I wish I were a millionaire / If only I were a millionaire.

• Si yo fuera tú, haría las cosas de otra manera. If I were you, I would do things differently.

• Aunque fuese difícil, lo intentaría de nuevo. Even if it was difficult I would try it again.

• Como fui quien lo rompió, yo lo arreglaré. Since it was me who broke it, I’ll fix it.

• Te dijeron que no fueras egoísta, comparte. You were told not to be selfish, share.

• Ojalá fuera verano. I wish it was summer.

• No pensé que fueras de México. I didn't think you were from Mexico.

Note: Sentences with the verb Ser in the imperfect subjunctive can also have the "-se" ending. For example, "Ojalá yo fuera millonario" can also be "Ojalá yo fuese millonario", ojalá tú también fueses millonario y todos fuesemos …(I were millionaire, you were and we all were …)

The conjugation WERE is used because of its hypothetical meaning in these sentences.

Watch the video for this article and improve your listening and pronunciation skills at: https://youtu.be/xyiFqWS_lQE

¡Hasta la próxima, cuidense mucho!