When is the spanish verb ser used?

Answer 1

You use the preterite tense when you are talking about a completed action that happened during a specific time frame.

Ex.

1. I skipped school yesterday.

2. He began working out last week.

Do not confuse it with the imperfect tense, which describes an uncompleted action or an action that took place over an indefinite time period.

Ex.

1. I used to skip school when I was young.

2. He always worked out.

Answer 2

Imperfect is used when describing a number of things, making imperfect v preterite a very difficult concept. It is generally used when describing:

Age (during event)

Time (of event)

'Going to...'

Habitual Actions

Answer 3

The verb "ser" is most commonly defined in English as "to be." It is very tricky to distinguish when to use the verb "ser" from when to use the verb "estar," since both of them have the same English translation but cannot be used interchangeably. As a general rule you use "ser" when you want to identify or classify something.

When you want to use the word "to be":

• Always use "ser" with time-related adverbial phrases. For example, to be late is "ser tarde," and to be spring is "ser la primavera."
• Always use "ser" before a noun or pronoun. Whenever you say that one thing is something else, like a profession or a material or an identifying trait, use "ser."
• Before an adjective you use "ser" if the trait is permanent. Ask yourself if this is something normal (Marta is Scandinavian, she is normally Scandinavian, therefore use "ser") or if it is something unusual (John is sick, he is not usually sick, therefore use "estar" and not "ser").
• When you are talking about the location of an object you use "ser" only when it identifies the noun you are talking about. For example: 'The house that is third on the right" describes the location of the house as an identifier.
• Never use ser with gerunds
• If you are using passive voice use "ser."

Answer 4

yo hice, tu hiciste, el hizo, nosotros hacemos, ellos hicieron

Answer 5

"cuando puedes (insert infinitive verb here)." for example. "cuando puedes nadar conmigo?" means, when can you swim with me?

Answer 6

"Preterite" is an English word; it is a form of the past tense. In Spanish, preterite is "pretérito."

Answer 7

The standard conjugation endings are: é, aste, ò, amos, asteis, aron.

Answer 8

fui / fuiste / fue / fuimos / fuisteis / fueron