Estar and Ser

JohnC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Estar and Ser

Hola,

Here is my train of thought. "Ayer estuve en un concierto:" "Yesterday" requires the pretérito indefinido because it refers to a completed action at a time in the past, and the verb is estar because it is referring to a location; hence estuve.

However I am stuck with "Fue en San Juan:" Is San Juan not a location? If so, would it require the verb estar rather than ser? 

It would be great if you could explain this.

Many thanks.

Asked 5 years ago
InmaKwiziq team member

Hola John

Good question! One of the specific uses of verb Ser (not estar) is when saying when and where "something takes place". Here is a lesson explaining this. It is a basic lesson so you will probably only find verbs in the present tense, but it applies to all tenses.

https://spanish.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/use-ser-not-estar-to-say-when-where-something-takes-place

Un saludo

Inma

JohnC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hola Inma,

Thanks ... .that's really clear.

Saludos

John

Estar and Ser

Hola,

Here is my train of thought. "Ayer estuve en un concierto:" "Yesterday" requires the pretérito indefinido because it refers to a completed action at a time in the past, and the verb is estar because it is referring to a location; hence estuve.

However I am stuck with "Fue en San Juan:" Is San Juan not a location? If so, would it require the verb estar rather than ser? 

It would be great if you could explain this.

Many thanks.

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