What something was like

era

he/she/it was· tap the form for the whole table

Say these out loud

Why it works

Ser says what something IS: its size, its type, its character.

In the past, a description usually takes the imperfect: era.

Estar says how something IS RIGHT NOW: a state that can change.

Why not estaba

estaba muy grande

it was looking very big

Says it looked big at that moment. Size and character are what a thing IS, so ser.

In a full sentence

Mi anterior piso era pequeño, pero estaba bien comunicado.
My previous flat was small, but it was well connected.
Use era for a lasting quality; estaba describes its location.
Yo era el responsable del deploy del viernes.
I was responsible for Friday’s deploy.
Use era for someone’s role or identity.
El nuevo proyecto era muy ambicioso para el equipo.
The new project was very ambitious for the team.
Use era to describe a project’s characteristic.

5 gaps to fill, then 3 sentences from the English · say or type each one