fueron

Fueron is a Spanish verb form that appears in the pretérito indefinido (preterite) tense. It functions as the third-person plural form and can be the preterite of either ser (to be) or ir (to go), so its meaning depends on context: they were or they went.

Etymology and ambiguity: Fueron derives from Latin fuerunt, the third-person plural perfect of esse (to be) and, in the same form, serves as the preterite of ir (to go) in modern Spanish. Because ser and ir share identical conjugations in the preterite, the form fueron is inherently ambiguous and must be clarified through surrounding words or prior knowledge of the situation.

Grammar and usage: Fueron is used to describe completed actions or states in the past for multiple subjects. It contrasts with eran (the imperfect form of ser) or iban (the imperfect form of ir), which express ongoing or repeated past conditions or actions. Examples:

- Ellos fueron al cine ayer. (They went to the cinema yesterday.)

- Ellos fueron muy amables durante la reunión. (They were very kind during the meeting.)

Context and interpretation: When encountering fueron, listeners rely on accompanying words to determine whether the sentence is stating a past state (were) or a past movement (went). This dual potential makes fueron a common source of ambiguity for learners, who typically rely on discourse and temporal cues to disambiguate.

See also: Conjugation of ser and ir; Spanish pretérito indefinido (preterite) forms.