fuisteis

Fuisteis is the second-person plural preterite indicative form of the Spanish verbs ser and ir for the pronoun vosotros. Therefore, it translates as you all were or you all went, depending on the sentence. The form is used to describe completed past actions or states with vosotros, the informal plural subject used in Spain and some other regions.

Because the preterite form for ser and ir is identical in this tense, the meaning of fuisteis is determined by context. For example, in a sentence about a past state: "Quise mucho de vosotros fuisteis" is unusual, but "Ayer fuisteis muy valientes" would mean you all were very brave. In a sentence about movement: "Ayer fuisteis al cine" means you all went to the cinema yesterday. The distinction from other tenses (for example, the imperfect forms sois/eras or ibais) is essential for expressing different past nuances.

Regional usage varies. The vosotros form, including fuisteis, is standard in Spain and in some regional varieties elsewhere. In most of Latin America, vosotros is not used, and the corresponding preterite for both ser and ir is ustedes fueron (or ustedes fueron in written or formal contexts). Nevertheless, fuisteis appears in formal writing, historical texts, or teachings that preserve the vosotros paradigm.

Etymology: fuisteis derives from the irregular preterite stem fu- associated with the verbs ser and ir (fu- plus the appropriate endings). It shares the same stem as fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, and fueron. See also: preterite tense, ser, ir, vosotros, ustedes.