There are spelling errors that occur frequently, for example omitting the H in words like “do”, confusing the S and the Z in terms like hug and hugr and also use B and V in the wrong way, as with the words go down and wander. But not because these errors are common does it mean that they are admissible, and if you want to write correctly you must take care of your spelling.
Undoubtedly one of the biggest spelling confusions that occurs is the correct way to write the past tense of the verb to be. Have you asked yourself How do you spell was or estubo?, at OneHowTo.com we answer it.
He was
To know how to spell was or estubo it is important that we know which verb tense we are referring to. This word comes from the conjugation of the verb “be” when we designate the third person singular as the one who commits the action.
The word he was corresponds to the third person in the past of the verb estar and must always be written with V, never with B. Example:
- “He he was waiting for hours but no one answered “
- “My sister he was yesterday at your house “
- “The concert he was brilliant”
The grammar rule
To determine that the verb was is written with V, there is a very clear grammar rule that indicates that the following conjugations of the verbs estar, andar, and have are written with V:
The past perfect simple of the indicative mood:
- I was
- You were
- He was
- We were
- You were
- They were
The future of the subjunctive mood, also known as future imperfect:
- I will be
- You are
- He will be
- We will be
- You will be
- They are
The past imperfect:
- I were
- You would be
- He would be
- We would be
- You would be
- They were
* It was
For its part, the word * estubo does not exist in the dictionary and therefore its use is always wrong. If you want to use the past tense of the verb estar you must write then he was. It is important to practice, make an effort and memorize the rule in order to write correctly, because confuse was with * estubo It is an important spelling mistake that we must try to avoid.
In our article how to write without spelling mistakes We give you some tools so that you can successfully achieve it and polish your language.
Rule of B and V
This type of spelling confusion is very common as there are many people who confuse the use of the V and the B in some Spanish words. However, what we must be clear about is that the rule indicates that the verbs to be andar and have are written with V in the following tenses:
- Simple past perfect of the indicative mood
- Imperfect past
- Future imperfect subjunctive mood
To clarify this issue, we are going to discover the conjugation of the verb “estar” in the past perfect indicative so that you can check for yourself that they are written with V and not with B:
- I was
- You were
- He was
- We were
- You were
- They were
Many people don’t know how to write was or was because the verb “estar” does have a conjugation that is written with B and, therefore, it is usual that confusion can be created in this sense. We refer to the past imperfect form of the indicative that writes “estar” with B, as you can see below:
- I was
- You were
- He was
- We were
- You were
- They were
In this sense, in Spanish there is a grammatical rule that indicates that all endings in -aba are written with B.
Exercises to conjugate the verb ESTAR
Now, to assess whether you have understood these concepts well, we are going to propose a series of exercises that will help you to know definitively how to write the word was or estubo. In addition, you will also be able to learn how to conjugate this verb correctly without making spelling mistakes.
Exercise: In the following sentences there are some spelling errors with the verb “estar”. Find where they are and replace it with the correct word.
- Yesterday we were playing cards all night
- My mother was cooking all day so she could eat well at Christmas
- The cousins were doing their homework when we arrived
- Yesterday I was laughing all through gym class
- My father was eating rice when he choked
Solution of the exercises
Next, we are going to give you the solution from the previous exercise so that you can check your results and see if you have understood it correctly:
- Yesterday we were playing cards all night – WRONG: the correct form is “we were”
- My mother was cooking all day so she could eat well at Christmas – GOOD
- The cousins were doing their homework when we arrived – WRONG: it is written “they were”
- Yesterday I was laughing during the whole gym class – WRONG: the correct form is “I was”
- My father was eating rice when he choked – OK
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