# I was, I am, I will be



## Nagi

Hello! If anyone could give me translations of the term 'I was, I am, I will be' into other languages, preferably Latin, I would be very grateful.

Nagi


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## Le Pamplemousse

Welcome, Nagi!

"Eram, Sum, Ero" is the Latin.

"Era, Soy, Seré" is Spanish.

"J'etait, Je suis, Je serai" is French.

Cheers.


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## Nagi

Thank you so very much! ^^ I'm very grateful.


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## elroy

Le Pamplemousse said:
			
		

> "Era, Soy, Seré" is Spanish.


 
"Era" is one of the ways to say "I was." There is also "*fui*."

Then there's the verb "estar," whose forms are the following:

*Estaba/Estuve* _(I was)_
*Estoy* _(I am)_
*Estaré *_(I will be)_



> "J'étais, Je suis, Je serai" is French.


 
Minor correction above.

French also has another past tense form: "*je fus*."


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## elroy

Arabic:

*أنا أكون* _(ana akuunu)_ - I am
*أنا كنت* _(ana kuntu)_ - I was
*أنا سوف أكون/ أنا سأكون*_ (ana sawfa akuunu/ana sa'akuunu)_ - I will be 

One important note: The present tense form of the verb "to be" is not normally used in Arabic.  For example, "I am here" would be *أنا هنا* _(ana huna -_ literally "I here") and not *أنا أكون هنا* _(ana akuunu kuna)_.

If by saying "I am" you wish to express the idea of "I exist," the common way to say that in Arabic would be

*أنا كائن* _(ana kaa'inun)_
[feminine *أنا كائنة* - _ana kaa'inatun_]


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## diegodbs

Portuguese: eu era, eu sou, eu serei

Catalan: jo era, jo sóc, jo seré

Italian: io ero, io sono, io sarò

Galician: eu era, eu son, eu serei


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## Mutichou

Le Pamplemousse said:
			
		

> "J'etait, Je suis, Je serai" is French.


J'étais, je suis, je serai.
In German: ich war, ich bin, ich werde sein.

In Chinese, "I am" is 我是 (wǒ shì).
In Japanese, "I am" and "I will be": 私はです (watashi wa desu) and 私はでした is "I was". But I don't think it makes sense without complement.


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## Pivra

In Thai
I am...
Chan pen (I am, regular, masc or femn)
Dichan pen (I am femn, formal)
Rao pen (familiar masc or femn)
Phom (soft P no f) pen (masc. politely)
Ku pen (very impolite, very informal, masc. femn)

I was....
Chan koey pen (I used to be) 
Dichan koey pen (femn formal)
Phom keoy pen (masc formal)
Rao keoy pen (familiar both gend.)
Ku keoy pen (very rude very informal)

I will be
Chan japen ( masc femn regular)
Dichan japen (femn formal)
Rao japen (familiar both gender)
Phom japen (masc. formal)
Ku japen (very rude very informal)


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## BasedowLives

would a native please tell me if i got this right?

norwegian

jeg var - i was
jeg er - i am
jeg vil vaere - i will be


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## gorbatzjov

In Dutch: ik was, ik ben, ik zal zijn
In Afrikaans: ek was, ek is, ek sal wees


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## Hakro

In Finnish:
olin, olen, olen
(there is no particular future form)


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## Whodunit

In German:

Ich war (past)/bin gewesen (present perfect)
Ich bin
Ich werde sein

In the meaning of "exist", you could use:
Mich gab's
Mich gibt's
Mich wird's (immer) geben


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## Whodunit

In Czech, I'd use the following. I'd appreciate confimation and corrections: 

(já) byl (jsem)
(já) jsem
(já) budu


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## amikama

Hebrew:

I was - *אני הייתי* (_ani hayti_)
I am - (none)
I will - *אני אהיה* (_ani ehye_)

Notes:
(1) The personal pronoun אני (I) is normally omitted since it's implied by the prefix/suffix of the verb.
(2) There is present form for this verb, but it's almost never used. To say "I am tall", for example, you simply say (literally) "I tall".


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## Chaska Ñawi

Quechua (south Bolivian version)

Ñoka karqani     -  I was.
Ñoka kani           - I am.
Ñoka kasaj         - I will be.

Quechua has a different verb for "to be" that corresponds to the Spanish "hay"; ie, "there _are _many llamas in the cancha", "there _is _bread on the table".  I don't believe that you're thinking in this direction, however.


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## alby

Croatian:

I was- *Bio sam (m)/bila sam(f)*
I am-* Ja sam*
I will be- *Biti ću*

Nataša


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## Elieri

Swedish: 

I was: *Jag var*
I am: *Jag är*
I will be: J*ag ska vara /Jag kommer (att) vara*


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## _sandra_

Polish:

I was: Byłem (*m*)/ Byłam (*f*)
I am: jestem
I will be: będę

Sandra


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## instantREILLY

There really isn't a specific verb "to be" in Japanese, but there are several ways you can express the concept.

*Past*
でした
だった

*Present
*です
だ

*Future *
*でしょう
だろう 

* This tense translates to something like "shall be", but it is only really used in a sense of probability (like it can be used in Italian or in the English "Oh, that will be Michael at the door, now.").  For most other verbs, this tense is used to mean "let's"; with these verbs, the present tense is used to imply a future or general meaning.

Furthermore, the verb なる (naru) "to become" is often used in the sense "I will be."

Ex: あたしはそのドレスを着たら、絶対に綺麗になる！
_Atashi wa sono doresu wo kitara, zettai ni kirei ni naru!_
If I wear that dress, I will be totally pretty!


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## suzzzenn

In Trique there is no change. This is true in a lot of languages. 

I am - *unj me* 
I was - *unj me*
I will be - *unj me*


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## erin

alby said:
			
		

> Croatian:
> 
> I was- *Bio sam (m)/bila sam(f)*
> I am-* Ja sam*
> I will be- *Biti  ću (Bit ću or ja ću biti)*
> 
> Nataša


 
Sorry for minor correction, I just want to be precise, hope you won't mind


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## Bienvenidos

Farsi:

I was: Muh boodum
I am: Muh ustum
I will be: Muh meeboshum

Saludos y Suerte
*Bienvenidos*


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## chuff

Romanian:

I am = *Eu sunt*
I have been, I was = *Am fost*, [Eu eram]
I will be = *O sã sunt*, [Voi fi]

The ones I am certain of are in bold.
I know that there are other forms of future and past.. but as for what I know, there it is. The uncertain ones are in brackets.

Perhaps ask a native speaker or fluent Romanian writer?


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## macta123

I am - Mein Hoon
I was - Mein Tha
I will be - Main (ra)hoonga

That was in Hindi and Urdu


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## LaSmarjeZ

*Italian*
I am - *io sono* 
I was - *io ero*
I will be - *io sarò*

*Sardo*
I am - *deu seu*
I was - *deu fui*
I will be - *deu appu a essi*

*Danish*
I am - *jeg er*
I was - *jeg var*
I will be - *jeg vil være / jeg skal være*


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## Brazilian dude

> I will be = *O sã sunt*, [Voi fi]


_O să fiu or Voi fi, the latter being more formal._

Brazilian dude


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## parakseno

chuff said:
			
		

> Romanian:
> 
> I am = *Eu sunt*
> I have been, I was = *Am fost*, [Eu eram]
> I will be = O sã sunt, [Voi fi]
> 
> The ones I am certain of are in bold.
> I know that there are other forms of future and past.. but as for what I know, there it is. The uncertain ones are in brackets.



Indeed, as Brazilian dude says, for future you can use _"O să fiu or Voi fi". _"O sã sunt" isn't correct. Basically, the future tense is the "voi fi" form. "_O să fiu" _is another way of expressing future ("o" + subjunctive).

So, I would translate it as:
Am fost, sunt, voi fi.

PS: Oh, you could use the "simple perfect" (perfectul simplu): fui instead of "am fost" (perfectul compus).


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## Oogami

The closest I can currently get in Japanese:

過去の私 (The past me)
現在の私 (The present me)
未来の私 (The future me)


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## badgrammar

Now as far as I know, Turkish has no verb for "to be".  There is a verb that is roughly equivalent - "olmak" means "to happen" and "to become", but I don't think you ever simply say "olurum" or "oluyorum" in the way we might say "I am" in English.  

For example, to say "I am here" you would say "Burdayim" burda=here and the -im=first person singular aorist tense.  But you can't just say the "I am" on it's own.  I think maybe you would say "Ben varim" which would equal "I exist" (var=exists/yok=does not exist), but I'm not sure...


I hope someone with a better command of the language will come along and confirm or correct what I have said.


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## rhian_haf

Croeso! Dyma fe yn Gymraeg:

Roeddwn i yn... (I was)
Rydw i yn... (I am)
Mi wna' i... (I will)

neu/or...

Ro'n i... (I was)
Dwi yn.. (I am)
Dwi am... (I will)

I guess you didn't understand the above but it actually is Welsh.

Rhi xx


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## nuno

*Portuguese:

*I was - Eu era/fui
I am - Eu sou
I will be - Eu serei


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## Brazilian dude

Or using estar:

I was = Eu estive/estava
I am = Eu estou
I will be = Eu estarei

Brazilian dude


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## ronanpoirier

Hungarian:

I am = Én vagyok
I was = Én voltám
I will be = Én fagok lenni


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## Matsu

Old English:

ic wæs (I was) (from wesan)
ic eom (I am) (from sindon)
ic bēo (I will be) (from bēon)

Though apparently ic bēo is present subjunctive and Old English had no real future tense... Modern "to be" gets its future tense from OE's present subjunctive. =P

If we can go with ol' Latin, why not ol' English?


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## linguist786

Gujarati:

I am - Oo cho
I was - Oo hato
I will be - Oo has.


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## Honour

i am devasted that (i exaggerate) turkish doesn't have the verb to be expressed in the same way mentioned up here. it is only conjugated as suffixes but it could be used as a verb to emphasize the meaning of happen/become.
to be= olmak (it means to happen and to become too)
i am= word + im
i was= word/verb +dim
i will= verb +cağım or word +olacağım

edit note: correction of a misspelling


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## Binapesi

What Turk said is true but i'd like to add something;

For example; "I am writing" .. you can say this in turkish so; "Yaziyorum." 
((to) write = yaz (mak)) .. 
I mean not just "-im" ..

I am a student; Ben bir ogrenciyim.
I am coming; Geliyorum.

I am ; Ben olurum. Ben oluyorum.
I was ; Ben oldum. 
I will be; Ben olacagim.

.. if we translate word by word into Turkish ..


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## Marijka

Ukrainian:
я був (masc.) / я була (fem.) - I was
(я) є - I am , but in sentences like "I am a student" = Я студент, you should miss verb "to be" ( it will be something like :"I student")
(я) буду - I will be

"я" means "I" but usually it isn't used in sentences ( especially in present time) in Slavic languages


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## badgrammar

Merhaba Keyt, forum'a hos gelsin (sorry, that's probably wrong  )

My question would be, would you hear someone in Turkish just say "Ben oluyorum/olurum" without any other word after ben  (like "ben ögrenci olacagim"-or something like that for "I will be a student).  Also, would you translate "ben olurum/oluyorum as "I will be", or as "I will become/happen"?. 

 I am just asking because I learned that Turkish doesn't have an equivalent for the simple "I am", ama ögreniyorum ve Türkçem çok kötü!

Also, as I asked in my above post, could on construct a Turkish phrase that gives the "feeling" of "I am" using "var"?  "Ben varim"?

Sagol!


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## Honour

badgrammar said:
			
		

> Merhaba Keyt, forum'a hos gel*d*in (sorry, that's probably wrong  )
> 
> Also, as I asked in my above post, *could on* construct a Turkish phrase that gives the "feeling" of "I am" using "var"? "Ben varim"?
> 
> Sagol!


 
first of all, although it is quasi off-topic, is "could on" a mixture of french and english ?  

As far as i remember we don't use "var" (there is) for the sense of i am.


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## Binapesi

badgrammar said:
			
		

> Merhaba Keyt, forum'a hos gelsin (sorry, that's probably wrong  )
> 
> My question would be, would you hear someone in Turkish just say "Ben oluyorum/olurum" without any other word after ben  (like "ben ögrenci olacagim"-or something like that for "I will be a student).  Also, would you translate "ben olurum/oluyorum as "I will be", or as "I will become/happen"?.
> 
> I am just asking because I learned that Turkish doesn't have an equivalent for the simple "I am", ama ögreniyorum ve Türkçem çok kötü!
> 
> Also, as I asked in my above post, could on construct a Turkish phrase that gives the "feeling" of "I am" using "var"?  "Ben varim"?
> 
> Sagol!


Hosbuldum 
No. I wouldn't hear .. but like i said I translated "i was, i am, i will be" just word by word .. but of course no such a grammar in turkish.
Hmm .. Was I able to tell? sorry but my english is the english that i've been learning just in school ..
And "I am" .. "Ben varim" .. I dont think actually that you could construct. We need words after "I am" to translate it into Turkish ..


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## gusmoi

In spanish!
I was: Estaba/Era Examples: I was in caracas: Yo Estaba en caracas
I was his wife:  Yo era su Esposa:

I'm: Yo Soy, Yo Estoy. I'm your husband: Soy Tu Marido, I'm in Usa: Yo Estaba En USA

I'll Be: Yo estare, Yo sere: I'll be tomorrow there: Estare Mañana Hay, I'll your Husband: sere Tu marido


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## cajzl

> In Czech, I'd use the following. I'd appreciate confimation and corrections:
> 
> (já) byl (jsem)
> (já) jsem
> (já) budu


past - *byl jsem* (m.), *byla jsem* (f.), *bylo jsem* (n.)
pres.- *jsem*
fut.-  *budu*

*byl, byla, bylo* are the past participles, they distinguish gender and number (like all adjectives in the IE languages, Modern English is an exception)

There were simple past tenses in Old Czech:

aorist - *bych *
imperfect - *biech*


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## avok

I guess we dont have "I am, I was, I will be(?)" in Turkish  (i.e. like in many other languages) But I guess I can translate those like:

I am: (Ben) .....im/ım/um/üm/yim/yım/yum/yüm. ex. Araba*yım :* I am a car, Türk*üm*: I am Turkish etc

I was: (Ben) ......dim/dım/dum/düm/tim/tım/tum/tüm/ydim/ydım/ydum/ydüm/... idim. ex Araba*ydım*: I was a car, büyük*tüm:* I was big

I will be: (Ben) .....olacağım

Complicated innit?


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## Abbassupreme

In Tehrani Persian:
(Man) budam= I was
(Man) hastam= I am
(Man) xwâham bud= I will be

The "w" doesn't really alter the the pronunciation of the word; I'm just trying to transliterate from the Perso-Arabic script as accurately as possible. 

Also, the last phrase for the future tense is rarely used colloquially (though I use it all the time upon having learned of its existence. )  The verb "shodan" (to become) is more commonly used.

In other words, "I will be" can also be translated to "(Man) mish(av)am." The word "man" means "I" and doesn't necessarily have to be written, what with Persian being a null-subject language.  The extra letters in parentheses are how the word would be literally written and pronounced.


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## Nizo

Esperanto:

_mi estis, mi estas, mi estos_
--------
And just a note to add something I didn't notice anyone else mention.  Although _I will be_ is certainly used every day in common speech and writing, the traditionally correct form here is _I shall be_.  Here's the distinction:

Normal use
I shall  / we shall : Tomorrow I shall go to the market.
(thou wilt) / you will
he will / they will

Emphasis
I will / we will :  I'm telling you, I will go!
(thou shalt) / you shall :  Thou shalt not kill.
he, she shall / they shall

If you Google "shall and will," you can find several references.


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## Consimmer

My attempt translating the phrase into Malay:

I was= _Sebelum ini saya _(lit. Before now I)
I am= _Saya_
I will be_ =_ Depending on the context, this can have different forms. For example "I will be great!" can be "_*Saya akan jadi* gagah!_", but "I will be leaving soon" is "_Sebentar lagi *saya ber*tolak_". The parts in bold indicate the "I will be...".


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## kusurija

In Lithuanian:
buvau (I was)
esu (I am)
būsiu (I shall be)
pronoun "aš" (I) is not necessary, but may be used.

..note for Japanese: similary pronoun (私[watashi]) is not necessary, moreover, in Japanese is rarely used: used only in situations, where necessary. A particle は(wa) is much rarely used in Japanese after 私: in special cases, where is needed to underline "as to me" in answer to special question. It seems(to me) to be true, that verb "to be" not used in Japanese at least in the same sense as in English (and some other languages).


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## Flaminius

kusurija said:


> A particle は(wa) is much rarely used in Japanese after 私:


In fact, _watashi-wa_ (私は) is very common.

Since the original poster has never visited the forum probably right after the thread was created, there is no knowing what "to be" in his enquiry really means.  Yet so far, some posts have been very clear about how Japanese would translate the sentence.

Here is an introductory explanations on the problems in translating into Japanese.
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?p=674021#post674021

And here is an ingenious translation.
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?p=890246#post890246


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## aaspraak

BasedowLives said:


> would a native please tell me if i got this right?
> 
> norwegian
> 
> jeg var - i was
> jeg er - i am
> jeg vil vaere - i will be



In Norwegian (bokmål) it should be:
jeg var
jeg er
jeg vil være

In Norwegian (nynorsk) it is:
eg var
eg er
eg vil vera

Sometimes it is better to use _skal_ or _kommer til å/kjem til å_ for _vil_.


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## kusurija

Flaminius said:


> In fact, _watashi-wa_ (私は) is very common.
> 
> Since the original poster has never visited the forum probably right after the thread was created, there is no knowing what "to be" in his enquiry really means. Yet so far, some posts have been very clear about how Japanese would translate the sentence.
> 
> Here is an introductory explanations on the problems in translating into Japanese.
> http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?p=674021#post674021
> 
> And here is an ingenious translation.
> http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?p=890246#post890246


 
Thank you, Flaminius, for explanation. Excuse, my note concerned Mutichous post, where he wrote: "私はです..."
 As I had read a notes, inspirated by book *『日本語に主語はいらない』*by *金谷武洋*, in case, where is "I am.." in context "I am _NAME_" "私は.." is not so usual as (私が)(not necessary) _NAME _です or _NAME_ と申します. In this situation it(私*は*) may sound a little bit egocentricaly, if there is not any other special circumstances, where it may be OK.


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## apmoy70

Greek:

*«Ήμουν, είμαι, θα είμαι»* [ˈi.mun] (1st p. singular aorist), [ˈi.me] (1st p. singular pres.), [θa ˈi.me] (1st p. singular fut.)

Ancient Greek:

*«Ἧν, ὤν, ἐσόμενος» hên* (ἧν is 1st. p. singular imperfect indicative of the v. *«εἰμί» ei̯mí* --> _to be_), *ṓn* (ὤν is masculine sing. pres. active participle of the v. *«εἰμί» ei̯mí* --> _to be_), *ĕsómĕnŏs* (ἐσόμενος is masculine sing. fut. middle participle of the v. *«εἰμί» ei̯mí* --> _to be_)


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## AndrasBP

ronanpoirier said:


> Hungarian:
> 
> I am = Én vagyok
> I was = Én voltám
> I will be = Én fagok lenni



I was = Én voltam
I will be = Én leszek

The auxiliary "fogok" (not fagok) would be correct with other verbs, but "lenni" (to be) is an exception.

.

*Latvian*:

I was = Es biju
I am = Es esmu
I will be = Es būšu


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## Penyafort

In many Romance languages, there is a distinction between the imperfective and perfective forms of the past, so two translations would be possible for "I was".

Only in Iberia:

*Portuguese:* _imperf._ era || _perf._ fui
*Galician*: _imperf._ era |_| perf. _fun
*Asturian:* _imperf._ yera || _perf._ fui
*Spanish:* _imperf._ era || _perf._ fui
*Aragonese:* _imperf._ yera || _perf._ estié
*Catalan:* _imperf._ era ||_ perf._ (compound form) vaig ser, (simple form, rare) fui


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