ser vs ir in this example "Tú fuiste muy rápido a Salamanca."

Francis R.B1Kwiziq community member

ser vs ir in this example "Tú fuiste muy rápido a Salamanca."

As mentioned in the heading; I got this one wrong when I answered the question with the Spanish phrase 

 "Tú fuiste muy rápido a Salamanca.” 


As “you were the fastest of Salamanca” as the “a” doesnt immediately follow the fuiste. 


However this one says that ir is the correct answer and that the answer is “you went to Salamanca very quickly.” 


Wouldn’t that be translated as “tu fuiste a Salamanca muy rápido”? Doesn’t the change in order change the translation? Or is it because the a appears after the fui ‘somewhere’ in the sentence that it changes the meaning from ser to ir. 


This is one of the topics I have found very confusing. 


Kind regards; 

Fran 

Asked 4 years ago
InmaKwiziq team member

Hola Fran

the "a" follows the verb "ir" indicating movement "going to [a place]". In this sentence we have placed an adverb "muy rápido" in between so you can't see the preposition straight after the verb but it is still meaning "you went". Spanish is flexible in terms of placing elements of the sentence. You can say:

Tú fuiste muy rápido a Salamanca or Tú fuiste a Salamanca muy rápido. 

They are both correct, meaning the same.

If we had wanted to say "You were very quick in Salamanca", using the verb "ser", we would have said this instead:

"Tú fuiste muy rápido en Salamanca" (not "a Salamanca")

I hope this clarified it.

Saludos

Inma

ser vs ir in this example "Tú fuiste muy rápido a Salamanca."

As mentioned in the heading; I got this one wrong when I answered the question with the Spanish phrase 

 "Tú fuiste muy rápido a Salamanca.” 


As “you were the fastest of Salamanca” as the “a” doesnt immediately follow the fuiste. 


However this one says that ir is the correct answer and that the answer is “you went to Salamanca very quickly.” 


Wouldn’t that be translated as “tu fuiste a Salamanca muy rápido”? Doesn’t the change in order change the translation? Or is it because the a appears after the fui ‘somewhere’ in the sentence that it changes the meaning from ser to ir. 


This is one of the topics I have found very confusing. 


Kind regards; 

Fran 

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