La reunión anterior fue breve.

to be

Breakdown of La reunión anterior fue breve.

• la reunión: the meeting
• breve: brief
• anterior: previous

Questions & Answers about La reunión anterior fue breve.

Why is la used before reunión?

reunión is a feminine singular noun in Spanish, so you need the feminine singular definite article la to say “the meeting.”

Why is anterior placed after the noun instead of before it?

Most Spanish adjectives normally follow the noun. anterior meaning “previous” is typically used after the noun—la reunión anterior. Putting it before (la anterior reunión) is grammatically correct but less common and can sound more formal or literary.

Does anterior change form for gender and number?

anterior ends in a consonant and is invariable in gender, so it stays anterior for both masculine and feminine nouns. It does take a plural ending -es when needed, e.g. las reuniones anteriores.

Why is fue used instead of estuvo?

Spanish uses ser (in this case fue, preterite of ser) to describe inherent or defining qualities. Being “brief” is seen as a characteristic of the meeting, so you say ser breve. estar breve is not idiomatic in Spanish.

Why doesn’t breve change to breva or brevo?