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La reunión anterior fue breve.

La reunión anterior fue breve.
The previous meeting was brief.
FromLesson 28inHardcore Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of La reunión anterior fue breve.

ser
to be
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?
Adjectives ending in -e in Spanish are generally invariable in gender—they work for both masculine and feminine nouns. So breve remains breve whether the noun is masculine or feminine.
Could you say la breve reunión instead? What’s the nuance?
Yes, la breve reunión is perfectly correct. Placing breve before the noun gives a slight stylistic emphasis on its brevity, but the fundamental meaning (“the meeting was short”) stays the same.
What’s the difference between anterior and previo?
Both can mean “previous.” anterior puts the focus on chronological order (“the meeting that came before this one”), while previo often implies something preparatory or preliminary. You could say la reunión previa interchangeably, but sometimes reunión previa hints at it being a preparatory session.
How do you pronounce anterior and breve?
anterior is divided an-te-ri-OR, with the stress on the final syllable (because it ends in r). breve is divided BRE-ve, with the stress on the first syllable (because it ends in a vowel).
How would you say “The previous meetings were brief”?
You’d make both noun and adjectives plural: Las reuniones anteriores fueron breves.
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“How does verb conjugation work in Spanish?”
Spanish verbs change form based on the subject, tense, and mood. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns depending on whether they end in ‑ar, ‑er, or ‑ir. For example, "hablar" (to speak) becomes "hablo" (I speak), "hablas" (you speak), and "habla" (he/she speaks) in the present tense.

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