La familia era pobre.

Era is the imperfect form of the verb ser.

In this sentence, era is:

• third person singular
• past tense
• from ser

So it matches la familia, which is grammatically singular.

Both are past forms of ser, but they are used differently.

• era = imperfect
  Used for background description, ongoing past situations, or repeated states
• fue = preterite
  Used for a completed event or something seen as finished as a whole

So La familia era pobre sounds like a description of their situation in the past.

A learner-friendly way to think about it:

• era pobre = they were poor / that was their situation
• fue pobre = much less natural here unless you are framing poverty as a completed stage or period in a very specific way

In most normal contexts, era pobre is the expected choice.

We use ser because poverty is being presented as a more permanent or defining condition, not a temporary state.

• ser pobre = to be poor, as a general condition or life situation
• estar pobre = unusual in standard Spanish for this meaning

Spanish often uses ser for characteristics, identity, and general descriptions. In this sentence, poverty is treated as part of the family’s circumstances, so ser is the natural verb.

Because familia is a singular noun in Spanish, just like family in English.

Even though it refers to a group of people, grammatically it is one unit, so it takes a singular verb:

• La familia era...
• not La familia eran...

This is the same idea as the team was... in English.

Spanish often uses the definite article more than English does.

Here, la familia means the family and sounds complete and natural if you are referring to a specific family already known in context.

You can sometimes omit the article in other structures, but in a simple subject phrase like this, la familia is the normal form.

For example:

• La familia era pobre = talking about a particular family
• Mi familia era pobre = if you mean my family
• Su familia era pobre = if you mean his/her/their family

It does agree in number, but pobre has the same form for masculine and feminine singular.

So:

• el hombre pobre
• la familia pobre

Both use pobre.

It only changes in the plural:

• el hombre pobre
• la mujer pobre
• los hombres pobres
• las mujeres pobres

So in your sentence, pobre is singular to match familia, and its form is already correct for feminine singular.

The dictionary form is pobre.

It is an adjective meaning poor, and it behaves like many Spanish adjectives that:

• have one form for masculine and feminine singular
• add -s in the plural

So:

• singular: pobre
• plural: pobres

Yes. Pobre can have more than one meaning depending on context.

Common uses include:

• poor in the economic sense
• poor / unfortunate / pitiable in an emotional sense

For example:

• La familia era pobre usually means economically poor
• ¡Pobre niño! means something like Poor child!

So context matters, but in this sentence the economic meaning is the most likely one.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• era ≈ EH-ra
• pobre ≈ PO-bre

A few useful details for Spain:

• The r in era is a light tapped r, not a strong English r
• The b in pobre is a Spanish b/v sound, which is softer than a typical English b in many positions
• Stress:
  • E-ra → stress on the first syllable
  • PO-bre → stress on the first syllable

Approximate IPA:

• era: /ˈe.ɾa/
• pobre: /ˈpo.βɾe/

Yes, absolutely.

If you are talking about your own family, mi familia era pobre is very natural.

The structure stays the same:

• Mi familia era pobre
• Su familia era pobre
• Esta familia era pobre

Only the noun phrase changes. The verb is still singular because familia is singular.

Yes, but La familia era pobre is the most neutral and natural order.

Spanish allows some flexibility, so you might also see:

• Era pobre la familia

But that version sounds more marked or literary, or it may be used for emphasis. For ordinary speech and writing, La familia era pobre is the best choice.

It usually describes a background situation in the past.

Because it uses the imperfect era, the sentence often gives context rather than narrating a single completed event. It sounds like the kind of sentence you might see in a story:

• La familia era pobre y vivía en un pueblo pequeño.

So the sentence feels descriptive, ongoing, or habitual in the past, not like a one-time event.

In standard Spanish, that is not the normal way to express this idea.

For economic condition, Spanish usually says:

• ser pobre
• not estar pobre

So:

• La familia era pobre = natural
• La familia estaba pobre = generally unnatural for this meaning

A learner shortcut:

• for social/economic status like poor or rich, think ser
• era pobre, era rica