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Ese destello fue una estrella fugaz, pero son muy impredecibles.

Ese destello fue una estrella fugaz, pero son muy impredecibles.
That flash was a shooting star, but they are very unpredictable.
From Lesson 283:Colloquial probability (capaz que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Ese destello fue una estrella fugaz, pero son muy impredecibles.

Why is fue used here instead of era for 'was'?
We use the preterite fue because the flash (destello) was a sudden, instantaneous event that is completely over. If we were describing the ongoing background characteristics of something in the past, we would use the imperfect era.
Why does the sentence switch to the plural son when it just talked about a singular estrella fugaz?
Just like the English translation, the speaker is zooming out from the specific flash they just saw to make a general statement about all shooting stars. Son refers to shooting stars in general, which is why it changes to plural.
What does estrella fugaz literally mean?
Estrella means star, and fugaz means fleeting or brief. So instead of a 'shooting' star, Spanish literally calls it a fleeting star.
How is the word impredecibles formed?
It builds up almost exactly like its English translation. The prefix im- means not, predecir is the verb to predict, and -bles is the plural suffix for -able.

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