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No fui porque estaba enfermo.

No fui porque estaba enfermo.
I didn't go because I was sick.
From Lesson 173:Linking ideas (por eso, así que, sobre todo)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about No fui porque estaba enfermo.

Why does this sentence use two different past tenses (fui and estaba)?
This is a classic example of how Spanish mixes past tenses! You use the preterite (fui, meaning "I didn't go") for a completed, one-time action. You use the imperfect (estaba, meaning "I was") to describe the background situation or how you were feeling at the time.
Doesn't fui also mean "I was"? How do we know it means "I went" here?
You are exactly right! The word fui is the "I" form in the preterite past tense for both ir (to go) and ser (to be). We know it means "I didn't go" here purely from the context. Saying "I wasn't because I was sick" doesn't make much sense, so it has to be the verb ir.
Why use estaba for "I was" instead of era?
In Spanish, we use the verb estar (which becomes estaba here) for physical conditions, moods, and health. Because being sick (enfermo) is a temporary state of health, you must use estar rather than ser.
Does enfermo change if a woman is saying this sentence?
Yes! Adjectives have to match the gender of the person they describe. If a woman is speaking, she would change the ending to feminine and say No fui porque estaba enferma.

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