Spanish language Q&A Forum

One of the questions in this section was:

Mi prima ________ Miss Universo. .My cousin was Miss UniverseHINT: Conjugate "ser" in Pretérito indefinido

I got this correct (fue), because of the section it is in, but would it not be better to use the imperfect for this example?  Mi prima era Miss Universo.   There is no time frame involved, outside of being in the past.  Does it really matter? Just wondering.  Thank you.

Considering estar can be used in the preterite and imperfect with the present participle ( gerund ), are they used in different ways?  Or do they mean the same thing?  For example, do: 

"Estuve corriendo" and "estaba corriendo" mean the same thing?  I was running.  Is one used more than the other for any reason? 

La/le esperó dos horas.

Is 2 hours a direct object in, "I waited [for] 2 hours."?

“Maria told us there was a meeting at 4”

hubo is incorrect here, but I thought with a set time it became ‘hubo’? What am I missing? 

I had never heard that before.So, I can retract my question.