The first one contains the "are" linking verb, which is a present tense.
The second one contains the "were" linking verb, which is a past tense.
May I add a third? "We are going to have fun playing games." The phrase "are going to" is a future tense - self-explanatory.
This is the same idea for Spanish tenses, which uses conjugations.
I - yo
You, informal - tu
You, singular formal - usted (abbrievated as Ud.), plural formal - ustedes
He/She - el/ella
We - nosotros
You guys - vosotros (Used in Spain)
They - ellos/ellas
The form "to be" is ser in Spanish. That's where the conjugations begin.
yo - soy
tu - eres
usted - es
el/ella - es
nosotros - somos
vosotros - sois
ellos/ellas - son
Another form of "to be," estar, is used to express location. Note the conjugations.
yo - estoy
tu - estás
el/ella/Ud. - está
nosotros - estamos
vosotros - estáis
ellos/ellas/Uds - están
Now, we move on to the preterite (past tense) in Spanish. For "estar," use the stem "estuv-". Also, note the conjugations.
yo - estuve
tu - estuviste
el/ella/Ud. - estuvo
nosotros - estuvimos
vosotros - estuvisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. - estuvieron
This goes on and on - I won't bore you with those (No le aburriré con ésos).
