BE en pasado tiene dos formas: was (I/he/she/it) y were (you/we/they). Se usa para estados, edad, lugar, hora, clima, descripciones.
1) Conjugación y contracciones
Afirm.: S + was/were Neg.: S + wasn’t/weren’t Preg.: Was/Were + S …?
| Persona | Afirmativa | Contracción | Negativa | Contracción | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | I was | — | I was not | I wasn’t | I was tired (Estaba cansado/a) |
| You | You were | — | You were not | You weren’t | You were late |
| He/She/It | He/She/It was | — | He/She/It was not | wasn’t | It was sunny |
| We | We were | — | We were not | We weren’t | We were at home |
| They | They were | — | They were not | They weren’t | They were hungry |
Clave: was/were no usan
did. Evita *didn’t was/were*.2) Preguntas y respuestas cortas
Was/Were + sujeto + … ? Yes, S + was/were No, S + wasn’t/weren’t
| Tipo | Estructura | Ejemplos |
|---|---|---|
| Pregunta | Was he at work? · Were they happy? | ¿Estaba él en el trabajo? · ¿Estaban ellos felices? |
| Short answers | Yes, he was. · No, they weren’t. | Sí, él estaba. · No, ellos no. |
Con you/we/they usa were/weren’t; con I/he/she/it usa was/wasn’t.
3) Usos comunes
estado/condición ubicación edad/precio hora/clima/fecha descripciones
- Estado: She was sick yesterday. (Estuvo enferma.)
- Ubicación: We were at the mall. (Estuvimos en el centro comercial.)
- Edad: I was 10 in 2012. (Tenía 10 años.)
- Hora/clima: It was 7 o’clock / It was rainy.
- Descripción: The movie was great.
Para existencia usa There was / There were (visto en A2 U1): There was a party.
4) Marcadores de tiempo útiles
yesterday last night/week/year in 2019 on Monday two days ago
Ej.: They were at home last night. · He was in Spain two years ago.
5) Errores comunes
| Incorrecto | Correcto | Por qué |
|---|---|---|
| *I weren’t* | I wasn’t | I va con was/wasn’t. |
| *Did you was at home?* | Were you at home? | No se usa did con be. |
| *He weren’t ready* | He wasn’t ready | He/She/It → was/wasn’t. |
| *Was they there?* | Were they there? | You/We/They → were. |
6) Mini-práctica
- Completa con was / were / wasn’t / weren’t:
a) It ___ cold last night. · b) They ___ at school yesterday. · c) I ___ at home; I was out. · d) ___ you busy? - Transforma a negativa:
a) She was happy. → ____________________ - Haz la pregunta:
They were late. → ____________________? - Corrige el error:
*Did he was in the meeting?* → ____________________ - Traduce al inglés:
“Estábamos en casa anteayer.”
Soluciones ejemplo: 1) a) was b) were c) wasn’t d) Were · 2) She wasn’t happy. · 3) Were they late? · 4) Was he in the meeting? · 5) We were at home the day before yesterday.
7) Próximo paso
Sigue con Conectores de secuencia (first, then, after that, finally) para relatar eventos en orden.