Gramática › Passive Voice in Past Tense
Past passive: preguntas
450 ejercicios de huecos, 45 tests de diez
Mueve was o were delante del sujeto. La tercera forma se queda donde está.
Practica esta forma
Cargando…
Preparando tu primera pregunta.
La estructura
Se intercambian el auxiliar y el sujeto:
The letters were sent. → Were the letters sent?
Las respuestas cortas usan was o were
Was the report finished? — Yes, it was. / No, it wasn’t.
Preguntas con wh-
La palabra interrogativa va primero, y después el intercambio:
- When was the church restored?
- Where were the photographs taken?
- Why was the meeting canceled?
Preguntar quién lo hizo
La preposición se queda al final en el inglés corriente:
Who was the letter signed by?
La versión con la preposición delante, By whom was the letter signed?, es correcta pero pertenece a la lengua escrita formal.
Cuando who es el sujeto de una pasiva
Si preguntas quién recibió la acción en lugar de quién la hizo, who ocupa la posición de sujeto y no se intercambia nada:
Who was arrested? — preguntas por la persona a la que le pasó.
Dónde se tuerce para un hispanohablante
«¿Dónde se guardaban los documentos?» se calca como Where the documents were kept? y falta el intercambio. El español permite dejar el verbo detrás del sujeto en preguntas; el inglés no.
Y hay que separar las dos preguntas con who: Who was arrested? pregunta a quién detuvieron, Who made the arrest? pregunta quién detuvo. En español las dos empiezan por «quién» y la diferencia se ve por el verbo.
Todas las formas
| Tipo | Pregunta | Respuesta |
|---|---|---|
| sí/no, singular | Was the bridge built in 1894? | Yes, it was. |
| sí/no, plural | Were the trees planted last spring? | Yes, they were. |
| con wh- | When was the first bridge built? | In 1894. |
| por quién | Who was it written by? | By a student. |
Ejemplos
Tomados de las 450 frases de este ejercicio. La respuesta va resaltada.
- In what city was the Declaration of Independence signed?
- How many strings were used on a standard guitar?
- What was said about the missing documents?
- Were the streets in Rome paved with marble?
- Who was held responsible for the mistake?
- By whom were the important documents signed?
- Which singer was invited to the music awards?
- How were these letters delivered to the recipients?
- Was the concert attended by many people?
- How many languages were spoken in that country?
- What was done in response to the complaint?
- Why were the windows opened during the storm?
Errores que evitar
Incorrecto: Did the bridge was built in 1894? correcto: Was the bridge built in 1894?
Did no aparece nunca con was ni were.
Incorrecto: Where the documents were kept? correcto: Where were the documents kept?
El auxiliar va delante del sujeto.