Gramática › Past Simple Tense with "was/were"
Was y were: frases afirmativas
450 ejercicios de huecos, 45 tests de diez
Was para I, he, she e it. Were para you, we y they.
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La estructura
Sujeto, después was o were, después la descripción. No hace falta nada más:
The room was empty.
Singular aunque parezca plural
Algunas palabras acaban en -s pero cuentan como una sola cosa y llevan was:
The news was good. Mathematics was my worst subject. Twenty euros was all I had.
La última merece atención: una cantidad de dinero o una medida se trata como un importe único.
there was y there were
El verbo mira hacia delante, no hacia atrás:
- There was a note on the table.
- There were notes on every table.
used to y was
Para un hábito pasado repetido, el inglés suele preferir used to:
There used to be a bakery on this corner.
There was a bakery cuenta un hecho de un momento. There used to be dice que duró un tiempo y se acabó.
Dónde se tuerce para un hispanohablante
«Veinte euros era todo lo que tenía» ya es singular en español, así que esta coincide. Lo que no coincide es «las noticias eran buenas»: en inglés the news was good.
Y «había tres personas» se traduce con were, no con was, porque el verbo mira a lo que viene detrás. En español «había» no da ninguna pista, y por eso hay que pararse a mirar el sustantivo.
Todas las formas
| Sujeto | Forma | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| I | was | I was at home. |
| you | were | You were right. |
| he, she, it | was | It was cold. |
| we | were | We were early. |
| they | were | They were away. |
Ejemplos
Tomados de las 450 frases de este ejercicio. La respuesta va resaltada.
- The painting was beautiful and thought-provoking.
- The train tickets were cheaper on Tuesday.
- My favorite team was the champion last year.
- They were excited to go on their vacation.
- The street was crowded during rush hour.
- You were excited about the upcoming party.
- My uncle was a teacher before he retired.
- We were busy with our assignments last night.
- The computer was turned off when I left the office.
- The students were attentive in class yesterday.
- The party was lively and full of energy.
- They were tired after a long day of shopping.
Errores que evitar
Incorrecto: My family were abroad. correcto: My family was abroad.
Una palabra de grupo cuenta como una sola cosa en inglés americano, así que lleva was.
Incorrecto: There was three people waiting. correcto: There were three people waiting.
Detrás de there, el verbo concuerda con lo que sigue. Three people es plural.