Gramática › Past Simple Tense with "was/were"
Was y were: preguntas de sí o no
450 ejercicios de huecos, 45 tests de diez
Pon was o were delante del sujeto. No se añade nada.
Practica esta forma
Cargando…
Preparando tu primera pregunta.
La estructura
La afirmación se convierte en pregunta intercambiando los dos primeros elementos:
The film was good. → Was the film good?
Las respuestas cortas mantienen el verbo
Were you at the concert? — Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.
Una respuesta corta afirmativa no se contrae nunca.
Qué patrón necesita esta frase
Busca el verbo principal de la afirmación:
- She was tired. → Was she tired?
- She slept badly. → Did she sleep badly?
Si el verbo es be, se intercambia. Si es cualquier otro, entra did.
Coletillas de confirmación
El mismo verbo vuelve al final para convertir una afirmación en comprobación:
- It was your idea, wasn’t it?
- They weren’t invited, were they?
Dónde se tuerce para un hispanohablante
«¿Estaba cara?» se traduce intercambiando, no añadiendo: Was it expensive? El Did it was sale del reflejo de los otros verbos.
Y la coletilla no tiene equivalente fijo: donde el español pone «¿verdad?» o «¿no?», el inglés repite el verbo invertido. Es mecánico, pero hay que hacerlo cada vez.
Todas las formas
| Sujeto | Pregunta | Respuesta corta, sí | Respuesta corta, no |
|---|---|---|---|
| I, he, she, it | Was she there? | Yes, she was. | No, she wasn't. |
| you, we, they | Were they there? | Yes, they were. | No, they weren't. |
Ejemplos
Tomados de las 450 frases de este ejercicio. La respuesta va resaltada.
- Was the answer written on the back page?
- Were your grandparents at home last Sunday?
- Was your father a teacher before he retired?
- Were the eggs fresh when you bought them?
- Was it difficult to find a parking spot?
- Were the players victorious in the championship match?
- Was it a good idea to go out in the rain?
- Were Mary's parents proud of her achievement?
- Was it rainy during your trip to London?
- Were the plates hot when the waiter brought them?
- Was the road closed because of the snow?
- Were the police officers polite when they stopped you?
Errores que evitar
Incorrecto: Did it was expensive? correcto: Was it expensive?
Be hace su propia pregunta. Did no tiene sitio aquí.
Incorrecto: Was there enough chairs? correcto: Were there enough chairs?
Chairs es plural, y el verbo concuerda con lo que sigue a there.