UNIT II ENGLISH III

TOPIC N° 1

TEMA: VERBO TOBE EN TIEMPO PASADO

Si en el presente simple el verbo TO BE tiene tres formas (am, is, are) en el pasado simple,
tiene dos: was y were.
Was corresponde a la primera persona del singular (I) y a la tercera persona del singular
(he, she, it) were se emplea para las demás personas (you, we, they).

I was at work Estaba en el trabajo

You were quite ill Estuviste realmente enfermo.

We were in Scotland last week Estuvimos en Escocia la semana

pasada

Comparemos la forma afirmativa del presente del verbo TO BE con el pasado:

I am Yo soy-estoy I was Yo era-estaba

You are Tu eres-estas You were Tú eras-estabas
He is Él es-esta He was Él era-estaba
She is Ella es- esta She was Ella era-estaba
It is Eso es-esta It was Eso era-estaba
We are Nosotros somos-estamos We were Nosotros éramos-estábamos
They are Ellos son-están They were Ellos eran-estaban

En este caso no se forman contracciones entre el pronombre y el verbo TO BE. Tanto was
como were van solos. Ejemplo:
You were in English class Estuviste en la clase de ingles
It was good Fue bueno
They were at home Estuvieron en casa

Sin embargo cuando la oración o frase es negativa, la contracción se hace entre: was y not
o were y not:
I was not I wasn’t
You were not You weren’t
He was not He wasn’t
She was not She wasn’t
It was not It wasn’t
We were not We weren’t
They were not They weren’t
 He wasn’t a member of the club No era socio del club
It wasn’t cold No hacia frio
They weren’t late No llegaron tarde

Un “atajo lingüística” en forma de respuesta corta

Como siempre pasa en inglés, hay que cambiar el orden de la frase para hacer la pregunta.
Con la respuesta podemos hacer un “atajo lingüística” al contestar con el verbo auxiliar, o
sea con was o con were. Ejemplo:

PREGUNTA RESPUESTA CORTA

Was i at home?
Were you at work?
Was he Canadian?
Was she a doctor?
Was it sleeping?
Were we there?
Were they studying?
Yes, I was / no, I wasn’t
Yes, you were / no, you weren’t
Yes, he was / no, he wasn’t
Yes, she was / no, she wasn’t
Yes, it was / no, it wasn’t
Yes, we were / no, we weren’t
Yes, they were / no, they weren’t

Aquí hay dos ejemplos de pasado continuo, pero de igual, si está el verbo TO BE, no hace
falta utilizar ningún otro verbo auxiliar.

Otros tiempos verbales con was y were

Al ser el pasado del verbo tobe, was y were funcionan como verbos auxiliares. Sirven para
el pretérito simple y como acabemos de ver, también sirven para el pasado continuo:

I was sleeping Estaba durmiendo

You were working Estabas trabajando
We were studying Estábamos estudiando

Ejercicios:
1. lee y traduce el siguiente párrafo acerca del científico Charles Darwin y contesta las
preguntas
Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809. He was a British naturalist who became
famous for his theories of evaluation and natural selection. In South America, Darwin
found that fossils of extinct animals were similar to modern species. Many people were
strongly opposed to the idea of evolution because it conflicted with their religious beliefs.
Throughout his life, Darwin was a reserved, thorough, hard working scholar.

A. Who was Charles Darwin?/

B. were was he born?/
C. when was he born?/
D. why was he famous for?/
E why were people opposed to his theories?/
F. what was he like?/

2. Complete las oraciones usando: was-were-wasn’t-weren’t

A. I__________ in Canberra last spring.

B. My brother and I __________ at school last Saturday. We _________ at the mall
C. Tina ___________ at home yesterday, she ___________ at work
D. You ___________ very busy on Friday, right?
E. Jessica and Kimberly ___________ late for school yesterday
F. My elementary school ___________ really big
G. He ____________ in a hurry because there __________ a lot of traffic
H. Last night you ___________ angry because your girlfriend _________ home
I. my father ____________ at work yesterday because he __________ sick