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Guide de grammaire

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A1 Beginner Grammaire English

Passé simple de « To Be »

Qu'est-ce que c'est ?

Les formes du passé simple de to be sont was et were.

Utilisez was avec :

  • I
  • he
  • she
  • it

Utilisez were avec :

  • you
  • we
  • they

Exemples :

  • I was tired.
  • She was at home.
  • We were busy.
  • They were happy.

Les formes négatives sont was not et were not.

Les formes contractées courantes sont :

  • was not → wasn’t
  • were not → weren’t

Quand l'utiliser

Utilisez le passé simple de to be pour parler :

  • d'états passés : I was tired.
  • de sentiments passés : She was nervous.
  • de lieux passés : They were at school.
  • d'âges passés : He was ten years old.
  • de descriptions passées : The room was small.
  • de situations passées : We were very busy.
  • de dates et d'heures passées : It was Monday.

Structure

Phrases affirmatives

Sujet Forme Exemple
I was I was at work.
He / She / It was She was happy.
You / We / They were They were at home.

Structure :

sujet + was/were + complément

  • He was tired.
  • We were late.

Phrases négatives

Sujet Forme complète Forme contractée
I / He / She / It was not wasn’t
You / We / They were not weren’t

Structure :

sujet + was not/were not + complément

  • I wasn’t hungry.
  • They weren’t ready.

Questions

Structure :

Was/Were + sujet + complément ?

  • Was she at home?
  • Were they tired?
  • Were you busy?

Réponses courtes

  • Was he late? — Yes, he was.
  • Was she tired? — No, she wasn’t.
  • Were they at school? — Yes, they were.
  • Were you busy? — No, I wasn’t.

Exemples

  1. I was very tired yesterday.
  2. She was at the office this morning.
  3. He wasn’t ready for the meeting.
  4. It was cold last night.
  5. We were happy with the result.
  6. You were very quiet yesterday.
  7. They weren’t at home.
  8. Was your brother at school?
  9. Were the shops open?
  10. Where were you last weekend?

Exceptions

Utilisez were au lieu de was dans certaines expressions formelles ou irréelles avec I, he, she ou it.

  • If I were you, I would wait.
  • I wish she were here.

En anglais informel, was est parfois utilisé dans ces expressions, mais were est la forme standard.

Erreurs courantes

  1. Incorrect : I were tired yesterday. Correct : I was tired yesterday. Explication : Utilisez was avec I.

  2. Incorrect : They was at home. Correct : They were at home. Explication : Utilisez were avec they.

  3. Incorrect : She didn’t be happy. Correct : She wasn’t happy. Explication : N'utilisez pas didn’t avec le passé simple de to be.

  4. Incorrect : Did he was at work? Correct : Was he at work? Explication : N'utilisez pas did dans les questions avec was ou were.

  5. Incorrect : We wasn’t ready. Correct : We weren’t ready. Explication : Utilisez weren’t avec we.

  6. Incorrect : Were she at school? Correct : Was she at school? Explication : Utilisez was avec she.

  7. Incorrect : I was not at home? Correct : Was I not at home? Explication : Placez was avant le sujet pour former une question.

  8. Incorrect : They were not tired? Correct : Weren’t they tired? Explication : Dans les questions, placez were ou weren’t avant le sujet.