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Grammaticagids

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A1 Beginner English grammatica

Past Simple van “To Be”

Wat is het?

De verleden tijd van to be is was en were.

Gebruik was met:

  • I
  • he
  • she
  • it

Gebruik were met:

  • you
  • we
  • they

Voorbeelden:

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

De ontkennende vormen zijn was not en were not.

De veelgebruikte korte vormen zijn:

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

Wanneer gebruiken

Gebruik de verleden tijd van to be om te praten over:

  • vroegere toestanden: I was tired.
  • vroegere gevoelens: She was nervous.
  • vroegere locaties: They were at school.
  • vroegere leeftijden: He was ten years old.
  • vroegere beschrijvingen: The room was small.
  • vroegere situaties: We were very busy.
  • vroegere data en tijden: It was Monday.

Structuur

Bevestigende zinnen

Onderwerp Vorm Voorbeeld
I was I was at work.
He / She / It was She was happy.
You / We / They were They were at home.

Structuur:

onderwerp + was/were + aanvulling

  • He was tired.
  • We were late.

Ontkennende zinnen

Onderwerp Volledige vorm Korte vorm
I / He / She / It was not wasn’t
You / We / They were not weren’t

Structuur:

onderwerp + was not/were not + aanvulling

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

Vragen

Structuur:

Was/Were + onderwerp + aanvulling?

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

Korte antwoorden

  • 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.

Voorbeelden

  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?

Uitzonderingen

Gebruik were in plaats van was in sommige formele of onwerkelijke uitdrukkingen met I, he, she of it.

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

In informeel Engels wordt was soms gebruikt in deze uitdrukkingen, maar were is de standaardvorm.

Veelvoorkomende fouten

  1. Onjuist: I were tired yesterday. Juist: I was tired yesterday. Uitleg: Gebruik was met I.

  2. Onjuist: They was at home. Juist: They were at home. Uitleg: Gebruik were met they.

  3. Onjuist: She didn’t be happy. Juist: She wasn’t happy. Uitleg: Gebruik didn’t niet met de verleden tijd van to be.

  4. Onjuist: Did he was at work? Juist: Was he at work? Uitleg: Gebruik did niet in vragen met was of were.

  5. Onjuist: We wasn’t ready. Juist: We weren’t ready. Uitleg: Gebruik weren’t met we.

  6. Onjuist: Were she at school? Juist: Was she at school? Uitleg: Gebruik was met she.

  7. Onjuist: I was not at home? Juist: Was I not at home? Uitleg: Zet was vóór het onderwerp om een vraag te vormen.

  8. Onjuist: They were not tired? Juist: Weren’t they tired? Uitleg: Zet in vragen were of weren’t vóór het onderwerp.