Guia de gramática

O que é?

As formas do passado simples de to be são was e were.

Use was com:

• I
• he
• she
• it

Use were com:

• you
• we
• they

Exemplos:

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

As formas negativas são was not e were not.

As formas abreviadas comuns são:

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

Quando usar

Use o passado simples de to be para falar sobre:

• estados passados: I was tired.
• sentimentos passados: She was nervous.
• lugares passados: They were at school.
• idades passadas: He was ten years old.
• descrições passadas: The room was small.
• situações passadas: We were very busy.
• datas e horas passadas: It was Monday.

Estrutura

Frases afirmativas

Estrutura:

sujeito + was/were + complemento

• He was tired.
• We were late.

Frases negativas

Estrutura:

sujeito + was not/were not + complemento

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

Perguntas

Estrutura:

Was/Were + sujeito + complemento?

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

Respostas curtas

• 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.

Exemplos

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?

Exceções

Use were em vez de was em algumas expressões formais ou irreais com I, he, she ou it.

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

Em inglês informal, was às vezes é usado nessas expressões, mas were é a forma padrão.

Erros comuns

1. Incorreto: I were tired yesterday. Correto: I was tired yesterday. Explicação: Use was com I.

2. Incorreto: They was at home. Correto: They were at home. Explicação: Use were com they.

3. Incorreto: She didn’t be happy. Correto: She wasn’t happy. Explicação: Não use didn’t com o passado simples de to be.

4. Incorreto: Did he was at work? Correto: Was he at work? Explicação: Não use did em perguntas com was ou were.

5. Incorreto: We wasn’t ready. Correto: We weren’t ready. Explicação: Use weren’t com we.

6. Incorreto: Were she at school? Correto: Was she at school? Explicação: Use was com she.

7. Incorreto: I was not at home? Correto: Was I not at home? Explicação: Coloque was antes do sujeito para formar uma pergunta.

8. Incorreto: They were not tired? Correto: Weren’t they tired? Explicação: Em perguntas, coloque were ou weren’t antes do sujeito.