Día 85 · Pasado de to be: was / were (afirmativo)
⏱️ Duración total: ~3 h 15 min — Clase 60 min · Ejercicios 60 min · Reto 60 min · Quiz ~15 min. Puedes dividirlo en varias sesiones el mismo día.
🎯 Objetivo del día
Al terminar podrás:
- Conjugar el verbo to be en pasado afirmativo (was / were) con todos los pronombres.
- Hablar de dónde estabas, cómo eras o cómo te sentías en el pasado.
- Usar marcadores temporales de pasado (yesterday, last week, in 2010, ago).
- Describir lugares y situaciones pasadas con frases sencillas pero correctas.
📖 Clase (60 min)
Introducción y contexto
Hasta ahora has vivido en el presente: I am, you are, she is. Hoy das un paso enorme: empiezas a hablar del pasado. Y el primer verbo que necesitas en pasado es el más importante de todos, to be ("ser" y "estar"). Con él podrás decir dónde estabas ayer, cómo era un lugar, cómo te sentías o quién era alguien. Es la base de toda narración: antes de contar qué hiciste, casi siempre necesitas situar dónde estabas y cómo era todo.
La buena noticia: el pasado de to be solo tiene dos formas para todos los pronombres: was y were. No hay que aprender una forma distinta para cada persona como en español ("era, eras, éramos…"). Esto lo hace mucho más fácil que en tu idioma.
Explicación detallada (regla por regla)
1. Solo dos formas: was y were.
| Pronombre | Forma | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| I | was | I was tired. (Estaba cansado.) |
| You | were | You were late. (Llegaste tarde / Estabas tarde.) |
| He / She / It | was | She was at home. (Estaba en casa.) |
| We | were | We were happy. (Estábamos felices.) |
| You (plural) | were | You were students. (Erais estudiantes.) |
| They | were | They were in Madrid. (Estaban en Madrid.) |
Regla mnemotécnica: I / he / she / it → was. You / we / they → were. (Igual que en presente am/is → was y are → were.)
2. Was/were traduce a "era / estaba / fue / estuvo".
El inglés usa la misma forma para lo que en español son varios tiempos:
- I was a teacher. → Era profesor. / Fui profesor.
- She was in the kitchen. → Estaba en la cocina. / Estuvo en la cocina.
- They were happy. → Estaban contentos. / Estuvieron contentos.
No te preocupes por elegir entre "era" y "fue": en inglés es was/were en todos los casos.
3. Usos típicos del afirmativo:
- Lugar en el pasado: I was at school yesterday. (Ayer estuve en el colegio.)
- Descripción / estado: The film was great. (La película fue genial.)
- Edad / fechas: She was 20 in 2015. (Tenía 20 años en 2015.)
- Sentimientos: We were very tired after the trip. (Estábamos muy cansados tras el viaje.)
- Profesión / identidad pasada: My grandfather was a farmer. (Mi abuelo era agricultor.)
4. Marcadores temporales de pasado. Estas palabras te avisan de que necesitas pasado:
- yesterday (ayer), yesterday morning/afternoon (ayer por la mañana/tarde)
- last night / last week / last month / last year (anoche / la semana pasada…)
- in 2010, in January (en 2010, en enero)
- two days ago (hace dos días) → ago = "hace", va después del tiempo.
- when I was a child (cuando era niño)
Vocabulario clave
| English | Pronunciación aprox. | Español |
|---|---|---|
| was | uós | era / estaba / fue / estuvo |
| were | uér | eras / estabas / fueron / estuvieron |
| yesterday | yésterdei | ayer |
| last night | last náit | anoche |
| last week | last uík | la semana pasada |
| last year | last yíer | el año pasado |
| ago | egóu | hace (tiempo) |
| in 2010 | in tuénti tén | en 2010 |
| when I was a child | uén ái uós a cháild | cuando era niño/a |
| at home | at hóum | en casa |
| at work | at uérk | en el trabajo |
| born | born | nacido/a |
| tired | táierd | cansado/a |
| happy | jápi | feliz / contento/a |
| afraid | afréid | asustado/a |
| birthplace | bérzpleis | lugar de nacimiento |
Gramática a fondo
Estructura del afirmativo:
Sujeto + was / were + (complemento)
- I + was + at home.
- They + were + very happy.
Contracciones: en afirmativo NO se contrae was/were con el sujeto. No existe "I'sw" ni nada similar. Decimos I was, they were completos. (Las contracciones aparecerán en la negación: wasn't, weren't.)
Con "there": there was / there were. Para decir "había":
- There was a party. (Había una fiesta — singular.)
- There were many people. (Había mucha gente — plural.)
Born = nacer. Se usa siempre con was/were + born:
- I was born in 1990. (Nací en 1990.) — ✗ I born, ✗ I was borned.
- They were born in Mexico. (Nacieron en México.)
Pronunciación y notas de uso
- was en habla rápida y átona suena casi como "uoz" /wəz/, débil: I was tired → "ai uoz táierd".
- were átona suena "uer" /wə(r)/, muy corta: they were happy → "dei uer jápi".
- En frases enfáticas se pronuncian fuertes: "I WAS there!" (¡Sí que estaba ahí!).
- No confundas were (pasado) con where (dónde): suenan parecido pero son distintos. Where were you? → "uér uér yu".
Errores comunes del hispanohablante
- ✗ I were tired. → ✓ I was tired. (con I siempre was.)
- ✗ They was happy. → ✓ They were happy.
- ✗ I have 20 years old when… → ✓ I was 20 (years old) when… (edad con was, no have.)
- ✗ I born in 1990. → ✓ I was born in 1990.
- ✗ She was borned in Spain. → ✓ She was born in Spain. (sin -ed.)
- ✗ Yesterday I am at home. → ✓ Yesterday I was at home. (marcador de pasado pide was.)
- ✗ It was happen ago two days. → ✓ It happened two days ago. (ago va detrás del tiempo.)
Mini-diálogo de ejemplo
A: Where were you last night? I called you. B: I was at my sister's house. It was her birthday. A: Oh, nice! Was it a good party? B: Yes, it was great. There were a lot of people, and the food was delicious. A: Were your parents there too? B: They were, but only for an hour. They were very tired.
Traducción: —¿Dónde estabas anoche? Te llamé. —Estaba en casa de mi hermana. Era su cumpleaños. —¡Ah, qué bien! ¿Fue una buena fiesta? —Sí, fue genial. Había mucha gente y la comida estaba deliciosa. —¿Estaban tus padres también? —Sí, pero solo una hora. Estaban muy cansados.
✍️ Ejercicios (60 min)
Bloque 1 — Completa con was o were (10 min)
- I ___ at home yesterday.
- They ___ very happy.
- She ___ a nurse in 2010.
- We ___ tired after the trip.
- The film ___ boring.
- You ___ late this morning.
- He ___ born in Argentina.
Bloque 2 — There was / There were (8 min)
- ___ a big tree in the garden.
- ___ many people at the concert.
- ___ a problem with the car.
- ___ two cats in the house.
- ___ a lot of noise last night.
Bloque 3 — Traducción Español → Inglés (12 min)
- Ayer estaba muy cansado.
- Mis abuelos eran agricultores.
- Nací en 1995.
- Había mucha gente en la fiesta.
- La comida estaba deliciosa.
- Estábamos en la playa la semana pasada.
Bloque 4 — Traducción Inglés → Español (8 min)
- She was 18 when she moved to London.
- They were born in the same year.
- It was a cold day.
- We were at work all afternoon.
- There were no buses last night.
Bloque 5 — Ordena las palabras (8 min)
- was / I / yesterday / tired / very
- born / They / in / were / Spain
- a / There / party / was / last / night
- children / We / happy / were / as
- at / She / home / was / morning / this
Bloque 6 — Corrige el error (8 min)
- They was at the cinema.
- I were born in 2000.
- I have 25 years old then.
- She was borned in France.
- Yesterday I am sick.
Bloque 7 — Producción escrita (6 min)
Escribe 6 frases sobre tu vida pasada usando was/were: dónde naciste, dónde estabas la semana pasada, cómo eras de niño/a, cómo estuvo tu fin de semana, dónde estaban tus padres anoche, y un recuerdo de hace años.
Ver soluciones
B1: 1. was 2. were 3. was 4. were 5. was 6. were 7. was B2: 1. There was 2. There were 3. There was 4. There were 5. There was B3: 1. Yesterday I was very tired. 2. My grandparents were farmers. 3. I was born in 1995. 4. There were a lot of people at the party. 5. The food was delicious. 6. We were at the beach last week. B4: 1. Tenía 18 años cuando se mudó a Londres. 2. Nacieron el mismo año. 3. Era un día frío. 4. Estuvimos en el trabajo toda la tarde. 5. No había autobuses anoche. B5: 1. I was very tired yesterday. 2. They were born in Spain. 3. There was a party last night. 4. We were happy as children. 5. She was at home this morning. B6: 1. They were at the cinema. 2. I was born in 2000. 3. I was 25 (years old) then. 4. She was born in France. 5. Yesterday I was sick. B7: Respuesta libre. Modelo: I was born in Lima. Last week I was at my office. As a child I was very shy. My weekend was relaxing. My parents were at home last night. Ten years ago I was a student.
🚀 Reto del día (60 min)
"My past in 10 sentences" — Mini-retrato hablado de tu pasado.
Pasos:
- (15 min) Escribe 10 frases afirmativas con was/were: lugar y fecha de nacimiento, cómo eras de niño/a, dónde estabas el verano pasado, qué tal estuvo, quiénes estaban contigo, cómo te sentías.
- (15 min) Añade marcadores de tiempo a cada frase (in 1990, last summer, when I was a child, two years ago).
- (15 min) Grábate leyéndolas en voz alta, 1,5–2 min, cuidando la pronunciación débil de was/were.
- (15 min) Escúchate: ¿usaste was con I/he/she/it y were con you/we/they? Corrige y vuelve a grabar.
Rúbrica de autoevaluación (0–10):
- Elección correcta was/were (4 pts)
- Marcadores de pasado bien colocados, incl. ago (2 pts)
- was born correcto (1 pt)
- Variedad de información y fluidez en audio (3 pts)
✅ Quiz (~15 min)
- "I ___ at home yesterday." (was/were) → ___
- "They ___ very happy." → ___
- ¿Cómo se dice "Nací en 2001"? ___
- ¿was o were con we? ___
- Corrige: "I have 30 years old then."
- Traduce: "Había mucha gente."
- ¿Dónde va ago en "hace dos días"? (antes/después del tiempo) ___
- "She ___ born in Italy." → ___
- Corrige: "They was tired."
- Traduce: "La película fue genial."
Ver respuestas
- was 2. were 3. I was born in 2001. 4. were 5. I was 30 (years old) then. 6. There were a lot of / many people. 7. después del tiempo (two days ago). 8. was 9. They were tired. 10. The film/movie was great.
📚 Recursos
- BBC Learning English – "Past simple of to be (was/were)": https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
- British Council LearnEnglish – Past simple – be: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
- YouTube – English with Lucy / Learn English with Emma: "was vs were" (búsqueda rápida).
⏭️ Siguiente
Mañana aprendemos a negar en pasado con wasn't y weren't: cómo decir lo que NO eras, NO estabas o NO había.
Quiz
Q "I ___ at home yesterday."
* was
- were
- am
Q "They ___ very happy."
* were
- was
- are
Q ¿Cómo se dice "Nací en 2001"?
* I was born in 2001.
- I born in 2001.
- I was borned in 2001.
Q ¿Qué forma usas con *we*?
* were
- was
- be