Día 87 · Pasado de to be: preguntas Yes/No y short answers

⏱️ 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:

• Formar preguntas cerradas (sí/no) en pasado con Was…? / Were…?.
• Responder con short answers correctas (Yes, I was. / No, I wasn't.).
• Preguntar y responder sobre lugares, estados y experiencias pasadas.
• Mantener un mini-intercambio de preguntas y respuestas con fluidez.

📖 Clase (60 min)

Introducción y contexto

Ya sabes afirmar (I was) y negar (I wasn't). Hoy completas el sistema con la pregunta. Preguntar es esencial: sin preguntas no hay conversación. Y como pasó con la negación, el verbo to be en pasado se pregunta solo, sin auxiliares. Solo tienes que invertir el orden: poner was/were delante del sujeto. Es el mismo mecanismo que ya conoces del presente (Are you tired? → Were you tired?).

Además aprenderás las short answers (respuestas cortas), que en inglés son obligatorias para sonar natural. En español respondemos "Sí" / "No"; en inglés respondemos "Yes, I was" / "No, I wasn't". Responder solo "Yes" o "No" suena cortante e incompleto.

Explicación detallada (regla por regla)

1. La regla de la inversión. Afirmativo: You were tired. → Pregunta: Were you tired?

Was / Were + sujeto + (complemento) + ?

• Were you at home? (¿Estabas en casa?)
• Was she happy? (¿Estaba contenta?)
• Were they late? (¿Llegaron tarde?)
• Was it expensive? (¿Era caro?)

2. Tabla de preguntas:

3. Short answers (respuestas cortas). Estructura: Yes/No + sujeto + was/were (n't).

Reglas de oro de las short answers:

• En el "Yes" NUNCA se contrae: ✓ Yes, I was. — ✗ Yes, I's.
• En el "No" SÍ se contrae: ✓ No, I wasn't.
• El verbo cambia de persona si hace falta: Were you late? → No, I wasn't. (yo respondo de mí, no de ti).

4. Preguntar por la existencia: Was there…? / Were there…?

• Was there a party? → Yes, there was. / No, there wasn't.
• Were there many people? → Yes, there were. / No, there weren't.

5. Encadenar preguntas (mini-conversación):

• Were you on holiday last week? — Yes, I was.
• Was the weather good? — No, it wasn't. It was rainy.

Vocabulario clave

Gramática a fondo

Pregunta vs. afirmación — solo cambia el orden:

No uses did con to be. Error frecuente:

• ✗ Did you were tired? → ✓ Were you tired?
• ✗ Did she was there? → ✓ Was she there?

Entonación: las preguntas yes/no suben al final (↗): Were you tired?↗

Short answers — cuidado con el verbo y la persona:

• Were they at school? → Yes, they were. (no Yes, they was).
• Was the food good? → No, it wasn't. (it sustituye a the food).

Pronunciación y notas de uso

• En Was she…? la s de was + she casi se funden: "uó-shi".
• Were you…? suena "uér yu" en habla rápida.
• La short answer afirmativa se pronuncia fuerte al final: Yes, I WAS. (sube y baja con énfasis).
• Si solo respondes "Yes" o "No" suenas seco en inglés; añade siempre la short answer: Yes, I was.

Errores comunes del hispanohablante

• ✗ Did you were at home? → ✓ Were you at home?
• ✗ Was you tired? → ✓ Were you tired? (you siempre were.)
• ✗ Yes, I'm was. / Yes, I's. → ✓ Yes, I was. (sin contracción en el "Yes".)
• ✗ Were she happy? → ✓ Was she happy?
• ✗ Was there many people? → ✓ Were there many people? (plural → were.)
• ✗ —Were you late? —Yes. (cortante) → ✓ Yes, I was.
• ✗ Yes, I were. → ✓ Yes, I was.

Mini-diálogo de ejemplo

A: Were you at Sara's party on Saturday? B: Yes, I was. Were you there too? A: No, I wasn't. I was at work. Was it good? B: It was great. There were a lot of people. A: Was the music loud? B: Yes, it was! But it was a fun night. Were your brothers invited? A: They were, but they weren't free.

Traducción: —¿Estuviste en la fiesta de Sara el sábado? —Sí, estuve. ¿Tú también estuviste? —No, no estuve. Estaba en el trabajo. ¿Estuvo bien? —Estuvo genial. Había mucha gente. —¿Estaba alta la música? —¡Sí que lo estaba! Pero fue una noche divertida. ¿Invitaron a tus hermanos? —Sí, pero no estaban libres.

✍️ Ejercicios (60 min)

Bloque 1 — Forma la pregunta con Was/Were (10 min)

1. ___ you at home yesterday?
2. ___ she happy with the news?
3. ___ they at the cinema?
4. ___ it expensive?
5. ___ we right?
6. ___ the shop open?
7. ___ your parents at work?

Bloque 2 — Short answers (10 min)

Responde según el signo (+ = Yes, − = No).

1. Were you tired? (+) → ___
2. Was it good? (−) → ___
3. Were they late? (+) → ___
4. Was she at school? (−) → ___
5. Were we early? (+) → ___
6. Was the museum open? (−) → ___

Bloque 3 — Was there / Were there + short answer (8 min)

1. ___ a problem? (+)
2. ___ many people? (−)
3. ___ any food? (+)
4. ___ a swimming pool? (−)
5. ___ enough chairs? (+)

Bloque 4 — De afirmativo a pregunta (8 min)

1. They were at the beach. → ___
2. She was nervous. → ___
3. It was cold. → ___
4. You were busy. → ___
5. There were ten students. → ___

Bloque 5 — Traducción Español → Inglés (10 min)

1. ¿Estabas de vacaciones la semana pasada?
2. ¿Había mucha gente?
3. ¿Estaba abierto el museo? — No, no estaba.
4. ¿Estuvieron tus amigos en la fiesta? — Sí, estuvieron.
5. ¿Fue caro el hotel?

Bloque 6 — Corrige el error (8 min)

1. Did you were at home?
2. Was you tired?
3. Yes, I were.
4. Were she happy?
5. —Were you late? —Yes.

Bloque 7 — Producción escrita (6 min)

Escribe 5 preguntas en pasado para entrevistar a un amigo sobre su fin de semana, con la short answer que imaginas que daría.

🚀 Reto del día (60 min)

"Past interview" — Entrevista grabada (rol A y B) sobre el pasado.

Pasos:

1. (15 min) Escribe 8 preguntas con Was/Were sobre la semana pasada de alguien (lugar, estado de ánimo, planes, gente, clima).
2. (15 min) Escribe las respuestas con short answers + una frase extra: Yes, I was. It was great.
3. (15 min) Grábate haciendo el diálogo completo (cambia la voz o el tono para A y B), 2 min.
4. (15 min) Escúchate: ¿inversión correcta sin did? ¿short answers sin contraer el "Yes"? Corrige y regraba.

Rúbrica de autoevaluación (0–10):

• Preguntas con inversión correcta (sin did) (3 pts)
• Short answers correctas (Yes sin contraer, No contraído) (3 pts)
• Was/Were there…? bien usado (1 pt)
• Fluidez y entonación de pregunta (3 pts)

✅ Quiz (~15 min)

1. Pregunta de "You were tired": ___
2. Short answer "+": Were you happy? → ___
3. Short answer "−": Was it good? → ___
4. Corrige: "Did you were at home?"
5. ¿Was o Were there many people? ___
6. Corrige: "Yes, I were."
7. Traduce: "¿Estaba abierto el museo?"
8. ¿Se contrae el "Yes" de la short answer? (sí/no) ___
9. Corrige: "Was you late?"
10. Short answer "−": Were they at school? → ___

📚 Recursos

• BBC Learning English – "Past simple questions (be)": https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
• British Council LearnEnglish – Questions and short answers (be past): https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
• YouTube – BBC Learning English: "was/were questions".

⏭️ Siguiente

Mañana añadimos las preguntas WH con was/were (Where were you? Why was she late? How was it?) para obtener información, no solo sí/no.

Quiz

Q Pregunta de "You were tired":
* Were you tired?
- Did you were tired?
- Was you tired?

Q Short answer afirmativa: "Were you happy?"
* Yes, I was.
- Yes, I were.
- Yes, I'm.

Q Corrige: "Did you were at home?"
* Were you at home?
- Did you were at home?
- Was you at home?

Q ¿Se contrae el "Yes" de la short answer?
* No
- Sí
- A veces