Día 88 · Preguntas WH con was / were
⏱️ 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 de información en pasado con Where / When / Why / How / Who / What + was/were.
- Pedir y dar detalles sobre lugares, fechas, motivos y descripciones pasadas.
- Distinguir el orden de la pregunta WH del de la afirmación.
- Responder con frases completas y naturales.
📖 Clase (60 min)
Introducción y contexto
Las preguntas de sí/no (Were you tired?) solo dan dos respuestas posibles. Pero la conversación real necesita información: dónde estabas, por qué llegaste tarde, cómo fue el viaje, quién estaba contigo. Para eso usamos las palabras WH (Wh- words): Where, When, Why, How, Who, What, Which, Whose. Hoy las combinas con el pasado de to be. Ya conoces este mecanismo del presente (Where are you? → Where were you?); solo cambia el tiempo verbal.
Explicación detallada (regla por regla)
1. La estructura: WH + was/were + sujeto + …?
Palabra WH + was/were + sujeto + (resto) + ?
- Where were you? (¿Dónde estabas?)
- Why was she late? (¿Por qué llegó tarde?)
- How was the film? (¿Qué tal la película?)
- When were they here? (¿Cuándo estuvieron aquí?)
- Who was with you? (¿Quién estaba contigo?)
2. Las palabras WH y su significado:
| WH | Significado | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Where | ¿dónde? | Where were you yesterday? |
| When | ¿cuándo? | When was the meeting? |
| Why | ¿por qué? | Why were you sad? |
| How | ¿cómo / qué tal? | How was your trip? |
| Who | ¿quién? | Who was at the party? |
| What | ¿qué / cuál? | What was the problem? |
| Which | ¿cuál (de varios)? | Which was your favourite? |
| Whose | ¿de quién? | Whose was that bag? |
| How old | ¿qué edad? | How old were you then? |
| How many | ¿cuántos/as? | How many people were there? |
3. Responder a una WH-question = frase completa, no short answer.
- Where were you? → I was at home. (no Yes, I was).
- Why was she late? → Because there was a lot of traffic. (con because).
- How was the food? → It was delicious.
4. Caso especial: Who/What como SUJETO (sin inversión).
Cuando Who o What es el sujeto de la frase, no se invierte; el verbo va en singular was:
- Who was there? (¿Quién estaba allí?) → Tom and Ana were. / My friends were.
- What was in the box? (¿Qué había en la caja?)
Compara: Where were you? (you es sujeto, inversión normal) vs. Who was with you? (who es sujeto, sin "extra").
5. Con there: How many … were there? / What was there?
- How many people were there? → There were about twenty.
- What was there to eat? → There was pizza.
Vocabulario clave
| English | Pronunciación aprox. | Español |
|---|---|---|
| Where | uér | ¿dónde? |
| When | uén | ¿cuándo? |
| Why | uái | ¿por qué? |
| How | jáu | ¿cómo / qué tal? |
| Who | ju | ¿quién? |
| What | uát | ¿qué? |
| because | bicós | porque |
| traffic | tráfik | tráfico |
| meeting | míting | reunión |
| trip | trip | viaje |
| reason | rízon | razón / motivo |
| weather | uéder | clima / tiempo |
| address | ádres | dirección |
| journey | yérni | trayecto / viaje |
| favourite | féivrit | favorito/a |
| childhood | cháildjud | infancia |
Gramática a fondo
Comparación del orden de palabras:
| Afirmación | Pregunta yes/no | Pregunta WH |
|---|---|---|
| You were at home. | Were you at home? | Where were you? |
| She was late. | Was she late? | Why was she late? |
| It was good. | Was it good? | How was it? |
La palabra WH va delante de todo, luego was/were, luego el sujeto.
No uses did en preguntas WH con to be:
- ✗ Where did you were? → ✓ Where were you?
- ✗ Why did she was sad? → ✓ Why was she sad?
How + adjetivo: muy útil para pedir descripciones:
- How old were you? (¿Qué edad tenías?)
- How long was the film? (¿Cuánto duraba la película?)
- How far was the hotel? (¿A qué distancia estaba el hotel?)
Pronunciación y notas de uso
- Where were es un trabalenguas para hispanohablantes: "UÉR uér". Practícalo lento y luego rápido.
- What was → "UÓT uoz"; Who was → "JU uoz".
- La entonación de las WH-questions baja al final (↘), al contrario que las yes/no: Where were you?↘
- How was…? es la fórmula universal para preguntar "¿qué tal estuvo…?" (el viaje, el examen, la cena).
Errores comunes del hispanohablante
- ✗ Where did you were? → ✓ Where were you?
- ✗ Why she was late? → ✓ Why was she late? (no olvides invertir.)
- ✗ How was the weather? respondido con Yes, it was. → ✓ It was sunny. (WH pide frase completa.)
- ✗ Where were the keys? respondido con In the table. → ✓ On the table.
- ✗ What was do the problem? → ✓ What was the problem?
- ✗ How many people was there? → ✓ How many people were there?
- ✗ Who were at the party? (como sujeto) → ✓ Who was at the party?
Mini-diálogo de ejemplo
A: Where were you on Sunday? I didn't see you. B: I was at my grandmother's house. It was her 80th birthday. A: Wow! How was the party? B: It was lovely. There were about forty people. A: Who was there? B: All my family. Why were you in the city centre on Sunday? A: Because there was a concert. The music was amazing.
Traducción: —¿Dónde estabas el domingo? No te vi. —Estaba en casa de mi abuela. Era su cumpleaños número 80. —¡Vaya! ¿Qué tal la fiesta? —Fue preciosa. Había unas cuarenta personas. —¿Quién estaba? —Toda mi familia. ¿Por qué estabas tú en el centro el domingo? —Porque había un concierto. La música fue increíble.
✍️ Ejercicios (60 min)
Bloque 1 — Completa con la WH correcta (10 min)
- ___ were you yesterday? — At home.
- ___ was she sad? — Because she failed the exam.
- ___ was the film? — It was great.
- ___ was your birthday? — In May.
- ___ was at the party? — All my friends.
- ___ old were you then? — I was 15.
- ___ many people were there? — About thirty.
Bloque 2 — Completa con was o were (8 min)
- Where ___ you last night?
- Why ___ they late?
- How ___ the weather?
- Who ___ with you?
- What ___ the problem?
Bloque 3 — Forma la pregunta WH (la respuesta está subrayada) (10 min)
- I was at the library. (Where…)
- They were late because of the traffic. (Why…)
- The trip was amazing. (How…)
- The meeting was on Monday. (When…)
- Maria was with him. (Who…)
Bloque 4 — Traducción Español → Inglés (10 min)
- ¿Dónde estabas anoche?
- ¿Por qué llegó tarde ella?
- ¿Qué tal estuvo el viaje?
- ¿Cuándo fue la reunión?
- ¿Quién estaba en la fiesta?
- ¿Cuántas personas había?
Bloque 5 — Empareja pregunta y respuesta (8 min)
| Pregunta | Respuesta | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Where were you? | a. Because I was sick. | |
| 2. How was the exam? | b. At my friend's house. | |
| 3. Why were you absent? | c. My cousins were. | |
| 4. Who was at home? | d. It was difficult. | |
| 5. When was the trip? | e. Last summer. |
Bloque 6 — Corrige el error (8 min)
- Where did you were?
- Why she was late?
- How many people was there?
- Who were at the party? (who = sujeto)
- When did the meeting was?
Bloque 7 — Producción escrita (6 min)
Escribe 6 preguntas WH en pasado para conocer la infancia de alguien (dónde nació, cómo era, quién era su mejor amigo, dónde estaba su escuela, etc.) y respóndelas como si fueras tú.
Ver soluciones
B1: 1. Where 2. Why 3. How 4. When 5. Who 6. How 7. How B2: 1. were 2. were 3. was 4. was 5. was B3: 1. Where were you? 2. Why were they late? 3. How was the trip? 4. When was the meeting? 5. Who was with him? B4: 1. Where were you last night? 2. Why was she late? 3. How was the trip? 4. When was the meeting? 5. Who was at the party? 6. How many people were there? B5: 1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c, 5-e B6: 1. Where were you? 2. Why was she late? 3. How many people were there? 4. Who was at the party? 5. When was the meeting? B7: Respuesta libre. Modelo: Where were you born? — I was born in Bogotá. What were you like as a child? — I was very curious. Who was your best friend? — My cousin Ana was. Where was your school? — It was near my house. How was your childhood? — It was happy. When were you the happiest? — When I was ten.
🚀 Reto del día (60 min)
"Childhood interview" — Entrevista grabada sobre la infancia.
Pasos:
- (15 min) Escribe 8 preguntas WH en pasado sobre la infancia de una persona (lugar de nacimiento, cómo era, dónde vivía, quién era su familia, cómo eran sus profesores).
- (15 min) Imagina/escribe las respuestas en frases completas (no short answers).
- (15 min) Grábate el diálogo entrevistador–entrevistado, 2 min, cuidando la entonación descendente de las WH.
- (15 min) Escúchate: ¿WH + was/were + sujeto, sin did? ¿Who/What sujeto sin invertir? Corrige y regraba.
Rúbrica de autoevaluación (0–10):
- Orden WH + was/were + sujeto correcto (3 pts)
- Sin uso de did con to be (2 pts)
- Respuestas completas y coherentes (2 pts)
- Variedad de WH y fluidez en audio (3 pts)
✅ Quiz (~15 min)
- ¿Qué WH para "¿por qué?"? ___
- Completa: "___ were you yesterday?" (¿dónde?)
- Corrige: "Where did you were?"
- "How ___ the film?" (was/were) → ___
- Traduce: "¿Quién estaba contigo?"
- ¿WH-question se responde con short answer? (sí/no) ___
- Corrige: "Why she was late?"
- "How many people ___ there?" (was/were) → ___
- ¿Was o were en "Who ___ at the party?" (who = sujeto) ___
- Traduce: "¿Qué tal estuvo el viaje?"
Ver respuestas
- Why 2. Where 3. Where were you? 4. was 5. Who was with you? 6. No (frase completa). 7. Why was she late? 8. were 9. was 10. How was the trip?
📚 Recursos
- BBC Learning English – "Wh- questions in the past": https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
- British Council LearnEnglish – Question words: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
- YouTube – English with Lucy: "Wh- questions with was/were".
⏭️ Siguiente
Mañana integramos todo en el vocabulario de fechas, ayer y lugares pasados: cómo decir el año, el mes y los días, y situar tus recuerdos en el tiempo.
Quiz
Q ¿Qué palabra WH significa "¿por qué?"?
* Why
- Where
- When
Q "___ were you yesterday?" (¿dónde?)
* Where
- Why
- Who
Q Corrige: "Where did you were?"
* Where were you?
- Where did you were?
- Where was you?
Q "Who ___ at the party?" (*who* = sujeto)
* was
- were
- did