Día 255 · Pasiva en pasado simple y continuo

⏱️ 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 dominarás el pasado simple pasivo (was/were + participio).
• Aprenderás el pasado continuo pasivo (was/were being + participio).
• Sabrás contar biografías, historia y noticias pasadas con pasiva.
• Distinguirás was built de was being built.
• Corregirás los errores típicos al transformar el pasado activo en pasivo.

📖 Clase (60 min)

Introducción y contexto

La pasiva en pasado es omnipresente en inglés: historia (Rome was founded in 753 BC), biografías (The novel was written in 1925), noticias (Three people were injured), arte y ciencia (Penicillin was discovered by Fleming). Si lees Wikipedia en inglés, verás pasivas en pasado por todas partes. Hoy aprendes a producirlas y entenderlas con soltura.

La lógica no cambia: to be + participio. Solo ponemos be en pasado: was / were. Y para el "estaba siendo…", añadimos being: was/were being + participio.

Explicación detallada (regla por regla)

Regla 1 — Pasado simple pasivo. Fórmula: was / were + participio pasado.

• was → sujeto singular / I / he / she / it.
• were → sujeto plural / you / we / they.
• The bridge was built in 1890. (El puente fue construido en 1890.)
• The pyramids were built by thousands of workers.
• America was discovered in 1492.
• Negativa: The letter was not sent.
• Pregunta: Were the windows broken?

Regla 2 — Transformación desde el pasado activo.

• Activa: Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. → Pasiva: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.
• Activa: They built the cathedral in the 14th century. → The cathedral was built in the 14th century.

Recuerda: el verbo principal pasa a participio (no a pasado simple). Error típico: ❌ Hamlet was wrote.

Regla 3 — Pasado continuo pasivo. Activo: was/were + -ing (They were painting the wall). Pasivo: was/were + being + participio.

• The wall was being painted when I arrived. (La pared estaba siendo pintada cuando llegué.)
• The patients were being treated when the lights went out.
• Se usa para una acción en curso en el pasado (a menudo interrumpida por otra).

Regla 4 — Negativa y pregunta del continuo pasivo.

• The road wasn't being repaired at that time.
• Was the car being washed when you saw it?

Regla 5 — Cuándo cada uno.

Vocabulario clave

Gramática a fondo

Pronunciación y notas de uso

Was átono suena "uoz" /wəz/; tónico (en negativas/respuestas) "uós" /wɒz/. Were átono "uar" /wə/; tónico "uér" /wɜː/. Wasn't = uóznt; weren't = uérnt. En narración formal y noticias, la pasiva con by + agente aparece cuando el autor es relevante: Guernica was painted by Picasso.

Errores comunes del hispanohablante

• ❌ The letter was wrote yesterday. → ✓ The letter was written. (participio)
• ❌ The thieves was arrested. → ✓ The thieves were arrested. (plural → were)
• ❌ The house was build in 1990. → ✓ ...was built...
• ❌ Was discovered America in 1492? → ✓ Was America discovered in 1492? (orden)
• ❌ The wall was painting when I arrived. → ✓ The wall was being painted...
• ❌ The car was been repaired. → ✓ The car was being repaired. (being, no been)

Mini-diálogo de ejemplo

Guide: This castle was built in the 12th century. Tourist: Was it ever attacked? Guide: Yes, it was destroyed in 1450 and later rebuilt. Tourist: And these paintings? Guide: They were painted by a local artist. One was stolen in 1970 but later recovered. Tourist: Amazing. So while the castle was being restored, the village helped? Guide: Exactly. Most of the work was done by volunteers.

Traducción: —Este castillo fue construido en el siglo XII. —¿Fue atacado alguna vez? —Sí, fue destruido en 1450 y reconstruido después. —¿Y estos cuadros? —Fueron pintados por un artista local. Uno fue robado en 1970 pero recuperado después. —Increíble. ¿Mientras el castillo estaba siendo restaurado, ayudó el pueblo? —Exacto. La mayor parte del trabajo fue hecho por voluntarios.

✍️ Ejercicios (60 min)

Bloque 1 — was o were + participio (8 min)

1. The bridge ______ (build) in 1920.
2. Two paintings ______ (steal) last night.
3. America ______ (discover) by Columbus.
4. The houses ______ (destroy) in the storm.
5. The novel ______ (not / publish) until 1960.

Bloque 2 — Pasa a pasiva (pasado simple) (12 min)

1. Fleming discovered penicillin.
2. The Romans built this road.
3. Someone stole my bike yesterday.
4. They didn't invite Tom to the party.
5. The police arrested two men.
6. Did they cancel the concert?

Bloque 3 — Pasa a pasiva (pasado continuo) (10 min)

1. They were repairing the road when the accident happened.
2. Someone was following her.
3. The staff were cleaning the rooms at 10 a.m.
4. They were testing the engine all morning.

Bloque 4 — Traducción Español → Inglés (12 min)

1. El cuadro fue pintado en 1889.
2. Los ladrones fueron detenidos anoche.
3. La carretera estaba siendo reparada cuando llegamos.
4. ¿Cuándo fue construida esta iglesia?
5. La fiesta no fue cancelada.

Bloque 5 — Inglés → Español (8 min)

1. The city was founded in 1620.
2. The documents were not signed.
3. The patient was being treated when the alarm sounded.
4. Were the prizes given last week?

Bloque 6 — Producción escrita (10 min)

Escribe una mini-biografía (6 frases) de un personaje histórico usando pasiva en pasado. Ej.: He was born in 1879. His theory was published in 1905…

🚀 Reto del día (60 min)

"A historical event" — relato narrado.

1. Elige un hecho histórico, un edificio famoso o la biografía de alguien.
2. Escribe 10–12 frases en pasado, con al menos 8 pasivas (mezcla simple y continuo). Ej.: The bridge was designed in 1930. It was being built when the war started. It was finally completed in 1945…
3. Grábate narrándolo (2–3 min) como un documental.
4. Marca cada pasiva: ¿simple o continua? ¿por qué?

Rúbrica de autoevaluación (0–10):

• Corrección de was/were + participio: 0–3
• Uso correcto del continuo pasivo: 0–2
• Concordancia singular/plural: 0–2
• Coherencia narrativa y vocabulario: 0–2
• Pronunciación y fluidez: 0–1

✅ Quiz (~15 min)

1. The pyramids ______ thousands of years ago. a) was built b) were built c) were build
2. Pasa a pasiva: They invented the telephone in 1876.
3. The wall ______ when I arrived. (estaba siendo pintada)
4. Corrige: The book was wrote in 1950.
5. Negativa: The letter was sent. → ?
6. Traduce: "El coche fue robado anoche."
7. was o were: Two men ______ arrested.
8. ¿being o been? It was ______ repaired.
9. Pregunta: They built it in 1900. → pasiva interrogativa.
10. Traduce: "La cena se estaba preparando cuando sonó el teléfono."

📚 Recursos

• BBC Learning English – The passive: past simple.
• British Council: "Passive voice" (past tenses, ejercicios).
• Wikipedia en inglés: lee la entrada de un monumento y subraya las pasivas.
• Perfect English Grammar: past passive worksheet.

⏭️ Siguiente

Mañana: pasiva con futuro y verbos modales (will be done, can be seen, must be finished) — esencial para instrucciones, normas y predicciones.

Quiz

Q "The pyramids ___ thousands of years ago."
* were built
- was built
- were build
Q Pasa a pasiva: "They invented the telephone in 1876."
* The telephone was invented in 1876.
- The telephone was invent in 1876.
- The telephone is invented in 1876.
Q "The wall ___ when I arrived." (estaba siendo pintada)
* was being painted
- was painted
- was being paint
Q Corrige: "The book was wrote in 1950."
* The book was written in 1950.
- The book was wrote in 1950.
- The book was write in 1950.