Verb to be in the past
Verb to be in the past equivale tanto ao pretérito perfeito quanto ao pretérito imperfeito de ser/estar na língua portuguesa. O verbo to be é definitivamente um dos principais verbos da língua inglesa, pois corresponde ao verbo ser/estar em português e ainda pode funcionar como verbo auxiliar em outros tempos verbais, como o presente contínuo ou passado contínuo, entre outros.
Veja também: Will or going to?
Nos tópicos seguintes, abordaremos as principais regras do verbo to be no passado, em sua forma afirmativa, negativa e interrogativa. Be ready!
Verb to be in the past: principais regras
O pretérito do verbo to be tem algumas semelhanças com o presente. Primeiramente, destaca-se que o verbo to be possui uma forma irregular. No presente, temos as formas: am, is, are; no passado: was/were, ou seja, apenas duas formas.
Em segundo lugar, ele não é acompanhado pelo verbo auxiliar did, utilizado no passado simples em frases interrogativas e negativas, como ocorre com os demais verbos. Por último, o verbo to be não pode se contrair na forma afirmativa, apenas na forma negativa com o advérbio não. Por exemplo:
(+) Sheila was at home yesterday. |
(-) Sheila wasn’t (was not) at home yesterday. |
(?) Was Sheila at home yesterday? |
Contrapondo-o aos demais verbos:
(+) Sheila studied at home yesterday. |
(-) Sheila didn’t study at home yesterday. |
(?) Did Sheila study at home yesterday? |
Verb to be in the past: forma afirmativa
Como apontamos anteriormente, o verbo to be em uma frase afirmativa tem uma forma irregular (was/were). Observe a tabela a seguir:
Affirmative |
Examples |
I was |
I was late. |
You were |
You were at my party. |
He was |
He was a student. |
She was |
She was at school. |
It was |
It was a different day. |
We were |
We were married. |
You were |
You were my friends. |
They were |
They were my neighbours. |
Leia mais: Used to: quando utilizar?
Verb to be in the past: forma negativa
Na sua forma negativa, o verbo to be pode ser contraído com o not. Lembre-se de que não utilizamos o auxiliar did. Observe a tabela a seguir:
Negative |
Examples |
I was not = wasn’t |
I wasn’t late. |
You were not = weren’t |
You weren’t at my party. |
He was not = wasn’t |
He wasn’t a student. |
She was not = wasn’t |
She wasn’t at school. |
It was not = wasn’t |
It wasn’t a different day. |
We were not = weren’t |
We weren’t married. |
You were not = weren’t |
You weren’t my friends. |
They were not = weren’t |
They weren’t my neighbours. |
Verb to be in the past: forma interrogativa
Para fazer uma pergunta com o verbo to be no passado, precisamos inverter a ordem da frase afirmativa, ou seja, o verbo vem antes do sujeito. Observe a seguinte tabela:
Interrogative |
Examples |
Was I? |
Was I late? |
Were you? |
Were you at my party? |
Was he? |
Was he a student? |
Was she? |
Was she at school? |
Was it? |
Was it a different day? |
Were we? |
Were we married? |
Were you? |
Were you my friends? Vocês eram meus amigos? |
Were they? |
Were they my neighbours? |
Exercícios resolvidos
Questão 1
Complete as sentenças com was/were, na forma afirmativa ou negativa.
- We _____________ sad with the trip.
- Sarah _____________ at home yesterday. She even cooked lunch.
- Pedro didn’t go to work because he _____________ sick.
- She _____________ at school yesterday. Her parents took her to visit the zoo.
- I _____________ happy because they didn’t come to my party.
Resolução: 1 – weren’t, 2 – was, 3- was, 4 – wasn’t, 5 – wasn’t.
Questão 2
Escreva perguntas com was/were e as palavras a seguir:
- You/at school?
- Why/he/late/yesterday?
- The shoes/very expensive?
- They/in Paris/ last vacations?
Resolução:
As perguntas são:
- Were you at school?
- Why were you late yesterday?
- Were the shoes very expensive?
- Were they in Paris last vacations?