Was — с I, he, she, it; were — с you, we, they: I was tired, they were at home. Вопрос без did: Were you there? Отрицание — wasn't, weren't. Таблица и ошибки.
| Подлежащее | Форма | Пример |
|---|---|---|
| I, he, she, it | was | I was tired. |
| you, we, they | were | They were at home. |
Отрицание: wasn't, weren't. Вопрос: was / were ставится перед подлежащим — Were you at home? — Yes, I was. Did с was и were не нужен: Did you was tired? → Were you tired?
Глагол to be в прошедшем времени имеет две формы: was и were. Это один из самых важных глаголов в английском языке, и его прошедшие формы используются постоянно — для описания состояний, местоположения, характеристик и событий в прошлом. В отличие от остальных глаголов, be не требует вспомогательного глагола did для образования вопросов и отрицаний.
В настоящем времени глагол be имеет три формы: am, is, are. В прошедшем времени они превращаются в две формы:
| Present Simple | Past Simple |
|---|---|
| am (I) | was |
| is (he/she/it) | was |
| are (you/we/they) | were |
Запомните: am/is → was, are → were
| Лицо | Единственное число | Множественное число |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | I was | We were |
| 2 | You were | You were |
| 3 | He/She/It was | They were |
Примеры:
I was tired yesterday. — Я был уставшим вчера.
She was a teacher. — Она была учителем.
We were at home last night. — Мы были дома прошлым вечером.
They were happy. — Они были счастливы.
It was cold outside. — На улице было холодно.
You were right. — Ты был(а) прав(а).
Для образования отрицания добавляем not после was/were:
| Полная форма | Сокращённая форма |
|---|---|
| I was not | I wasn't |
| He/She/It was not | He/She/It wasn't |
| You were not | You weren't |
| We were not | We weren't |
| They were not | They weren't |
Примеры:
I wasn't hungry. — Я не был голоден.
She wasn't at school yesterday. — Её не было в школе вчера.
They weren't ready. — Они не были готовы.
It wasn't expensive. — Это не было дорого.
We weren't friends at that time. — Мы не были друзьями в то время.
Для вопросов переставляем was/were перед подлежащим:
Was/Were + подлежащее + ...?
| Утверждение | Вопрос |
|---|---|
| She was tired. | Was she tired? |
| They were at home. | Were they at home? |
| It was interesting. | Was it interesting? |
| You were busy. | Were you busy? |
Примеры:
Was he a good student? — Он был хорошим студентом?
Were you at the party? — Ты был(а) на вечеринке?
Was it difficult? — Это было сложно?
Were they happy with the result? — Они были довольны результатом?
На вопросы с was/were отвечаем кратко:
| Вопрос | Да | Нет |
|---|---|---|
| Was he tired? | Yes, he was. | No, he wasn't. |
| Were they there? | Yes, they were. | No, they weren't. |
| Was it cold? | Yes, it was. | No, it wasn't. |
| Were you happy? | Yes, I was. | No, I wasn't. |
Частая ошибка
Важно: в кратком ответе was или were выбирают по подлежащему ответа, а не вопроса:
❌ Were you tired? — Yes, I were.
✅ Were you tired? — Yes, I was.
Wh-слово + was/were + подлежащее + ...?
| Wh-слово | Пример | Перевод |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Where was he yesterday? | Где он был вчера? |
| When | When were you in London? | Когда вы были в Лондоне? |
| Why | Why was she angry? | Почему она была сердита? |
| How | How was your weekend? | Как прошли твои выходные? |
| What | What was the problem? | В чём была проблема? |
| Who | Who was that man? | Кто был тот мужчина? |
| How long | How long were you there? | Как долго вы были там? |
| How old | How old were you in 2010? | Сколько тебе было лет в 2010? |
Когда who или what является подлежащим, порядок слов не меняется:
Who was at the meeting? — Кто был на собрании?
What was in the box? — Что было в коробке?
Who was your best friend at school? — Кто был твоим лучшим другом в школе?
She was tall and beautiful. — Она была высокой и красивой.
The house was old but cosy. — Дом был старым, но уютным.
He was a famous actor. — Он был знаменитым актёром.
The food was delicious. — Еда была восхитительной.
I was at work all day. — Я был на работе весь день.
They were in Paris last summer. — Они были в Париже прошлым летом.
The keys were on the table. — Ключи были на столе.
We were at the cinema yesterday. — Мы были в кинотеатре вчера.
I was tired after the trip. — Я устал после поездки.
She was nervous before the exam. — Она нервничала перед экзаменом.
They were excited about the news. — Они были в восторге от новости.
He was afraid of the dark. — Он боялся темноты.
We were surprised by the result. — Мы были удивлены результатом.
It was Monday. — Был понедельник.
It was 3 o'clock when she called. — Было 3 часа, когда она позвонила.
It was 1999 when they moved here. — Был 1999 год, когда они переехали сюда.
It was sunny yesterday. — Вчера было солнечно.
It was rainy all week. — Всю неделю шёл дождь.
It was very cold last winter. — Прошлой зимой было очень холодно.
It was foggy in the morning. — Утром был туман.
I was 10 years old in 2005. — Мне было 10 лет в 2005 году.
She was only 5 when she started playing piano. — Ей было всего 5, когда она начала играть на пианино.
The tickets were $50 each. — Билеты стоили по $50.
There were 30 students in the class. — В классе было 30 учеников.
There was a lot of traffic. — Было много пробок.
Для указания на наличие или отсутствие чего-то в прошлом:
| Единственное число | Множественное число |
|---|---|
| There was a book on the table. | There were books on the table. |
| There wasn't a problem. | There weren't any problems. |
| Was there a meeting? | Were there any questions? |
Примеры:
There was a party last Friday. — В прошлую пятницу была вечеринка.
There were many people at the concert. — На концерте было много людей.
There wasn't enough time. — Времени было недостаточно.
Were there any messages for me? — Для меня были какие-то сообщения?
Эти слова часто указывают на Past Simple (в том числе с was/were):
❌ I were happy. ✅ I was happy.
❌ They was at home. ✅ They were at home.
❌ He were a teacher. ✅ He was a teacher.
❌ We was friends. ✅ We were friends.
❌ Where he was yesterday? ✅ Where was he yesterday?
❌ Why they were late? ✅ Why were they late?
❌ Did you was tired? ✅ Were you tired?
❌ I didn't was at school. ✅ I wasn't at school.
❌ She didn't were happy. ✅ She wasn't happy.
Запомните: вспомогательный глагол did используется только с обычными глаголами (work, go, play...), но не с was/were. Глагол be сам по себе образует вопросы и отрицания.
❌ There was many people. ✅ There were many people.
❌ There were a problem. ✅ There was a problem.
Правило: there was + единственное число, there were + множественное число.
| Present Simple | Past Simple | |
|---|---|---|
| I | am | was |
| He/She/It | is | was |
| You/We/They | are | were |
| Отрицание | am not / isn't / aren't | wasn't / weren't |
| Вопрос | Am/Is/Are + S + ...? | Was/Were + S + ...? |
Примеры:
She is a doctor. → She was a doctor. (Она врач. → Она была врачом.)
They are at home. → They were at home. (Они дома. → Они были дома.)
Is he happy? → Was he happy? (Он счастлив? → Он был счастлив?)
I am not tired. → I wasn't tired. (Я не устал. → Я не был уставшим.)
| Форма | I / He / She / It | You / We / They |
|---|---|---|
| Утверждение | was | were |
| Отрицание | wasn't (was not) | weren't (were not) |
| Вопрос | Was I/he/she/it...? | Were you/we/they...? |
| Краткий ответ (+) | Yes, ... was. | Yes, ... were. |
| Краткий ответ (−) | No, ... wasn't. | No, ... weren't. |
Знать правило и применять его — не одно и то же. Линграмора найдёт ошибки и объяснит каждую по-русски. Первые проверки — прямо здесь, без регистрации.
Was — с I, he, she, it и существительным в единственном числе: I was tired. The film was good. Were — с you, we, they и множественным числом: My parents were at home. С you всегда were, даже если речь об одном человеке: You were right.
Обычно I was: I was tired. I was at home yesterday. Вариант I were tired — ошибка. I were встречается только в нереальных условиях и желаниях: If I were you, I would call her. I wish I were taller. Подробнее — в статье Second Conditional.
Нет: was и were сами встают перед подлежащим — Were you tired? Was it difficult? Отрицание тоже строится без did: I wasn't at school. Did you was tired? и I didn't was at school — ошибки.
There was — с единственным числом и неисчисляемыми существительными: There was a problem. There was a lot of traffic. There were — с множественным числом: There were many people at the concert. There was many people — ошибка.
Was и were — прошедшее время только глагола be: «был», «находился». Остальные глаголы образуют прошедшее время сами: I went to school, а не I was go to school. Was + глагол с -ing — это уже Past Continuous: I was going home. — Я шёл домой.