Guía clara sobre el uso de was y were en inglés con ejemplos y ejercicios prácticos
Uno de los primeros grandes retos al aprender inglés es entender correctamente el verbo to be y sus formas en pasado.
En presente usamos am / is / are, pero en pasado solo existen dos formas: was y were.
Dominar was y were es fundamental porque:
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Aparecen desde nivel A2
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Son clave en speaking y writing
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Se usan en pasado simple, pasado continuo y muchas estructuras más
Estas estructuras se trabajan desde niveles iniciales como A2 y B1 y forman parte del contenido habitual de nuestro curso A2 de inglés online y del curso B1 de inglés online.
En esta guía aprenderás:
👉 Cuándo usar was
👉 Cuándo usar were
👉 Cómo formar frases negativas y preguntas
👉 El uso de there was / there were
👉 50 ejercicios con respuestas
Si todavía no dominas el verbo to be, te recomendamos empezar por nuestra guía completa sobre el verbo to be en inglés, ya que was y were son simplemente sus formas en pasado.
También puedes profundizar en el pasado simple en inglés y aprender cómo usar estas estructuras en situaciones reales.
¿Qué son WAS y WERE?
Was y were son el pasado simple del verbo to be (ser / estar).
En español pueden traducirse como:
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era / estaba
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fui / estuve
En inglés, la elección entre was o were depende solo del sujeto, no del significado.
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre WAS y WERE?
La principal diferencia entre was y were está en el sujeto de la oración. Ambas son formas del pasado del verbo to be, pero no se utilizan con los mismos pronombres.
| Sujeto | Pasado de to be | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| I | was | I was tired. |
| He / She / It | was | She was at home. |
| You | were | You were right. |
| We / They | were | They were happy. |
👉 Regla rápida: usa was con I, he, she, it y were con you, we, they.
Importante: existe una excepción en determinadas situaciones hipotéticas, como If I were you, que explicamos más adelante.
Cuándo usar WAS
👉 Was se usa con I, he, she e it:
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I
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He
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She
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It
Ejemplos con WAS
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I was tired yesterday.
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He was at home last night.
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She was very happy.
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It was cold this morning.
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I was at work all day.
👉 Se usa para describir estados, situaciones, ubicaciones o hechos en el pasado.
Cuándo usar WERE
👉 Were se usa con:
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You (tú / usted / ustedes)
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We
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They
Ejemplos con WERE
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You were right.
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We were on vacation last week.
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They were very tired after work.
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You were late yesterday.
👉 Recuerda: you siempre va con were, aunque sea singular.
Formas negativas: wasn’t / weren’t
Para hacer frases negativas:
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was not → wasn’t
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were not → weren’t
Ejemplos
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I wasn’t at the meeting.
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She wasn’t ready.
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We weren’t happy with the result.
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They weren’t at home.
👉 En pasado simple no se contrae con el pronombre, solo con not.
Preguntas con WAS y WERE
Para hacer preguntas, se invierte el orden:
Estructura
Was / Were + sujeto + complemento?
Ejemplos
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Was I late?
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Were you at work yesterday?
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Was she a doctor?
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Were they ready?
Respuestas cortas (atajo lingüístico)
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Yes, I was / No, I wasn’t
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Yes, you were / No, you weren’t
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Yes, they were / No, they weren’t
There was / There were (había)
Se usan para decir “había” en pasado.
👉 There was → singular
👉 There were → plural
Ejemplos
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There was a problem.
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There was a book on the table.
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There were many people at the party.
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There weren’t any chairs.
¿Por qué se dice “If I were you” y no “If I was you”?
Aunque normalmente utilizamos was con I, he, she e it, hay situaciones hipotéticas en las que utilizamos were.
El ejemplo más habitual es:
If I were you, I would study more.
→ Si yo fuera tú, estudiaría más.
Aquí no estamos hablando de una situación real del pasado, sino de una situación hipotética. Por eso utilizamos were incluso con I.
Otros ejemplos:
- If he were here, he would know what to do.
- I wish she were here.
- If I were rich, I would travel around the world.
👉 Para recordar la estructura, piensa en If I were you…, una expresión muy frecuente para dar consejos.
WAS y WERE en otros tiempos verbales
Pasado continuo
Se usan como auxiliar + verbo en -ing:
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I was studying.
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She was sleeping.
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They were working.
Be going to en pasado
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We were going to travel.
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He wasn’t going to help us.
¿Cuándo usar WAS/WERE y cuándo usar DID?
Was y were son las formas en pasado del verbo to be. En cambio, did se utiliza como auxiliar para formar preguntas y negativas con otros verbos en Past Simple.
Compara:
Were you tired?
→ ¿Estabas cansado?
Did you work yesterday?
→ ¿Trabajaste ayer?
She wasn’t at home.
→ Ella no estaba en casa.
She didn’t work yesterday.
→ Ella no trabajó ayer.
👉 Si el verbo principal es to be, utiliza was/were. Con la mayoría de los demás verbos en preguntas y negativas del Past Simple, utiliza did.
Was y Were en la voz pasiva
Was y were también pueden aparecer en oraciones pasivas en pasado, seguidos de un participio.
Estructura:
sujeto + was/were + participio pasado
Ejemplos:
- The house was built in 1990. → La casa fue construida en 1990.
- The windows were cleaned yesterday. → Las ventanas fueron limpiadas ayer.
- The emails were sent this morning. → Los correos fueron enviados esta mañana.
👉 En este caso, was/were siguen concordando con el sujeto: singular → was; plural → were.
50 ejercicios de Was y Were con respuestas
👉 Completa las frases con was o were.
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I ___ very tired yesterday.
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You ___ late for class.
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She ___ at home last night.
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They ___ happy with the result.
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We ___ on holiday last week.
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It ___ very cold this morning.
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I ___ nervous before the exam.
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You ___ right about the answer.
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He ___ at work all day.
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They ___ at the cinema last night.
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She ___ a nurse before.
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We ___ ready to leave.
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It ___ a difficult test.
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You ___ very busy yesterday.
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I ___ at the party.
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They ___ tired after the trip.
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He ___ angry this morning.
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We ___ students in 2018.
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She ___ very shy as a child.
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You ___ my best friend at school.
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There ___ a mistake in the exam.
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There ___ many people waiting.
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I ___ not at home last night.
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They ___ not invited to the meeting.
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She ___ studying all afternoon.
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We ___ watching a movie.
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It ___ raining yesterday.
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You ___ working late.
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He ___ sleeping when I called.
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They ___ playing football.
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I ___ surprised by the news.
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We ___ not ready.
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She ___ very excited.
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You ___ wrong this time.
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It ___ a great day.
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They ___ at the restaurant.
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I ___ worried about the test.
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We ___ not happy with the service.
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He ___ very kind to me.
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You ___ early today.
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There ___ a dog in the street.
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There ___ no chairs.
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I ___ not feeling well.
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She ___ late again.
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We ___ at the concert.
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They ___ surprised to see me.
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It ___ very noisy.
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You ___ at the wrong place.
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He ___ the best student.
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We ___ exhausted after work.
Respuestas
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Preguntas frecuentes sobre Was y Were
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre was y were?
Was se utiliza normalmente con I, he, she e it, mientras que were se utiliza con you, we y they. Ambas son formas en pasado del verbo to be.
¿Cuándo se usa was y cuándo were?
Usa was cuando el sujeto sea I, he, she o it, y were con you, we o they. Por ejemplo: I was tired y They were tired.
¿Por qué se dice “If I were you”?
En situaciones hipotéticas podemos utilizar were con todos los sujetos. Por eso decimos If I were you para expresar “si yo fuera tú”.
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre was/were y did?
Was y were son formas del verbo to be. Did funciona como auxiliar del Past Simple con otros verbos: Were you tired? pero Did you work yesterday?
Resumen final
👉 Was → I / he / she / it
👉 Were → you / we / they
👉 Se usan para hablar de situaciones pasadas
👉 Son clave en pasado simple y pasado continuo
Dominar was y were te permite construir frases correctas y avanzar con seguridad en inglés.
Si ya dominas el presente y quieres empezar a utilizar correctamente estructuras en pasado como was y were, puedes descubrir nuestro curso online A2 de inglés o hacer nuestro test de nivel gratuito para saber cuál es el mejor punto de partida para ti.
