Past Simple: was / were

Was e were são as formas de passado (Past Simple) do verbo to be. Usamos essas formas para descrever como as coisas eram ou estavam no passado: onde você estava, como se sentia, como estava o tempo ou quantos anos alguém tinha. São algumas das palavras mais comuns do inglês, então usá-las bem faz uma grande diferença.

A boa notícia: há apenas duas formas para aprender, e a escolha entre elas depende unicamente do sujeito.

Quando usamos was e were?

Use was e were para falar de pessoas, coisas, lugares, situações e estados no passado — em resumo, sempre que o verbo principal for to be:

• Lugar: I was at home yesterday.
• Sentimentos: She was really happy.
• Idade: She was five years old then.
• Tempo (clima): It was cold last night.
• Descrição: The film was boring.

Was ou were? Escolha pelo sujeito

A regra básica é simples: use was com sujeitos no singular e were com sujeitos no plural.

Há apenas uma exceção: you sempre leva were, quer se refira a uma pessoa ou a várias — exatamente como sempre leva are no presente (you are → you were).

Resumindo: I, he, she, it → was e you, we, they → were.

Ao contrário do português: o inglês não separa ser e estar — was / were cobre os dois (era e estava). E o verbo não muda com a pessoa: só singular (was) e plural (were).

Como formar a negativa

Para formar a negativa, basta acrescentar not depois de was ou were. No inglês do dia a dia, quase sempre usamos as formas contraídas wasn't e weren't.

• I wasn't hungry. (was not)
• They weren't at school. (were not)
• It wasn't easy.
• We weren't ready.

Como fazer perguntas

Para fazer uma pergunta, coloque was ou were antes do sujeito:

• Was she at the party?
• Were you tired?
• Where were they last night?
• Why was he late?

Nas respostas curtas, repetimos was ou were:

• "Were you happy?" — "Yes, I was." / "No, I wasn't."
• "Was it good?" — "Yes, it was." / "No, it wasn't."

There was e there were

Use there was para uma coisa (singular) e there were para mais de uma (plural):

• There was a problem with the car. (um problema)
• There were lots of people there. (muitas pessoas)
• There wasn't any milk in the fridge.
• There weren't any tickets left.

Substantivos incontáveis — como water, traffic ou money — também levam was, mesmo quando há muito:

• There was some water on the floor.
• There was a lot of traffic this morning.

Na fala informal, você pode ouvir There was lots of people … com plural, mas em inglês cuidado use There were para o plural.

Expressões de tempo passado comuns

Was e were aparecem com frequência junto a palavras que indicam um tempo terminado:

yesterday · last night · last week · last year · two days ago · when I was a child

• I was busy yesterday.
• They were here last week.
• She was shy when she was a child.

Erros comuns

• ❌ You was late. → ✅ You were late. (you sempre leva were)
• ❌ We was happy. → ✅ We were happy.
• ❌ There were a car outside. → ✅ There was a car outside. (um carro → was)
• ❌ Was you at home? → ✅ Were you at home?

Verificação rápida

Escolha was ou were:

1. The weather ____ beautiful yesterday.
2. My parents ____ born in Italy.
3. ____ you at the meeting?
4. There ____ three messages for you.

Pontos principais

• Was e were são o Past Simple de to be — use-os para falar de pessoas, coisas, lugares, situações e estados no passado.
• I / he / she / it → was e you / we / they → were.
• Negativa: wasn't e weren't. Pergunta: was / were vem primeiro.
• There was para uma coisa, there were para mais de uma.