Was 和 were 是动词 to be 的一般过去时形式。我们用它们来描述过去的情况——你当时在哪里、感觉如何、天气怎样，或者某人当时多大。它们是英语中最常用的词之一，所以用对它们会带来很大不同。

好消息是：要学的只有两种形式，而选哪一个完全取决于主语。

什么时候用 was 和 were？

用 was 和 were 来谈论过去的人、事物、地点、情形和状态——简单说，只要主要动词是 to be，就用它们：

  • 地点： I was at home yesterday.
  • 感受： She was really happy.
  • 年龄： She was five years old then.
  • 天气： It was cold last night.
  • 描述： The film was boring.

Was 还是 were？按主语来选

基本规则很简单：单数主语用 was，复数主语用 were。

主语 数 形式 例句
I 单数 was I was tired.
he / she / it 单数 was She was at work.
we 复数 were We were late.
they 复数 were They were friends.
you 单数或复数 were You were right.

只有一个例外：you 永远用 were，无论指一个人还是多个人——就像它在一般现在时里永远用 are 一样（you are → you were）。

写出来就是：I、he、she、it → was，而 you、we、they → were。

和中文很不同： 中文里形容词前不用「是」（「她很高兴」），动词也不随时态变化。但英语必须用 be 动词，过去要用 was / were：要说 She was happy，不能说 She happy。

如何构成否定句

构成否定句，只需在 was 或 were 后面加 not。在日常英语中，我们几乎总是使用缩写形式 wasn't 和 weren't。

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

如何提问

提问时，把 was 或 were 放在主语前面：

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

简短回答时，重复 was 或 were：

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

There was 和 there were

一件事物（单数）用 there was，多件事物（复数）用 there were：

  • There was a problem with the car.（一个问题）
  • There were lots of people there.（很多人）
  • There wasn't any milk in the fridge.
  • There weren't any tickets left.

不可数名词——比如 water、traffic 或 money——即使数量很多，也用 was：

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

在口语中你可能会听到 There was lots of people … 用复数，但在规范英语中，复数应使用 There were。

常见的过去时间表达

Was 和 were 常与表示已结束时间的词一起出现：

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.

常见错误

  • ❌ You was late. → ✅ You were late.（you 永远用 were）
  • ❌ We was happy. → ✅ We were happy.
  • ❌ There were a car outside. → ✅ There was a car outside.（一辆车 → was）
  • ❌ Was you at home? → ✅ Were you at home?

快速练习

选择 was 或 were：

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

要点回顾

  • Was 和 were 是 to be 的一般过去时——用来谈论过去的人、事物、地点、情形和状态。
  • I / he / she / it → was，而 you / we / they → were。
  • 否定：wasn't 和 weren't。疑问：was / were 放在最前面。
  • 一件事物用 there was，多件事物用 there were。