Unit 6.1
Il Passato Semplice del verbo To be
Introduction
Il verbo to be è essenziale in grammatica. Si tratta di un verbo ausiliare ed è uno dei verbi irregolari.
Per parlare di situazioni accadute nel passato e che si sono concluse, usiamo il tempo passato [past tense] del verbo.
Form
Il verbo to be è uno di quei verbi che forma il passato in maniera irregolare.
Affermative
| Subject | To Be |
|---|---|
| I | was |
| You | were |
| He | was |
| She | was |
| It | was |
| We | were |
| You | were |
| They | were |
Negative
| Subject | To Be + not | Short form |
|---|---|---|
| I | was not | wasn’t |
| You | were not | weren’t |
| He | was not | wasn’t |
| She | was not | wasn’t |
| It | was not | wasn’t |
| We | were not | weren’t |
| You | were not | weren’t |
| They | were not | weren’t |
Interrogativa
| To Be | Subject | Question Mark |
|---|---|---|
| Was | I | …? |
| Were | you | …? |
| Was | he | …? |
| Was | she | …? |
| Was | it | …? |
| Were | we | …? |
| Were | you | …? |
| Were | they | …? |
Example
Affermativa
- I was a good football player.
- He was here 2 minutes ago.
- We were at the beach earlier.
Negativa
- I wasn’t a good football player
- He wasn’t here 2 minutes ago.
- We weren’t at the beach earlier.
Interrogativa
- Was I a good football player?
- Was he here 2 minutes ago?
- Were you at the beach earlier?
Use
Il passato semplice del verbo to be é usato come collegamento tra il soggetto e il complemento o agettivo. Fornisce delle informazioni aggiuntive sul soggetto al passato.
Summary
Usiamo il passato semplice [past simple] quando vogliamo parlare di situazioni accadute nel passato che sono terminate. Il verbo to be forma il passato in modo irregolare.
- Forma affermativa: (I) was, (you) were, (he/she/it) was, (we/you/they) were;
- Forma negativa: (I) was not, (you) were not, (he/she/it) was not, (we/you/they) were not;
- Forma interrogativa: was (I…?), were (you…?), was (he/she/it…?), were (we/you/they…?).
Per esempio:
— Forma affermativa: “The sugar was enough for the cake.”
— Forma negativa: “The sugar wasn’t enough for the cake.”
— Forma interrogativa: “Was the sugar enough for the cake?”
Rivediamo questo contenuto nella sezione {Form}. Dai un’occhiata alla sezione {Example} che mostra il suo uso in un contesto.
