La interrogación en pasado continuo
La interrogativa del pasado continuo se forma moviendo was / were delante del sujeto y añadiendo el signo de interrogación al final.
Explicación
La interrogativa del pasado continuo se forma moviendo was / were delante del sujeto y añadiendo el signo de interrogación al final. La respuesta es breve: detrás de Yes / No se vuelven a poner el sujeto y was / were, y la contracción solo se usa en la respuesta negativa.
A. Orden de la interrogativa — was / were + sujeto + verbo-ing
Basta con mover delante del sujeto el was / were de la oración enunciativa para obtener la interrogativa. La única regla es el orden was / were + sujeto + verbo-ing + ?.
| Enunciativa | Interrogativa |
|---|---|
| You were reading. | Were you reading? |
| He was sleeping. | Was he sleeping? |
| They were coming. | Were they coming? |
| It was raining. | Was it raining? |
- Were you working late last night? (¿Anoche estuviste trabajando hasta tarde?)
- Was she waiting for me? (¿Me estaba esperando?)
- Were they having dinner? (¿Estaban cenando?)
B. Respuesta breve con Yes / No
A una interrogativa en pasado continuo se responde brevemente con «sujeto + was / were» o «sujeto + wasn't / weren't» detrás de Yes / No. En la respuesta afirmativa no se usa contracción; solo resulta natural en la negativa.
| Pregunta | Respuesta afirmativa | Respuesta negativa |
|---|---|---|
| Were you studying? | Yes, I was. | No, I wasn't. |
| Was she cooking? | Yes, she was. | No, she wasn't. |
| Were they playing? | Yes, they were. | No, they weren't. |
| Was it raining? | Yes, it was. | No, it wasn't. |
- Was Anna at the party dancing? — Yes, she was. (¿Estaba Anna bailando en la fiesta? Sí, estaba bailando.)
- Were you feeling okay last night? — No, I wasn't. (¿Te encontrabas bien anoche? No, no me encontraba bien.)
- Were the kids sleeping? — Yes, they were. (¿Estaban durmiendo los niños? Sí, estaban durmiendo.)
C. Interrogativo + was / were + sujeto + verbo-ing
Si detrás de un interrogativo como What / Where / When / Why / How se encadena was / were + sujeto + verbo-ing, se obtiene una interrogativa en pasado continuo que pide información concreta. Este patrón se usa mucho para preguntar qué se estaba haciendo ayer o en aquel momento.
| Interrogativo | Pregunta de ejemplo | Respuesta de ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| What | What were you doing at 9? | I was watching TV. |
| Where | Where was she going? | To the library. |
| Why | Why were they laughing? | Because of a joke. |
| How | How were you feeling? | I was feeling tired. |
| Who | Who were you talking to? | My friend Anna. |
- What were you thinking about? (¿En qué estabas pensando?)
- Where was he going in such a hurry? (¿Adónde iba con tanta prisa?)
- Why were you crying yesterday? (¿Por qué llorabas ayer?)
- Who were they waiting for? (¿A quién estaban esperando?)
Ideas clave
- 1La única regla es el orden: la interrogativa en pasado continuo se completa solo moviendo was / were delante del sujeto.
- 2En la respuesta, lo afirmativo no se contrae (Yes, I was) y solo se contrae lo negativo (No, I wasn't): así es el inglés natural.
- 3Recuerda que en la respuesta hay que volver a poner sin falta el sujeto y was/were. (X: Yes, was. / O: Yes, I was.)
- 4Ten en cuenta que What were you doing? es una expresión hecha que significa «¿qué estabas haciendo?» y se usa muchísimo al hablar.
- 5Recuerda esta regla de ampliación: si aprendes de una vez el orden interrogativo + was/were + sujeto + verbo-ing, podrás preguntar por una situación pasada con todo detalle.