A frase interrogativa do passado do verbo be
A frase interrogativa do passado do verbo be se faz movendo was ou were para antes do sujeito, e no fim da frase vem o ponto de interrogação.
Explicação
A frase interrogativa do passado do verbo be se faz movendo was ou were para antes do sujeito, e no fim da frase vem o ponto de interrogação. A resposta é curta: depois de Yes / No repõem-se o sujeito e was / were, e a contração só entra na resposta negativa.
A. Formar a interrogativa — was / were à frente
Basta mover o was / were da frase afirmativa para antes do sujeito e já se tem uma interrogativa. A única regra é a ordem was/were + sujeito + resto + ?.
| Afirmativa | Interrogativa |
|---|---|
| She was at home. | Was she at home? |
| You were busy. | Were you busy? |
| They were in Seoul. | Were they in Seoul? |
| It was raining. | Was it raining? |
- Was she happy at the party? (Ela estava feliz na festa?)
- Were you late for work? (Você chegou atrasado ao trabalho?)
- Was the food good? (A comida estava boa?)
- Were they at school yesterday? (Eles estavam na escola ontem?)
B. Respostas curtas com Yes / No
À interrogativa no passado do verbo be responde-se em forma curta: Yes / No seguido de 'sujeito + was / were' ou de 'sujeito + wasn't / weren't'. Na resposta afirmativa não se usa contração; só na negativa a contração soa natural.
| Pergunta | Resposta afirmativa | Resposta negativa |
|---|---|---|
| Was she at home? | Yes, she was. | No, she wasn't. |
| Were you tired? | Yes, I was. | No, I wasn't. |
| Were they friends? | Yes, they were. | No, they weren't. |
| Was it cold? | Yes, it was. | No, it wasn't. |
- Was Anna at the meeting? — Yes, she was. (A Anna estava na reunião? Sim, estava.)
- Were you sick last week? — No, I wasn't. (Você estava doente na semana passada? Não, não estava.)
- Were they in Busan last summer? — Yes, they were. (Eles estavam em Busan no verão passado? Sim, estavam.)
C. Interrogativo + was / were — pedir detalhes
Ligando was / were depois de um interrogativo como What / Where / How / Who, obtém-se uma pergunta no passado que busca uma informação precisa, e a ordem é sempre 'interrogativo + was / were + sujeito + ?'.
| Interrogativo | Pergunta de exemplo | Resposta de exemplo |
|---|---|---|
| What | What was your job? | I was a teacher. |
| Where | Where were you? | I was at home. |
| How | How was your trip? | It was great. |
| Who | Who was that man? | He was my uncle. |
| Why | Why were you late? | Because of the traffic. |
- Where were you last night? (Onde você estava ontem à noite?)
- How was your weekend? (Como foi seu fim de semana?)
- Who was at the door? (Quem estava na porta?)
- Why were you so quiet? (Por que você estava tão calado?)
Pontos principais
- 1A interrogativa no passado do verbo be fica pronta só com a passagem de was / were para antes do sujeito: essa ordem é a única regra.
- 2Na resposta é obrigatório repor o sujeito e was / were: lembre-se disso. (X: Yes, was. / O: Yes, I was.)
- 3A resposta afirmativa não se contrai (Yes, I was) e só a negativa se contrai (No, I wasn't): esse uso corrente é o inglês natural.
- 4Ligando was / were depois de um interrogativo (Where / How / Who / Why), obtém-se uma pergunta que busca informação precisa: aprenda essa regra ampliada.
- 5How was ~? é a expressão típica para pedir uma impressão ou avaliação, 'como foi ~?', e aparece muito na conversa real: fique sabendo disso também.