入門 · Unit 27
be 動詞過去式的否定句
be 動詞過去式的否定句是在 was 或 were 後面直接加上 not，口語中縮寫 wasn't / weren't 用得頻繁得多。語序就是was / were + not 這麼單純。
概念說明
be 動詞過去式的否定句是在 was 或 were 後面直接加上 not，口語中縮寫 wasn't / weren't 用得頻繁得多。語序就是was / were + not 這麼單純。
A. 否定句語序 — was / were + not
be 動詞過去式的否定句只要在 was 或 were 後面放進 not 就完成了，語序非常單純。要依照主詞來選擇 was not / were not。
| 主詞 | 否定句 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| I / he / she / it | was + not | I was not sick. |
| you / we / they | were + not | You were not late. |
| 單數名詞 | was + not | The soup was not hot. |
| 複數名詞 | were + not | The books were not mine. |
- I was not hungry at lunch. (我午餐的時候不餓。)
- The movie was not very interesting. (那部電影不太有趣。)
- We were not at the party. (我們當時不在派對上。)
- They were not happy about the news. (他們對那個消息並不高興。)
B. 縮寫 — wasn't / weren't
在口語和日常書寫中，was not → wasn't, were not → weren't 這樣縮寫起來自然得多。縮寫時用撇號(')來代替 o。
| 原形 | 縮寫 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| was not | wasn't | He wasn't home. |
| were not | weren't | They weren't tired. |
- She wasn't at school yesterday. (她昨天不在學校。)
- The coffee wasn't too hot. (咖啡並沒有太燙。)
- We weren't ready for the exam. (我們當時還沒準備好考試。)
- They weren't friends before. (他們以前不是朋友。)
C. 搭配過去時間表達
過去否定句常和表示特定過去時間點的時間副詞結合，用來表達在那個時間點並不是某種狀態。yesterday, last week, ~ ago, at that time, when I was young 這類表達最具代表性。
| 時間表達 | 例句 |
|---|---|
| yesterday | I wasn't busy yesterday. |
| last week | She wasn't there last week. |
| ~ ago | He wasn't happy ten years ago. |
| at that time | We weren't friends at that time. |
- The weather wasn't great yesterday. (昨天的天氣不太好。)
- She wasn't sick last week. (她上星期沒有生病。)
- They weren't married five years ago. (他們5年前還沒有結婚。)
- I wasn't interested in music at that time. (我當時對音樂沒有興趣。)
重點整理
- 1be 動詞過去式的否定句只要在 was / were 後面加上 not 就好，這個語序規則是唯一的原則。
- 2口語中 wasn't / weren't 這種縮寫自然得多，知道這一點就能更接近道地的英語。
- 3和現在式一樣，was / were 後面的 not 絕對不能移到其他位置，要遵守這個語序。
- 4過去否定句常和 yesterday / last week / ~ ago 這類過去時間表達一起出現，把這個信號詞規則學起來。
- 5一般動詞過去式的否定句(didn't + 原形動詞)和 be 動詞過去式的否定句(wasn't / weren't)絕對不能混用，這個區別很重要。
例句
I was not at the office yesterday.
我昨天不在辦公室。
She was not home last night.
她昨晚不在家。
He was not happy with the result.
他對那個結果並不滿意。
It was not cold this morning.
今天早上不冷。
The movie was not interesting.
那部電影並不有趣。
這個單元還有更多例句。註冊後可以看完整內容並聆聽發音。
容易犯的錯誤
I wasn't home yesterday.
She wasn't tired.
They weren't at the party.
We were not ready.
He was not there yesterday.