入門 · Unit 26
be 動詞的過去式
be 動詞的過去式會依照主詞變成 was 或 were 兩種形態，表示「曾經是」、「曾經在」這種過去的狀態或位置。I / he / she / it 後面用 was，you / we / they 後面用 were。
概念說明
be 動詞的過去式會依照主詞變成 was 或 were 兩種形態，表示「曾經是~」、「曾經在~」這種過去的狀態或位置。I / he / she / it 後面用 was，you / we / they 後面用 were。
A. was 和 were — 形態依主詞而改變
be 動詞的過去式依照主詞分成 was 和 were 兩種，把這一組整個背下來就是第一步。請把I / he / she / it 用 was，you / we / they 用 were 當成一組記起來。
| 主詞 | 現在式 | 過去式 |
|---|---|---|
| I | am | was |
| you | are | were |
| he / she / it | is | was |
| we | are | were |
| they | are | were |
- I was at home last night. (我昨晚在家。)
- You were late for the meeting. (你開會遲到了。)
- He was very happy yesterday. (他昨天非常快樂。)
- The children were in the park. (孩子們在公園裡。)
B. 兩種意思 — 「曾經是~」和「曾經在~」
be 動詞的過去式和現在式一樣，一個字同時兼具「曾經是~」(性質、狀態)和「曾經在~」(位置)兩種意思。依照後面接的詞，解讀方向就不一樣。
| was / were 後面 | 意思 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| 名詞、形容詞 | 曾經是~ | She was a teacher. |
| 形容詞 | 曾經是~的狀態 | The soup was cold. |
| 場所表達 | 曾經在~ | We were at the party. |
| 時間、條件 | 曾經是~ | It was midnight. |
- She was a college student two years ago. (她2年前是大學生。)
- The movie was really exciting. (那部電影真的很好看。)
- We were at the beach yesterday. (我們昨天在海邊。)
- It was very cold last winter. (去年冬天非常冷。)
C. 搭配過去時間副詞
be 動詞過去式常和表示特定過去時間點的時間副詞一起使用，yesterday、last week、two years ago、in 2020、when I was young 這類表達最具代表性。把這些信號詞一起學起來，過去時態的語感就會清楚得多。
| 時間表達 | 例句 |
|---|---|
| yesterday | I was tired yesterday. |
| last week / month | She was in Tokyo last week. |
| ~ ago | He was here two hours ago. |
| in + 年份 | We were in Seoul in 2020. |
| when + 子句 | I was shy when I was a child. |
- I was very busy yesterday. (我昨天非常忙。)
- She was sick last week. (她上星期生病了。)
- They were classmates ten years ago. (他們10年前是同班同學。)
- We were in Busan in 2019. (我們2019年在釜山。)
- He was very shy when he was a kid. (他小時候非常害羞。)
重點整理
- 1be 動詞過去式只分成 I / he / she / it → was，you / we / they → were 兩種形態，把這一組配對背起來。
- 2過去式和現在式一樣兼具「曾經是~」、「曾經在~」兩種意思，這一點相同，由後面接的詞決定解讀方向。
- 3yesterday, last week, ~ ago, in + 年份 這類過去時間表達常和過去式一起使用，把這些信號詞學起來。
- 4There is / There are 的過去式 There was / There were 也遵守同樣的規則(單數 was，複數 were)，這一點請一起記住。
- 5when + 主詞 + was / were 常用來當作「小時候~、學生時代~」這種回想的表達，把這個慣用說法學起來。
例句
I was at the library yesterday.
我昨天在圖書館。
She was very happy at the party.
她在派對上非常開心。
He was a great teacher.
他是一位很棒的老師。
It was really cold last night.
昨晚真的很冷。
The movie was very interesting.
那部電影非常有趣。
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 was tired yesterday.
She was a teacher.
We were at home.
They were very kind.
He was here two hours ago.