was と were は am、is、are の過去形です。「どこにいたか」「どうだったか」「どんな様子だったか」を言うときに使います。日本語の「〜だった」「〜にいた」「〜があった」が、英語ではすべて be 動詞で表されます。
I was at home yesterday.
昨日は家にいました。
The film was great.
その映画はすばらしかった。
We were very tired.
私たちはとても疲れていました。
was か were か
I、he、she、it の後、また人や物が一つのときは was を使います。you、we、they の後、また二つ以上のときは were を使います。
Yuki was late this morning.
ユキは今朝遅刻しました。
My parents were in London last week.
両親は先週ロンドンにいました。
否定文
was や were の後に not を付けます。短縮形は wasn't と weren't です。
They weren't at school.
彼らは学校にいませんでした。
疑問文と短い答え
was や were を主語の前に出します。短い答えは Yes, I was. や No, it wasn't. です。
Were you at the party?
パーティーにいましたか？
Where was Sam last night?
サムは昨夜どこにいたのですか？
How was your weekend?
週末はどうでしたか？
there was、there were
「〜があった」「〜がいた」は there was / there were で表します。
There was a cat in the garden.
庭に猫がいました。
There were a lot of people at the concert.
コンサートにはたくさんの人がいました。
was born
いつ、どこで生まれたかは was born か were born で言います。
I was born in 2001.
私は2001年に生まれました。
よくある間違い
- × You was late. → You were late.
- × We was happy. → We were happy.
- × I am born in 2001. → I was born in 2001.
- × Did you be at home? → Were you at home?
- × I wasn't be there. → I wasn't there.
Lingaku