El verbo to be es el equivalente al verbo ser o estar en español. En el tiempo pasado (past tense) se conjuga de dos maneras diferentes dependiendo de las persona o pronombres personales:
Se escribe was con los pronombres personales I, He, She, It:
- I was (Yo era o Yo estaba)
- He was (Él era o Él estaba)
- She was (Ella era o Ella estaba)
- It was (Eso era o Eso estaba)
Se escribe were con los pronombres personales You, We, They:
- You were (Tú eras o Tú estabas)
- We were (Nosotros éramos o Nosotros estábamos)
- You were (Ustedes eran o Ustedes estaban)
- They were (Ellos eran o Ellos estaban)
Ejemplos:
- I was a good student. (Yo era un buen estudiante).
- We were old friends. (Nosotros éramos viejos amigos).
- He was a student. (Él era un estudiante).
- The pencil was on the desk. (El lápiz estaba sobre el escritorio).
- She was absent from class yesterday. (Ella no estaba en clase ayer).
- The sky was clear. (El cielo estaba limpio).
- The child was in the garden. (El niño estaba en el jardín).
- It was a pleasant day. (Fue un día placentero)
- She was sick yesterday. (Ella estaba enferma ayer).
- He was a businessman. (Él era un hombre de negocios).
- He was a lawyer. (Él era un abogado).
- Yesterday was Monday. (Ayer fue lunes).
- He and Mary were good students. (Él y Mary fueron buenos estudiantes).
- The man on the corner was waiting the bus. (Él hombre en la esquina estaba esperando el autobús).
- He was in Europe. (Él estaba en Europa).
- He was tired last night. (Él estaba cansado anoche)
- The tax was high. (El impuesto era alto).
- The workout was easy to do. (El ejercicio fue fácil de hacer)
- She was angry. (Ella estaba enojada).
- You were very serious. (Tú eras muy serio).
- The window was closed. (La ventana estaba cerrada)
- He was in the same class as Peter last year. (Él estaba en la misma clase que Peter el año pasado)
- We were members of the club. (Nosotros éramos miembros del club).
- She was a good football player. (Ella era una buena jugadora de futbol).
- The sky was cloudy. (El cielo estaba nublado).
- She was hungry after workout. (Ella estaba hambrienta después del ejercicio)
- They were good friends for many years. (Ellos eran buenos amigos por muchos años)
- He was in his office. (Él estaba en su oficina).
- We were busy yesterday. (Nosotros estábamos ocupados ayer)
- It was a good movie. (Fue una buena película).
- We were married. (Nosotros estábamos casados)
- They were sick yesterday. (Ellos estaban enfermos ayer)
- He was a happy child. (Él era un niño feliz).
- She was a stranger to him. (Ella era una extraña para él)
- He was at the beach this morning. (Él estaba en la playa esta mañana)
- She was a pretty woman. (Ella era una mujer bonita)
- My uncle was a good swimmer. (Mi tío era un buen nadador)
- They were old friends of my family. (Ellos eran viejos amigos de mi familia)
- My aunt was a good tennis player. (Mi tía era una buena jugadora de tenis)
- I was tired after a long walk. (Yo estaba cansado después de una larga caminata)
- The wind was very strong. (El viento era muy fuerte)
- He was a football player at college. (Él era un jugador de futbol en la universidad)
- He was her boyfriend. (Él era su novio)
- The party was boring. (La fiesta estaba aburrida)
- She was eating when I arrived. (Ella estaba comiendo cuando llegué)
- I was happy to see you. (Yo estaba feliz de verte)
- He was reading. (Él estaba leyendo)
- She was doing her homework. (Ella estaba haciendo su tarea)
- She was cooking a cake. (Ella estaba cocinando un pastel)
- They were here yesterday. (Ellos estaban aquí ayer)
- He was sad. (Él estaba triste)
- Her teeth were yellow. (Sus dientes estaban amarillos)
- She was uncomfortable. (Ella estaba incómoda)
- The windows were dirty. (Las ventanas estaban sucias)
- It was hot yesterday. (Estuvo caluroso ayer)
- I was at the movies yesterday. (Estuve en el cine ayer)
- They were at home this morning. (Ellos estuvieron en casa esta mañana)
- She was a quiet baby. (Ella era una bebé muy tranquila)