動詞 ‘to be’ 看似簡單，實則不然。但是當您開始培養英語會話技能和英語詞彙時，這個動詞會變得非常有用，尤其是當您想談論自己的生活經歷時。在這篇文章中，我們將嘗試讓這個動詞變得更容易理解。請記住，如果您覺得英語文法難以理解，參加面對面的英語課程會非常有幫助。因為您可以向老師提問並即時獲得解答，所以學習速度更快。請參考以下成人英語課程：
如何使用動詞 ‘to be’ 來談論過去的事情
在過去簡單式中，這個動詞會變為不規則形式
| Declarative | Negative | Interrogative |
| I was | I wasn't | Was I...? |
| You were | You weren't | Were you...? |
| He / She / It was | He / She / It wasn't | Was he/she/it..? |
| We were | We weren't | Were we...? |
| You were | You weren't | Were you...? |
| They were | They weren't | Were they...? |
動詞 ‘to be’ 用來描述狀態和情況，例如，描述您的感受。您也可以使用 ‘to be’ 描述事物。在使用 to be 來描述過去的事件時，請務必使用上述的形式。
例如：
The party was amazing!
We were really happy!
您可能已經注意到這個動詞的用法與其他描述動作的英語動詞不同。這是因為使用這個動詞時不需要加上助動詞。句子中沒有 did or didn’t 或任何其他動詞，只有動詞 ‘to be’ 處於正確的疑問位置。
Were you sad yesterday?
Was it your birthday on Sunday?
請記住，使用 was / were 時，通常表示過去發生的事情或事件。
使用時機？
‘To be’ 有時也稱為連綴動詞，因為它將句子的主詞 (通常是人或其他名詞) 與提供更多資訊的單字連接起來。請參考以下例子：
‘Their house was enormous’.
在此句子中，我們得知有關房子大小的資訊，具體來說，就是該房子在某個過去時刻的大小。房子是主詞 + was + 用來描述房子的形容詞。
有許多很棒的句型可以使用 was/were，您可以在英語會話中使用這些句型。以下是一個您可以根據不同背景調整的句型。
It was great to visit the Art Gallery
It was exciting to go on the Roller Coaster ride
The children were happy to meet new friends at their new school
這些句子都遵循以下句型：主詞 + was/were + 形容詞 + to + 不定詞。
因為我們使用此動詞來提供有關人或事物的資訊，所以也可以用它來談論過去的數量、金錢和工作等內容。我們也可以用它來談論曾經屬於我們的事物。
Look at that house over there. It was mine! I sold it last year.
She was a teacher for ten years.
How much was the pizza? It was €18!
我們也可以使用‘there was’ (單數) 來談論過去的某個事物。如果需要談論多個事物，則要使用 'there were' (複數)。例如，如果要描述您的社區或曾經造訪過的地方時，可以這樣說：
When I was younger there were fewer cars around. And there was only one small shop in my street.
或
Our holiday to Rome last month was wonderful! There were loads of great shops and there was a fantastic traditional Italian restaurant near our hotel.
記住基本結構：
| Declarative | Negative | Interrogative |
| There was a + singular noun | There wasn't a + singular noun | Was there a/any + singular noun? |
| There were + noun in plural | There weren't + noun in plural | Were there any + noun in plural? |
Was/were 也用於討論 past continuous 的動作。past continuous 是一種用來描述過去某個時間點正在發生的事情之方式。這就像說某人在某個特定時刻正在做什麼。
我們使用以下句型來構成過去進行式：
was / were + 動詞 + -ing
- "I was eating then."(This means I was in the middle of eating at that time.) (我當時正在吃東西。這意味著我當時正在吃東西。)
- "They were playing."(This means they were in the middle of playing.) (他們當時正在玩。這意味著他們那時候正在玩。)
I was + 動詞不定詞 + -ing
請看以下例子：
I was watching a movie at 10pm last night.
I was still sleeping at 9am on Saturday morning.How about you?
We were having dinner at 8.30pm
Were you sleeping while I was talking?
如果您想深入學習此文法，請查看 LearnEnglish Teens 網站上的 Grammar Bytes 部分。如果您想幫助孩子學習此文法，LearnEnglish Kids 網站上此處有一個很棒的參考部分。
使用 Was/were 的例外情況和一些棘手的片語。
我們已經了解如何使用 was/were 來描述狀態。您也可以用它來談論過去的感受。那麼，如果您想描述昨天有多冷呢？是的，您使用 was 或 were！請參考以下例子：
It was freezing yesterday!
My hands were really cold!
It was sunny on Thursday
The children were hungry by lunchtime!
Lukas Graham 的歌曲〈Seven〉包含許多使用 was/were 的例子。他用它們來談論他的童年記憶。
當我們學習在過去簡單式中提問時，我們通常會使用結構 'Did you + verb...? (Did you + 動詞原形……？)在學習英語的過程中，這些內容會自然而然地浮現在您的腦海中。使用像這樣的片語結構，是提高英語會話技能的好方法。不過請注意，有時候我們可能會誤用這種片語結構，而其實應該使用 was or were.
例如：
‘Did you were here yesterday?’ X
‘Were you here yesterday?’✔
在大聲說出問題之前，先練習使用 was / were 提問會很有幫助。例如，初次與您見面的人通常會問一些與您的過去相關的問題，比如「在哪裡出生？」或「什麼時候出生？」。在英語會話課上練習這些片語，有助於提升您的自信，讓英語對話更流暢。
例如:I was born in Seoul” or “I was born in 1995”
歌曲中使用 was/were 的著名例子
- Taylor Swift 唱的〈All You Had To Do Was Stay〉。
- 〈Papa Was a Rolling Stone〉，這是一首富有節奏感的靈魂歌曲，原本由 The Temptations 在 1972 年推出並成為全球熱門歌曲。後來，George Michael 和 Phil Collins 也各自翻唱了這首歌。
- Coen brother 的電影，《The Man Who Wasn't There》，這是一部黑色幽默的電影，講述一名男子以勒索他妻子的老闆來獲得資金，並用來投資生意。但他的計劃徹底失敗了。
Quiz
盡快作答。不得作弊！
- Last winter ____so cold!
- What _____you doing at 9pm yesterday?
- It _____ very windy on Sunday
- When I______12 years old I watched Scooby Doo on TV!
- There ______about 250 people at my sister’s wedding.
- Where____you yesterday?
Answers
- Last winter was so cold
- What were you doing at 9pm yesterday?
- It was very windy on Sunday
- When I was 12 years old I watched Scooby Doo on TV!
- There were about 250 people at my sister’s wedding.
- Where were you yesterday?