Not "I were at home." — say "I was at home.". Với I, dạng quá khứ là was, không phải were.
Thử ngay: Yesterday it ___ very cold. (was / were / is) Đáp án: was — It đi với was, không phải were. ("Is" là hiện tại, "yesterday" cho biết câu ở quá khứ.) Vậy nên: it was cold.
You / we / they: were
Dùng were với you, we, và they.
You were late.
We were happy.
They were at school.
Not "They was at school." — say "They were at school.". Với they, dùng were; was chỉ dành cho I, he, she, it.
Thử ngay: Amina and Hiroshi ___ at Magaff Library. (were / was / are) Đáp án: were — Amina and Hiroshi = they, nên dạng đúng là were, không phải was: They were at Magaff Library.
was hay were?
Trước mỗi câu, hãy tự hỏi: ai? I/he/she/it → was. you/we/they → were.
He was here. / They were here.
I was tired. / We were tired.
Not "He were here. / They was here." — say "He was here. / They were here.". Chủ ngữ quyết định: was cho số ít (I/he/she/it), were cho you/we/they.
Thử ngay: Lars ___ at the park, but his friends ___ at the gym. (was … were / were … was / was … was) Đáp án: was … were — Lars = he → was. His friends = they → were. Ai làm chủ ngữ sẽ quyết định từng câu.
Phủ định: wasn't / weren't
Thêm not vào sau was hoặc were: wasn't (I/he/she/it), weren't (you/we/they).
I wasn't hungry.
He wasn't there.
They weren't happy.
Not "I not was hungry." — say "I wasn't hungry.". not đứng sau was, không đứng trước.
Thử ngay: She ___ at home last night. (wasn't / weren't / not was) Đáp án: wasn't — She đi với was, nên dạng phủ định là wasn't (không phải weren't), và not đứng sau: She wasn't at home.
Câu hỏi: Was / Were đứng đầu
Để đặt câu hỏi, hãy đặt Was hoặc Weretrước chủ ngữ.
Was she at home?
Were you late?
Was it cold?
Not "You were late? (asking)" — say "Were you late?". Trong câu hỏi, were đứng đầu câu, rồi mới đến chủ ngữ.
Thử ngay: ___ you late for class? (Were / Was / Did) Đáp án: Were — You đi với were, và trong câu hỏi nó đứng đầu câu: Were you late? (Was dành cho I/he/she/it.)
Thử ngay: Remember: who is it? Mei ___ at the cooking class. (was / were / are) Đáp án: was — Mei = she → was. (Đây là quy tắc cốt lõi: I/he/she/it → was, you/we/they → were.)