Was dan were merupakan to be bentuk lampau dalam Bahasa Inggris. Dalam penggunaannya pada kalimat, to be bisa diikuti dengan Adjectives (Kata Sifat), Noun (Kata Benda), Adverb (Kata Keterangan) dan kata kerja bentuk -ing (Verb -ing). Karena was dan were merupakan to be bentuk lampau, maka fungsinya sudah pasti hanya digunakan dalam kalimat bentuk lampau atau Past tense.
Kalimat Past Tense adalah kalimat yang menyatakan kegiatan atau kejadian di masa lalu. Kalimat tersebut biasa menggunakan penanda waktu lampau seperti yesterday, last…, dan ….ago. Sedangkan kalimat Past Tense yang secara khusus menggunakan was dan were ada 2, yaitu Simple Past Tense dan Past Continous Tense.
Berikut contoh kalimat Past Tense menggunakan was dan were :
Dalam Kalimat Simple Past Tense
Kalimat Simple Past Tense dibagi menjadi 2, yaitu Kalimat Verbal yang menggunakan kata kerja bentuk lampau (Verb 2) dan Kalimat Nominal yang tidak menggunakan Verb. Kalimat Nominal inilah yang menggunakan to be was dan were. Secara umum rumus kalimat nominal pada Simple Past Tense adalah:
(+) S + was / were + Adjective / Adverb / Noun
(-) S + was / were + not + Adjective / Adverb / Noun
(?) was / were + S + Adjective / Adverb / Noun?
Secara spesifik penggunaannya adalah sebagai berikut:
1. Penggunaan Was
To be was digunakan untuk Subject tunggal, She, He, It, dan I. Contoh:
(+) She was angry after hearing the bad news.
(+) I was excited with my new house.
(-) It was not really bad.
(-) Mr. Yudha was not our Biology teacher.
(?) Was he your ex-boy friend?
2. Penggunaan Were
To be were digunakan untuk Subject jamak (lebih dari satu), They, We, You. Contoh:
(+) The boys were exhausted after running around the school yard.
(+) We were in front of you at that time.
(-) They were not our classmates anymore.
(?) Were you happy last night?
Dalam Kalimat Past Continous Tense
Past Continous Tense adalah kalimat yang digunakan untuk menyatakan kegiatan yang sedang terjadi ketika kejadian lain terjadi di masa lampau. Jadi, dalam hal ini terdapat dua kejadian. Maka kalimat tersebut terdiri dari dua anak kalimat yang digabungkan oleh kata penghubung. Kata penghubung yang biasa digunakan antara lain when dan while.
Rumus kalimat ini adalah:
(+) S + was / were + Verb -ing + kata penghubung S + V2 (Past Verb)
(-) S + was / were + not + Verb -ing + kata penghubung S + V2
(?) was / were + S + Verb -ing + kata penghubung + S + V2?
Contoh kalimat past tense menggunakan was dan were:
1. Penggunaan was:
(+) I was painting the wall when my sister came.
(+) Sheila was washing the dishes while her father knocked the door.
(-) He was not looking at me when I talked to him.
(-) My teacher was not explaining when Andi made noise.
(?) Was she playing guitar when you asked her name?
(?) Was the cat eating the meat when your mother yelled?
2. Penggunaan were:
(+) They were dancing when the moon was bright.
(-) We were not swimming while our parents called us.
(?) Were you sleeping when your sister broke the glass on your table?
Demikian penjelasan tentang contoh kalimat Past Tense menggunakan was dan were. Semoga bermanfaat dan mudah dipahami. Jangan lupa simak bahasan materi lainnya ya.