Prošlo vrijeme glagola "to be" (was / were)
Glagol "to be" u engleskom prošlom vremenu ima dva oblika: was koristimo uz I, he, she i it, a were uz you, we i they. Zato kažemo "I was at home." i "They were happy." Najvažnije je zapamtiti da niječni oblik i pitanja ne traže pomoćni glagol did: samo dodamo not (I wasn't) ili obrnemo red riječi, kao u "Were you tired?". Hrvatski govornici često znaju ispustiti zamjenicu (jer mi kažemo samo "Bio sam kod kuće"), no u engleskom subjekt mora ostati ispred glagola.
Primjeri
- I was at home. the speaker was at home
- They were happy. the people were happy
- Were you tired? asking if someone was tired
Cijela lekcija
Sve iz videa, u tekstu.
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Reci we was there i izvorni govornik odmah čuje pogrešku. Prošlo vrijeme od to be ima samo dva oblika, ali njihovo miješanje jedna je od najuočljivijih pogrešaka u engleskom.
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Dobra vijest: treba naučiti samo dvije riječi. U sadašnjem vremenu to be ima am, is i are. U prošlom se sve to svodi na was i were.
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Evo podjele. Koristi was za subjekte u jednini: I, he, she i it. Koristi were za ostale: you, we i they. Taj jedan redak cijelo je pravilo.
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Pogledajmo cijelu paradigmu odjednom, da se obrazac usadi. Primijeti kako was pokriva I, he, she i it, a were pokriva you, we i they.
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Počni s najjednostavnijim slučajem. I je jednina, pa uzima was. I was at home.
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He, she i it rade potpuno isto: svi su jednina, svi s was. She was tired.
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Sada prelazimo na were. They je množina, pa nikad ne uzima was. They were happy.
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Evo onoga na čemu se mnogi spotaknu. You uvijek uzima were – čak i kad govoriš jednoj osobi. You were right.
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Sada nijekanje. Ne treba ti pomoćni glagol poput did. Samo dodaj not odmah iza was ili were, obično skraćeno u wasn't i weren't.
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Tako I was not postaje I wasn't – sam glagol nosi nijekanje. I wasn't ready.
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Pitanja su jednako laka. Opet bez did. Samo zamijeniš subjekt i glagol: was ili were ide naprijed.
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You were tired postaje Were you tired? – prvo glagol, bez pomoćnog. Were you tired?
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Sada velika zamka. Čut ćeš we was i you was u razgovornom jeziku, ali u standardnom engleskom to je pogrešno. Subjekti u množini uvijek uzimaju were.
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I druga zamka: ne dodaji did u pitanje s to be. Did you were there pogrešno je dvostruko. Samo zamijeni redoslijed: Were you there?
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Dakle, da ponovimo: was za I, he, she i it; were za you, we i they. A to be ne treba did: za nijekanje i pitanje samo dodaj not ili zamijeni redoslijed.
