영어 문법 · 고딸영문법 2권 Unit1
wasn’t, weren’t는 언제 왜 쓸까? 🙅
지금 확실하게 정리!
was not → wasn’t / were not → weren’t — 과거 부정문 완벽 마스터
“I wasn’t hungry.” “They weren’t there.” — 이 두 문장에서 wasn’t와 weren’t는 왜 다를까요? be동사 과거형 was/were를 배웠다면, 다음 단계는 부정문입니다. wasn’t는 “was not”의 줄임말, weren’t는 “were not”의 줄임말로, 과거에 ‘~가 아니었다’를 표현할 때 씁니다. was/were 규칙을 그대로 적용하면 wasn’t/weren’t도 자동으로 해결됩니다.
📌 핵심 요약
- wasn’t = was not / weren’t = were not (줄임말)
- wasn’t: 주어가 I, he, she, it(단수)일 때
- weren’t: 주어가 you, we, they(복수·you)일 때
- 부정문 구조: 주어 + wasn’t/weren’t + 나머지
- 단답형: “No, I wasn’t.” / “No, they weren’t.”
wasn’t vs weren’t — 주어별 예문
wasn’t 단수 주어에 사용
I wasn’t hungry.
He wasn’t tired at all.
She wasn’t happy.
It wasn’t a good idea.
The weather wasn’t nice.
He wasn’t tired at all.
She wasn’t happy.
It wasn’t a good idea.
The weather wasn’t nice.
weren’t 복수·you 주어에 사용
You weren’t there.
We weren’t sure.
They weren’t at school.
The kids weren’t ready.
My friends weren’t happy.
We weren’t sure.
They weren’t at school.
The kids weren’t ready.
My friends weren’t happy.
부정문 만드는 법 — 긍정 → 부정 변환
긍정 문장에서 was/were 뒤에 not을 붙이고 줄임말로 변환합니다.
I was hungry.
→
I wasn’t hungry.
He was tired.
→
He wasn’t tired.
You were late.
→
You weren’t late.
They were happy.
→
They weren’t happy.
의문문 No 단답형 — wasn’t / weren’t로 답변
Was she a student?
No, she wasn’t. — 그녀는 학생이 아니었다.
Were you at home last night?
No, I wasn’t. — 나는 집에 없었다.
Was it cold yesterday?
No, it wasn’t. — 춥지 않았다.
Were they hungry?
No, they weren’t. — 그들은 배고프지 않았다.
was not vs wasn’t — 뉘앙스 차이
📝 격식·강조
“I was not ready.”
was/not을 각각 강하게 발음
격식체 또는 강하게 부정할 때
격식체 또는 강하게 부정할 때
💬 일상 회화
“I wasn’t ready.”
자연스럽고 원어민스러운 표현
일반 대화에서 거의 항상 사용
일반 대화에서 거의 항상 사용
“I wasn’t tired. The weather wasn’t great. My friends weren’t free.” — 부정문 세 문장이면 wasn’t/weren’t 연습 완성입니다.”
출처: 고딸영문법 2권 Unit1 — wasn’t, weren’t는 언제 왜 쓸까? 지금 확실하게 정리!
💡 실용 팁
✔ 암기 공식: “was → wasn’t / were → weren’t” — was/were 규칙 그대로 적용
✔ 단수면 wasn’t, 복수면 weren’t: I/he/she/it → wasn’t / you/we/they → weren’t
✔ 회화에서는 줄임말 우선: “I wasn’t…” 형태가 자연스럽고 원어민스러움
✔ No 단답형: “No, I wasn’t.” / “No, they weren’t.” — 뒤 내용 생략 가능
✔ 명사 주어 수 확인: “The boy wasn’t…”(단수) vs “The boys weren’t…”(복수)
✔ 어제 부정 일기 쓰기: “I wasn’t ___ . It wasn’t ___ . My friends weren’t ___.” 패턴 연습
⚠️ 주의할 점
⚠ “You wasn’t…” (✗) → “You weren’t…” (✓) — you는 단수처럼 보여도 항상 weren’t
⚠ “I weren’t…” (✗) → “I wasn’t…” (✓) — I는 항상 wasn’t
⚠ “didn’t was / didn’t were” (✗) → wasn’t / weren’t 그대로 사용 — be동사에 didn’t 금지
⚠ “wasn’t not / weren’t not” (✗) — 이미 부정이므로 not 이중 사용 불가
⚠ 단답형 어색한 형태: “No, I was not.” (가능하나 어색) → “No, I wasn’t.” (자연스러운 회화체)
wasn’t와 weren’t, was/were 규칙 그대로입니다. 단수(I/he/she/it)면 wasn’t, 복수 또는 you면 weren’t. was/were 두 가지를 알면 wasn’t/weren’t도 자동으로 따라옵니다. 오늘 어제 하지 않은 일을 영어로 써보세요. “I wasn’t tired. The weather wasn’t great. My friends weren’t free.” 이 세 문장이 부정문 마스터의 시작입니다.