영어 문법 · 고딸영문법 2권 Unit1
was를 쓸까, were를 쓸까? 🤔
문제로 완전 정복!
주어를 대명사로 바꿔보면 답이 보인다 — 18문제로 실전 감각 완성
“The children ___ very excited.” — was가 맞을까요, were가 맞을까요? “My friend and I ___ at the park.” — 이건 어떻게 판단하나요? be동사 과거형 was/were를 이론으로는 알아도, 실제 문장에서 주어를 보고 즉시 판단하는 연습이 필요합니다. 주어를 대명사로 바꿔보는 한 가지 전략만 익히면 어떤 문장도 틀리지 않습니다.
📌 핵심 요약
- 핵심 공식: I/he/she/it(단수) → was / you/we/they(복수) → were
- 명사 주어 → 대명사로 치환 후 판단: “the book” → it → was
- A and B → 복수 → were (둘 이상이 주어이면 항상 were)
- you는 항상 were (단수처럼 보여도 예외 없음)
- nobody/everyone/someone → 단수 취급 → was
was
I · he · she · it
단수 명사 주어
단수 명사 주어
were
you · we · they
복수 명사 주어
복수 명사 주어
핵심 전략 — 주어를 대명사로 바꿔보기
주어 → 대명사 치환표 (헷갈릴 때마다 사용하세요)
the book
→
it
was
the books
→
they
were
my sister
→
she
was
my sisters
→
they
were
Tom and Jane
→
they
were
nobody / everyone
→
단수
was
📝 유형 ① — 단수·복수 명사 판단
Q1
The dog ___ very cute.
the dog = 단수 → it
✅ was — “The dog was very cute.”
Q2
The children ___ very excited.
children = child의 불규칙 복수 → they
✅ were — “The children were very excited.”
Q3
My friend ___ late.
my friend = 단수 → he / she
✅ was — “My friend was late.”
Q4
My friends ___ late.
my friends = 복수 → they
✅ were — “My friends were late.”
📝 유형 ② — A and B 주어 (항상 복수!)
Q5
Tom and Jane ___ at school.
Tom + Jane = 두 명 → they
✅ were — “Tom and Jane were at school.”
Q6
My friend and I ___ at the park.
friend + I = 두 명 → we
✅ were — “My friend and I were at the park.”
Q7
The cat and the dog ___ hungry.
cat + dog = 두 개체 → they
✅ were — “The cat and the dog were hungry.”
📝 유형 ③ — 긴 주어에서 핵심 명사 찾기
Q8
The girl in the red dress ___ beautiful.
핵심 주어: the girl (단수) — “in the red dress”는 수식어, 무시!
✅ was — “The girl in the red dress was beautiful.”
Q9
The students in my class ___ very smart.
핵심 주어: the students (복수) — “in my class”는 수식어, 무시!
✅ were — “The students in my class were very smart.”
Q10
One of my friends ___ a teacher.
핵심 주어: One (단수) — “of my friends”는 수식어, 무시!
✅ was — “One of my friends was a teacher.”
📝 유형 ④ — 특수 주어 (nobody / everyone / each)
Q11
Nobody ___ at home.
nobody = 단수 개념 (-body/-one으로 끝나는 단어는 단수)
✅ was — “Nobody was at home.”
Q12
Everyone ___ happy at the party.
everyone = 단수 개념
✅ was — “Everyone was happy at the party.”
특수 규칙 4가지 — 헷갈리는 주어 총정리
➕ A and B → were
둘 이상이 and로 묶이면 항상 복수 → were
My friend and I were… ✓
My friend and I were… ✓
👤 you → 항상 were
단수처럼 보여도 예외 없이 were
“Were you…” / “You were…” ✓
“Were you…” / “You were…” ✓
📏 긴 주어 → 핵심 명사만
“of/in/with” 이후 수식어 무시
“One of the boys” → One → was
“One of the boys” → One → was
🔢 -one/-body → was
nobody/everyone/someone/each
→ 단수 취급 → was
→ 단수 취급 → was
“헷갈리는 주어가 나오면 대명사로 바꿔보세요. it이면 was, they이면 were. 이 한 가지 전략만 있으면 어떤 문장도 틀리지 않습니다.”
출처: 고딸영문법 2권 Unit1 — be동사 과거형 어떤 걸 써야할까요? was를 쓸까 were를 쓸까?
💡 실용 팁
✔ 대명사 치환 전략: 주어 → it(was) / they(were) / he,she(was) / we,you(were)로 바꿔보기
✔ A and B → 무조건 were: and로 연결된 두 주어는 항상 복수
✔ 수식어 무시 연습: “One of the boys” → One만 보고 was 선택
✔ 불규칙 복수 암기: child→children, man→men, woman→women → 복수이므로 were
✔ -one/-body 단수 암기: nobody/everyone/someone/anyone → 항상 was
✔ you는 무조건 were: 단수/복수, 높임말/반말 구분 없이 you → were
⚠️ 주의할 점
⚠ “My friend and I was…” (✗) → “My friend and I were…” (✓) — A and B는 항상 were
⚠ “One of the boys were…” (✗) → “One of the boys was…” (✓) — One이 핵심 주어
⚠ “Everyone were…” (✗) → “Everyone was…” (✓) — everyone은 단수 취급
⚠ 불규칙 복수 주의: “The children was…” (✗) → “The children were…” (✓) — children은 복수
⚠ the/a/an은 단복수 판단 기준 아님 — 명사 자체(단수/복수 형태)를 확인
was와 were 선택, 주어를 대명사로 바꾸면 끝납니다. it이면 was, they이면 were. 오늘 다룬 12문제를 정답을 보지 않고 다시 풀어보세요. 모두 맞는다면 be동사 과거형은 완전히 내 것입니다. 이론보다 문제 풀이가 실력을 만듭니다.