Some people never really die. Characters who were so important that people still remember them even when they passed away years ago. Some of those characters were musicians, others were writers, businessmen, singers, astronauts or scientists. Humankind celebrates the date they were born.
Be born refers to the 1st day in a person's life.
Look at the following information about Albert Einstein. Pay attention to the words in bold.
He was born in Germany. (That means he was from Germany).
He was born on March 14th, 1879. (His birthday was on March 14th).
We can ask and answer about famous characters' date and place of birth. Look at the following information about these characters:
Where was Marie Curie born? She was born in Poland.
When was she born? She was born on November 7th, 1867.
Where was Beethoven born? He was born in Germany (He was from Germany).
When was Beethoven born? He was born in 1770.
Where were the Beatles born? They were born in England.
Where were the Beatles born? They were born in the 1940s.
Look at this extra example.
Where were you born? I was born in Mexico City.
When were you born? I was born in 2005.
When you talk about the place or date a person was born, you need to know when you have to use “was born” and when you need to use “were born”. Study the following information.
When you talk to a person directly, face to face, you need to ask:
Where were you born? I was born in Mexico City
When were you born? I was born in 2005 or I was born on January 1st, 2007.
Example:
Old man: Wait! You can't come in.
Teenager: What? Why not? I'm old enough to get in!
Old man: Are you? When were you born?
Tenager: I was born in 2001. This is my ID.
When you ask about another person (singular) we use 'was born':
Where was she born? She was born in Italy.
When was she born? She was born on February 10th, 2001.
Examples:
Where was Madonna born? She was born in USA.
Where was your sister born? She was born in Oaxaca.
Where was he born? He was born in USA.
When we ask about other people (plural). We use 'were born':
Where were they born? They were born in Japan.
When were they born? They were born on December 4th, 2013.
Examples:
Where were your parents born? They were born in Cuautitlan.
Where were Sor Juana and Frida Kahlo born? They were born in Mexico.
When were they born? They were born on February 14th, 2010.
Jorge is a History teacher at CCH. He is writing an exam for his students. Choose the correct questions. Correct answers will be in green and the wrong ones in red.
There are many situations in which we ask about someone's place or date of birth. Read the following conversations and pay attention: Are they talking about someone else? Or they are talking face to face? Try to understand the context and complete the conversations.
Conversation 1
Conversation 2
