SIMPLE PAST OF BE: WAS / WERE

PRESE PAST
NT
AM WAS Affirmative form Negative form
I IS Wa WAS I Wasn
ARE
You s WERE You `t
He/she We famous He/she Were famous
/it We re /it We n`t
You Wa You Wasn
they s they `t
We Were
re n`t
We Were
re n`t
were Weren`t

Interrogative form Yes / No questions

Wa I I was. I wasn`t.
s You You You
We He/she Famous Ye were. N weren`t.
re /it We ? s, He/she/it o, He/she/it
Wa You was. We wasn`t. We
s they were. weren`t.
We You were. You weren`t.
re They were. They weren`t.
We
re
were

Contractions: wasn`t = was not, weren`t = were not.

 Use was / were to talk about the past.

EXAMPLES
1. She was very pretty when she was young.
2. He was very tired last night
3. I was very crazy for you.
4. They were on holiday in Italy last year.
5. We were very good friends at school.
6. The exhibition was a success.
7. Last year she was 22, so she is 23 now.
8. When I was a child, I was afraid of dogs.
9. We were tired after the trip, but we weren`t hungry.
10. The hotel was very comfortable, and it wasn`t expensive.
 Time
Expressions
1. Yesterday 10. Last month
2. The day before yesterday 11. Last class
3. Last Monday, 12. Last birthday
Tuesday, etc. 13. A few minutes ago
4. Last week 14. One hour ago
5. Last night 15. Two hour ago
6. Yesterday morning. 16. Last weekend
7. Yesterday afternoon. 17. Last summer, winter,
8. Yesterday evening. spring, fall.
9. Last year. 18. Last December,
January, February.

EXERCISES

1. Change the sentences from present to past.

Simple Present Simple Past
a) I`m tired. I was Tired last week.
b) Today is Sunday. Yesterday was Saturday.
c) Where are you now? Where were you yesterday?
d) We are in Huacho today. We were in Churin yesterday.
e) I`m in Lima this month. I was in Piura last month.
f) My father`s a pilot. My grandfather was a pilot, too.
g) It isn`t open now. It was open this morning.
h) Why aren`t you at work today? Why were you at work yesterday?

2. Complete the sentences in negative form.

a. I wasn’t at home last night.
b. She wasn’t at the party.
c. You weren’t in the office on Monday.
d. He wasn’t very happy last year.
e. We weren’t cold but we were hungry.
f. It wasn’t very cold in the mountains.
g. They weren’t here last Sunday.
3. Answer the questions
a. Were you late? No, I wasn’t
b. Was teacher at work yesterday? Yes, she was
c. Were they at the party? No, they weren’t
d. Was it cold yesterday morning? Yes, it was
e. Were you at home at 9:30 yesterday evening? No, I wasn’t
f. Where were you at 3 o`clock yesterday afternoon? I was at home
g. Why were you so angry yesterday? I wasn’t angry yesterday
h. Where were you born? I was in born Huanuco
i. Who was your English teacher I? My teacher was Carmen
j. When was your mother born? My mother was born in 1963

4. Complete the dialogues with was, wasn`t, were, or weren`t.

A were you and Susan at the party last night?
B Yes, we were
A was it good?
B No, it wasn’t The music was awful. Where were you?
A I was sick.
A Where were you born?
B I was born in Australia in 1919.
A were your parents Australian?
B No, they weren’t My mother was Italian and my father was Greek.
 ENGLISH PRACTICE

I.- IT´S MONDAY TODAY. WRITE THE MISSING WORD WAS/WERE (10p)

It was 10 on Saturday, February 23rd. I was at home in my bedroom. I was

writing. My mother and father were in the yard. My sister Sally was in the
kitchen. My other sister, Sophie was in the bathroom. The house was fairly
quiet. The TV Wasn´t on, but the radio was on in the kitchen. The weather was
good. It was not rainy. The sun was shining. There were some small clouds in
the sky. There were some birds singing in the trees. I was relaxed and happy.

II.- COMPLETE TO PAST TENSE OF BE NEGATIVE FORM

1. They weren’t very good friends at school.

2. I wasn’t at home last night.
3. You weren’t in the office on Monday.
4. He wasn’t very happy last year.
5. You weren’t late yesterday.
6. They weren’t late this time.
7. It wasn’t very cold in the mountains.
8. It wasn’t cold this morning.
9. Peter wasn’t at work last week.
10. The banks wasn’t open yesterday.