"To be" in the Past Simple
The verb "to be" becomes was/were in the past simple.
We use "was" with the singular and "were" with the plural.
Remember
|
Positive
| |
|---|---|
| I he she it |
was |
| we you they |
were |
|
Negative
| |
|---|---|
| I he she it |
was not (wasn't) |
| we you they |
were not |
|
Question
| ||
|---|---|---|
| What Where When How Why ... |
was | I ...? he ...? she ...? it ...? |
| were |
we ...? |
|
Examples
The weather is bad today. Yesterday the weather was fine. It was sunny and it wasn't cold.
A: Where were you last night?
B: I was at home.
A: Where were your friends?
B: They weren't at home. They were at the cinema.
Short answers
We can give short answers to yes/no questions with "was/were":
Yes, I/he/she/it was.
Yes, we/you/they were.
No, I/he/she/it wasn't.
No, we/you/they weren't.
Examples
Were you late yesterday? No, I wasn't.
Were you tired after work? Yes, I was.
Was Antony glad to see you? No, he wasn't.
Were you at home last night? Yes, we were.
Were Jim and Mira at the party yesterday? No, they weren't.