PAST OF VERB TO BE
The past tense of "to be" is used to join a subject with a word or words that tell something about the subject that happened in the past. We often use words such as "yesterday" or phrases such as "last week" or "last year" to indicate when something happened in the past .
The verb "be" is an irregular verb. We use "was" with a singular pronoun or noun and "were" with a plural pronoun or noun. An exception to this is the pronoun "you" which always uses "were".
To Be -
Affirmative
Subject
|
To Be
|
Examples
|
I
|
was
|
I was tired this morning.
|
You
|
were
|
You were very
good.
|
He
|
was
|
He was the best in his class.
|
She
|
was
|
She was late for work.
|
It
|
was
|
It was a sunny day.
|
We
|
were
|
We were at
home.
|
You
|
were
|
You were on
holiday.
|
They
|
were
|
They were happy with their test results.
|
To Be - Negative Sentences
The negative of To
Be can be made by adding not after the verb (was or
were).
Subject
|
To Be
|
Examples
|
I
|
was
not
|
I was
not tired this morning.
|
You
|
were
not
|
You were
not crazy.
|
He
|
was
not
|
He was
not married.
|
She
|
was
not
|
She was
not famous.
|
It
|
was
not
|
It was
not hot yesterday.
|
We
|
were
not
|
We were
not invited.
|
You
|
were
not
|
You were
not at the party.
|
They
|
were
not
|
They were
not friends.
|
The can make negative
contractions of the verb To Be in the Past tense by joining
the verb (was or were) and n't (e.g. were not
= weren't). We don't make a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g.
I was).
I was
not tired this morning.
|
OR
|
I wasn't tired
this morning.
|
You were not crazy.
|
OR
|
You weren't crazy.
|
He was not married.
|
OR
|
He wasn't married.
|
She was not famous.
|
OR
|
She wasn't famous.
|
It was
not hot yesterday.
|
OR
|
It wasn't hot
yesterday.
|
We were not invited.
|
OR
|
We weren't invited.
|
You were
not at the party.
|
OR
|
You weren't at
the party.
|
They were not friends.
|
OR
|
They weren't friends.
|
To Be - Questions
To create questions with To
Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.
Affirmative
|
You
|
were
|
happy.
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
||
Question
|
Were
|
you
|
happy?
|
Verb
|
Subject
|
Affirmative
|
Question
|
I was late
|
Was I late?
|
You were sick.
|
Were
you sick?
|
He was surprised.
|
Was he surprised?
|
She was from Italy.
|
Was she from Italy?
|
It was a big
house.
|
Was it a big house?
|
We were ready.
|
Were we ready?
|
You were early.
|
Were
you early?
|
They were busy.
|
Were
they busy?
|
To Be - Short Answers
Question
|
Short Answers**
|
Short Answers
|
Was I late?
|
Yes,
you were.
|
No, you
weren't.
|
Were you sick?
|
Yes, I
was.
|
No, I
wasn't.
|
Was he surprised?
|
Yes, he
was.
|
No, he
wasn't.
|
Was she from Italy?
|
Yes,
she was.
|
No, she
wasn't.
|
Was it a big
house?
|
Yes, it
was.
|
No, it
wasn't.
|
Were we ready?
|
Yes, we
were.
|
No, we
weren't.
|
Were you early?
|
Yes, we
were.
|
No, we
weren't.
|
Were they busy?
|
Yes,
they were.
|
No,
they weren't.
|
In spoken English, we
usually give short answers in response to questions.
Was he from Japan? - Yes,
he was (from Japan). The last part (from Japan) is not necessary. We use shorts
answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is clear.
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