Introduction

In this unit, we focus on one of the most important verbs in English once again: the verb to be. This time, however, we are moving into the past. You already know how to use am, is, and are in the present. Now we will learn how to describe past situations, past states, and past conditions using was and were.

When you say “I was tired yesterday,” “She was at home,” or “They were happy,” you are describing a past state. These sentences do not describe actions, but situations or conditions in the past. Understanding how to use was and were correctly will allow you to speak more clearly about your experiences.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this unit, you will be able to use was and were in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms.

You will describe past states, locations and feelings accurately and respond confidently to questions about the past.

Affirmative Form

The Past Simple of the verb to be has two forms: was and were. The form depends on the subject.

For example: “I was tired.” “She was at school.” “It was cold yesterday.” “They were happy.” “We were late.” “You were very kind.”

The verb form changes according to the subject.

Remember that singular subjects like I, he, she and it use was, while plural subjects and “you” use were.

Unlike other verbs in the past simple, we do not use did in affirmative sentences with to be. The past form is directly was or were.

Negative Form

To form the negative, we add not after was or were.

For example: “I was not tired.” “She was not at home.” “They were not ready.”

In spoken English, contractions are very common. “Was not” becomes “wasn’t” and “were not” becomes “weren’t.”

Do not use “did” with the verb “to be”.

It is incorrect to say “I didn’t was tired.” The correct form is “I wasn’t tired.” The verb to be forms negatives directly with was not or were not.

Questions

To form questions with the past of to be, we invert the subject and the verb.

For example: “Was she at home?” “Were they happy?” “Was it cold yesterday?” “Were you at the meeting?”

Short answers are formed without repeating the full sentence. If someone asks, “Was she at home?” you answer: “Yes, she was.” or “No, she wasn’t.” If someone asks, “Were they ready?” you answer: “Yes, they were.” or “No, they weren’t.”

Using “Was” and “Were” in Context

Imagine you are telling a story about yesterday. You might say: “Yesterday was very busy. I was at work all day. My colleagues were tired. The office was quiet in the morning, but it was very noisy in the afternoon.”

In these sentences, you are not describing actions. You are describing situations and conditions in the past. This is the main function of the Past Simple of to be.

Practice Exercises

Now it is your turn to practise using was and were.

Complete or transform each sentence carefully. The correct answers are provided in the same table.