1. To Be in the Past tense
Chapter 6

2. Review last week Today we will Last week we studied past tense verbs.
You used past tense verbs to talk about vacations.
You also used past tense verbs to talk about what you did last week.
Today we will
Continue talking about past tense
You used the past tense of the be verb to talk about things that happened in the past.
Create sentences using the PT of the be verb plus time expressions.
Ask and answer questions using the PT of be

3. What is the be verb The be verb has 5 forms. am – I am your teacher.
is – He is happy today.
are – you are my students.
was – I was your teacher last semester.
were – You were my students last semester.
am – is – are >>> present tense
was – were >>> past tense

4. The be verb – Present Tense
Now
Jim is 65 years old.
today
He is old.

5. The be verb – Past Tense
Past
Jim was 10 years old.
He was young.

6. The be verb – Present & Past Tense
They are old.
Now
today
They were young.
Past

7. The be verb – Present & Past Tense
Present Tense
Past Tense I He
She It am is
happy.
rich.
a doctor.
easy. I He
She It
was
sad.
poor.
a student.
difficult. We
You
They
are
early.
at school.
noisy. We
You
They
were
late.
at home.
quiet.

8. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now He is
hungry.
Past He
was
hungry.
__________

9. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now
She is
angry.
Past
She
was
angry.
__________

10. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now I am
sorry.
Past I
was
sorry.
__________

11. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now It is
hot outside.
Past It
was
hot outside.
_________

12. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now We
are
at school.
Past We
were
at school.
____________

13. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now
They
are
students.
Past
They
were
students.
____________

14. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now
You
are
confused.
Past
You
were
confused.
____________

15. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now
Sally is
at home.
Past
Sally
was
at home.
_________

16. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now
Bob and Sally
are
both single.
Past
Bob and Sally
were
both single.
____________

17. Let’s Practice Change the following sentences into the past tense.
Now
The elephant is
big.
Past
The elephant
was
big.
__________

18. Time Phrases with Present Tense.
We can use time expression with the present tense such as
right now now today
at the moment
I am happy now.
He is in class at the moment.
The children are noisy today.
She is busy right now.

19. Time Phrases with Past Tense.
We can use time expression with the past tense such as
last week last year yesterday
last month a while ago
I was sad yesterday.
He was angry a while ago.
The students were at the park yesterday.
We were on vacation last week.

20. Contrasting Present and Past
We can use both the present and the past tense in the same sentence.
When we do this it is to show a contrast between something in the past
and something in the present.
I was ______ (in the past),but I am _____ (in the present.)
I was sad yesterday, but I am happy now.
It was hot last week, but it is cold this week.
They were angry a while ago, but they are okay now.
The dogs were noisy an hour ago, but they
are quiet now.

21. Practice Time: Answer the following questions using the past tense of the be verb. All answers should be true for you.
Where were you at 3 a.m. this morning?
Where were you at 8 p.m. last night?
Where were you at 10 a.m. this morning?
Where were you at 2 p.m. last Friday?
Where were you at 11 a.m. last Thursday.
Where were you at 10 a.m. Sunday?

22. Practice Time: Practice the following conversation with a partner.
A: Were you at home last night?
B: No. I wasn’t.
A: Where were you?
B: I was at the soccer game.
A: Was the game good?
B: Yes. The game was good, but the weather wasn’t good. It rained
B: What about you, where were you last night?
A: I was at home. I was not feeling well.
B: I’m sorry. Are you okay now.
A: Yes. I was sick yesterday, but I am okay now.

23. In today’s class
You learned how to use the to be verb in the present and past tense.
You learned how to contrast a present event with a past event using
the conjunction but.
You practiced using the to be verb in the past tense by answering
questions and by practicing a dialog with a partner.