1. The Past of Be: Statements, Yes / No Questions3
The Past of Be: Statements, Yes / No Questions
On the Job

2. At a Restaurant Was the weather nice? Were you on vacation last week?
Yes, I was.
Yes, it was. It was sunny and hot.
My wife and I were in Mexico.

3. Were they at the meeting?
At the Office 1
Yes, they were.
Were they at the meeting?
No, I wasn’t. I was late.
Were you at the meeting?

4. At the Office 2 Were our bosses angry? Was the meeting interesting?
I don’t know. I was asleep.
No, it wasn’t. It was long and boring.

5. The past of be has two forms: was and were.
The meeting was boring.
We were in Mexico.

6. Past Forms I You He She It We They am are is was were was are were
Subject
Present Tense be
Past Tense be I
You He
She It We
They am
are is
was
were
was
are
were

7. Example: You ______ alone at lunch.
Practice 1
Complete each sentence with was or were.
were
Example: You ______ alone at lunch.
1. I ______ with my friends last night.
was
2. My children ______ in Greece last summer.
were
My classmates and I ______ nervous about the test.
were
4. My brother ______ at the post office this morning.
was
5. The weather ______ cold yesterday.
was

8. It was not cold and windy.
Negative
Use was or were + not to make negative statements.
It was not cold and windy.
We were not in Hawai’i.

9. It was not cold and windy.
Contractions
Use the contractions wasn’t and weren’t in speaking and informal writing.
It was not cold and windy.
wasn’t
We were not in Hawai’i.
weren’t

10. Practice 2 Make each sentence negative. Use wasn’t and weren’t.
Example: The meeting was interesting.
The meeting wasn’t interesting.
1. I was on the third floor.
I wasn’t on the third floor.
2. The actors were funny.
The actors weren’t funny.
3. My grandfather was at the bank.
My grandfather wasn’t at the bank.
4. You were late to class.
You weren’t late to class.

11. Questions
Put was or were before the subject to ask a yes / no question.
Was the weather good?
subject
Were our bosses angry?
subject

12. Was the meeting interesting?
Short Answers
Use a pronoun and was, wasn’t, were, or weren’t in short answers.
Yes, we were.
No, it wasn’t.
Were you on vacation?
Was the meeting interesting?

13. Practice 3 1. Was the weather good yesterday?
Work with a partner. Take turns. Ask and answer the questions. Use short answers. Add information.
Practice 3
Example: Q: Were you at home last night?
A: No, I wasn’t. I was at my uncle’s house. He was sick. . .
1. Was the weather good yesterday?
2. Were you in class last Wednesday?
3. Was your dinner good last night?
4. Were you a student last year?
5. Was the quiz difficult?