To Be - Past Tense
English Grammar Notes
The past tense of To Be in English has two forms: WAS and 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. |
To Be - Negative Contractions
We 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? |
Before the verb you can also have a WH- Question word (Why, Who, What, Where etc.)
Were you happy? Yes, I was.
Why were you happy? Because I was promoted at work.
To Be - Short Answers
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.
| 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. |
** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers.
See more about Past Tense Short Answers
TO BE in the Past Tense - Summary Chart
Next activities
Try our interactive games to practice Was and Were (simple affirmative sentences), Was and Were in Questions (simple questions), To Be in the Past Tense (mixed) and Was and Were in Short Answers.
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