A2 Grammar Lesson 7

Unit 7 – Grammar Rules

7A – Past simple of be: was / were

Form and use:

We use was / were to talk about:

  • situations and states in the past
  • where someone or something was
  • how something was

Examples

  • I was tired yesterday.
  • She was at home last night.
  • They were famous in the 1990s.

Positive & negative

Subject Be Positive Be Negative
I / he / she / it Was Wasn’t
You / we / they Were Weren’t

Examples:

  • He was late yesterday.
  • I wasn’t happy with the result.
  • We were in Rome last summer.
  • They weren’t at work on Friday.

Questions & short answers

Be Subject …? Short Answer
Was he at the meeting? Yes, he was / No, he wasn’t.
Were they tired? Yes, they were / No, they weren’t.

We often use past time expressions:

yesterday, last night, last year, in 2018, etc.

We also use was / were with born:

  • I was born in 2001.

Quiz 1