The verb “to be” in the Past Simple Tense

Affirmative		Negative
I was You were He / she / it was We / you /they were		I was not (wasn’t) You were not (weren’t) He / she / it was not (wasn’t) We / you / they were not (weren’t)

Questions		Short answers
Was I? Were you? Was he / she / it? Were we / you / they?		Yes , I was Yes, you were Yes, he/ she / it was Yes, we / you / they were	No, I wasn’t No, you weren’t No, he / she / it wasn’t No, we / you / they weren’t

- Last year she was 22, so she is 23 now.

- When I was a child, I was afraid of dogs.

- We were tired after the journey but we weren’t hungry.

- The hotel was very comfortable and it wasn’t expensive.

- Where were you at 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon?

- Was the weather good when you were on holiday?

- Those shoes are nice. Were they expensive?

Ex. 10. Put in was / wasn’t / were / weren’t.

1. We didn’t like that house. It __was__ very old and it __wasn’t__ large enough.

2. Helen got married when she __________ 21 years old.

3. I called you yesterday evening but you ___________ at home. Where ___________ you?

4. My son ________ at work last week because he ________ ill. He’s better now.

5. The shops ___________ open yesterday because it _________ a public holiday.

6. “_________ at home at 9.30?” “No, I ___________. I _________ at work.”

7. Kate _______ in the south last year but Sue ________. She _______busy with her work.

8. When my parents ___________ young they rented a flat.

Ex. 11. Put in am / is / are / was / were. Some sentences are present and some are

past.

1. Last year she __was 22, so she ___is__ 23 now.

2. Today the weather _______ nice, but yesterday it ________ cold.

3. I _________ hungry. Can I have something to eat?

4. I _________ hungry last night, so I had something to eat.

5. Where ________ you at 11 o’clock last Friday morning?

6. Don’t buy those shoes. They _________ too expensive.

7. Why _________ you so angry yesterday?

8. We must go now. It ________ very late.

9. This time last year I _________ in Paris.

10. “Where ______ the children?” “I don’t know. They _______ in the garden ten minutes ago.

11. When I ________ a child I liked milk.

12. We ______ very pleased to see you.

13. __________ they in France or in Spain last summer?

14. _________ English very difficult?

15. You ________ not very friendly to my sister.

Ex. 12. Put in was or were.

Last night I had a strange dream. I _________ in the world where all the colours _______ different. The grass _________ orange, the trees ________ white; in the green sky there _______ a purple sun and a moon the colour of blood. I ________ a child again, eight years old, and I ________ lost. But I _________ not frightened. I front of me there _________ a long street, stretching away as far as I could see.

There __________ no people, but all around me I heard the noise of big insects. It _______ neither cold nor hot. I walked until I came to a church. In the church there _________ hundreds of people, all looking at me. They started to come towards me, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Then I woke up.