We use past tense for actions that was in the past. First we have to learn how to use to be in past.
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
The 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. |
* Notice that we don't have contractions for To Be in Past Tense affirmative sentences.
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? |
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
Now play with past tense in these page.
Now we review present simple of verb to be.