The Verb ‘To Be’ in Past Simple

The verb ‘to be’ is one of the most important verbs in English. It is used to describe states, conditions, and existence. The verb ‘to be’ changes form to ‘was and were’ in the past simple tense depending on the subject used in the sentence. 

Verb ‘To Be’ in Past Simple

In the past simple tense, the verb ‘to be’ has two form: was and were.

Was vs. Were: When to Use Each Form

Use was with singular subjects: I, he, she, it

Examples:

• She was at home yesterday.
• It was very cold last night.

Were is used with plural subjects: we, you, they

Examples:

• They were at school this morning.
• You were my best friend.

Positive Sentences 

• I was very happy yesterday.
• He was at the party last night.
• She was a great singer.
• It was a sunny day.
• We were in London last summer.
• You were my best student.
• They were tired after the trip.

Negative Sentences

• I was not at school yesterday.
• He was not interested in sports.
• She was not feeling well.
• It was not a good idea.
• We were not ready for the test.
• You were not there when I arrived.
• They were not happy with the results.

Contractions in Negative Sentences

In spoken and informal English, we often use contractions:

• was not – wasn’t 
• were not – weren’t 

Examples with contractions

• I wasn’t late for school.
• He wasn’t at home this morning.
• She wasn’t busy this morning.
• We weren’t at the cinema yesterday.
• They weren’t hungry after lunch.

Questions

To form questions with the verb ‘to be’ in past simple, we change the word order. The structure is: 

• was/were + subject + complement

Examples of Yes/No Questions

• Was she at the office yesterday?
  • Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t.
• Was it cold last nigh?
  • Yes, it was. / No, it wasn’t.
• Were they at the airport?
  • Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.

Examples of WH-Questions

• Where was he last night?
  • He was at home.
• Why were they late?
  • They were stuck in traffic.
• How was your trip?
  • It was amazing!
• Who was your teacher last year?
  • Mr. Johnson was my teacher.

Conclusion

The verb ‘to be’ in the past simple is used to describe events, feelings, conditions, and locations. By practicing affirmative, negative, and question forms, you can improve your ability to use the verb ‘to be’ in your sentence correctly.