Simple Past of Verb To Be (Was and Were) — Grammar Rules, Examples and Exercises — English 2nd Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum

Simple Past of Verb To Be (Was and Were)

The verb “to be” in the past simple has two forms: was and were. We use them to talk about the past.

Forms of Was and Were

Subject	Verb To Be (Past)	Example
I	was	I was happy yesterday.
He / She / It	was	She was a teacher.
You	were	You were late.
We	were	We were in Algiers.
They	were	They were students.

Affirmative Sentences

Structure: Subject + was/were + complement

• I was at home yesterday.
• He was a good student.
• She was very kind.
• It was cold last night.
• You were in the classroom.
• We were friends in primary school.
• They were happy with the results.

Negative Sentences

Structure: Subject + was/were + not + complement

• I was not (wasn’t) at school yesterday.
• He was not (wasn’t) late.
• She was not (wasn’t) tired.
• You were not (weren’t) in the library.
• We were not (weren’t) at the park.
• They were not (weren’t) happy.

Interrogative Sentences (Questions)

Structure: Was/Were + subject + complement?

• Was I correct?
• Was he your brother?
• Was she a doctor?
• Were you at home?
• Were they in the garden?

Short Answers

Question	Affirmative	Negative
Were you happy?	Yes, I was.	No, I wasn’t.
Was he a student?	Yes, he was.	No, he wasn’t.
Were they friends?	Yes, they were.	No, they weren’t.

Examples

1. Ahmed was absent yesterday.
2. My mother was a nurse.
3. The children were in the garden.
4. Was the exam difficult? No, it wasn’t.
5. Were you at home last night? Yes, I was.

Exercises

Exercise 1: Complete with was or were:

1. I ____ at home yesterday.
2. They ____ in the park.
3. She ____ a good teacher.
4. We ____ happy with the news.
5. He ____ late for school.

Exercise 2: Change to negative:

1. I was tired. → I ____ tired.
2. They were at school. → They ____ at school.
3. She was a doctor. → She ____ a doctor.

Exercise 3: Make questions:

1. He was a student. → ____ a student?
2. They were in Algeria. → ____ in Algeria?
3. You were happy. → ____ happy?

Summary

We use was with I, he, she, it (singular). We use were with you, we, they (plural). For negatives, add “not” (wasn’t/weren’t). For questions, put was/were before the subject.