Table of Contents
The past simple of ‘to be’
Introduction
|
|
They were at the reception desk 5 minutes ago but they are not there now. |
Construction
| Affirmative | Negative
Full form Contracted form
| Interrogative
| |
|
I was |
I was not |
I wasn't |
Was I? |
| You were | You were not | You weren't | Were you? |
| He was | He was not | He wasn't | Was he? |
| She was | She was not | She wasn't | Was she? |
| It was | It was not | It wasn't | Was it? |
| We were | We were not | We weren't | Were we? |
| They were | They were not | They weren't | Were they? |
Short answers
| Question: | 'to be' + subject + adjective/noun | Was she at work? |
| Affirmative answer: | Yes + subject + 'to be' | Yes, she was. |
| Negative answer: | No + subject + 'to be' + not | No, she wasn't. |
Note that
We do not use the contracted form for affirmative answers.
| Affirmative | Negative |
| Yes, I was. | No, I wasn't. |
| Yes, you were. | No, you weren't. |
| Yes, she was. | No, she wasn't. |
| Yes, he was. | No, he wasn't. |
| Yes, it was. | No, it wasn't. |
| Yes, we were. | No, we weren't. |
| Yes, they were. | No, they weren't. |
Examples
Hans was 35 last year so this year he is 36.
There was a lot of traffic in London last night
Tom and Mary were in Paris last week, they were not in London.
Were your visitors Swiss? No they weren't, they were French.
We were in the Alps for our holiday, it was wonderful.
