An explanation of the past tense of the verb 'be' in English with examples.

1. ‘BE’ (past tense)
Remember the verb ‘be’ is used to talk about where we are: I am at the office;
describing things/giving facts: the water is cold; and how we feel: he is happy.
FORM
The verb ‘to be’ is ‘estar’ or ‘ser’
Positive
I was
You were
S/he/it was
We were
You were
We were
Examples
I was with my friends
You were happy
The room was too small for the meeting
We were there
The comedian was funny
Negative
Just add ‘not’ after verb
I was not OR I wasn’t
You were not OR you weren’t
S/he/it was not OR she wasn’t
We were not OR we weren’t
You were not OR you weren’t
They were not OR they weren’t
Examples
I was not with my friends OR I wasn’t with my friends
You were not happy OR you weren’t happy
The room was not too small OR the room wasn’t too small
We were not there OR we weren’t there
The comedian was not funny OR the comedian wasn’t funny

2. Questions
We swap the verb with the subject.
Was I…?
Were you…?
Was s/he/it…?
Were we…?
Were you…?
Were they…?
Examples
Were you ok?
Was she British?
Was the room small?
Were we there?
Were they funny?