1. The document discusses the past tense forms of the verb "to be" in English, which are "was" and "were". It provides examples of using these forms in simple past tense sentences and questions. 2. Exercises are provided for learners to practice forming sentences and answering questions in the past tense using "was" and "were". Short answers to yes/no questions using pronouns are also covered. 3. Additional context and information can be provided when answering questions in full sentences rather than just short answers.

1. The Past of Be:
3 Statements,
Yes / No Questions
On the Job
Focus on Grammar 1
Part III, Unit 7
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells
Copyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. At a Restaurant
Werewife
My I
Yes, was.
Yes, ityou
Was the
on was. I
and
vacation
It was
weather
sunny in
were
last week?
nice? and
Mexico.
hot.

3. At the Office 1
Were you Yes, I
No, they
Were they were.
wasn’t. I
atat the
the
meeting? was late.
meeting?

4. At the Office 2
Were our
Was the I don’t know.
No, it wasn’t.
bosses
meeting I was
It was long
angry?
interesting? asleep.
and boring.

5. The Past of Be
The past of be has two forms: was and were.
The meeting was boring.
We were in Mexico.

6. Past Forms
Present Tense Past Tense
Subject
be be
I am was
You are were
He
She is was
It
We
are were
They

7. Practice 1 Complete each sentence with
was or were.
were
Example: You ______ alone at lunch.
1. I ______ with my friends last night.
was
2. My children ______ in Greece last summer.
were
1. My classmates and I ______ nervous about the
were
test.
4. My brother ______ at the post office this
was
morning.
5. The weather ______ cold yesterday.
was

8. Negative
Use was or were + not to make negative
statements.
It was not cold and windy.
We were not in Hawai’i.

9. Contractions
Use the contractions wasn’t and weren’t in
speaking and informal writing.
It was not cold and windy.
wasn’t
weren’t
We were not in Hawai’i.

10. Practice 2 Make each sentence negative.
Use wasn’t and weren’t.
Example: The meeting was interesting.
The meeting wasn’t interesting.
1. I was on the third floor.
I wasn’t on the third floor.
2. The actors were funny.
The actors weren’t funny.
3. My grandfather was at the bank.
My grandfather wasn’t at the bank.
4. You were late to class.
You weren’t late to class.

11. Questions
Put was or were before the subject to ask
a yes / no question.
Was the weather good?
subject
Were our bosses angry?
subject

12. Short Answers
Use a pronoun and was, wasn’t, were, or
weren’t in short answers.
Was the Were you
Yes, we No, it
meeting on
were. wasn’t.
interesting? vacation?

13. Work with a partner. Take turns.
Ask and answer the questions.
Practice 3 Use short answers. Add
information.
Example: Q: Were you at home last night?
A: No, I wasn’t. I was at my
uncle’s house. He was sick. . .
1. Was the weather good yesterday?
2. Were you in class last Wednesday?
3. Was your dinner good last night?
4. Were you a student last year?
5. Was the quiz difficult?

14. References
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and its
licensors. All rights reserved.