Rules for using the verbs Was and Were. Use was and were

The verb “to be” is one of the five hundred irregular verbs, therefore, when forming the simple past tense ( Past Simple) the ending -ed is not added to it, as happens with regular verbs. This verb is radically transformed, being replaced by completely different sounding and spelling words: was and were.

So, the verb “to be” in the past simple tense has two forms: was (which is translated as was/was) and were (were). The first form is used with the pronouns I, He, She, It and singular nouns, while the second is used with singular nouns. plural and pronouns We, You, They.

When using the pronoun you, remember that in English it is plural and therefore always agrees with plural verbs!

Declension table for the verb “to be” in the past simple tense

Affirmative form

Negative form

Question form

a writer

late

was not

a writer

late

a writer?

late

They

were

pupils

They

were not

pupils

Were

They

pupils?

Use of was, were in speech

These forms of the verb “to be” are used in the same meanings as the present tense forms am, is, are.

1. When specifying a person's name.

His name was John. - His name was John.
Their names were Jane and Frida. - Their names were Jane and Frieda.

2. When indicating age.

Jim was 25 last year. — Jim turned 25 last year.
My grand parents were 75 last month. — My grandparents turned 75 last month.

3. When indicating the location of a person or group of people.

They were at the library last week. — They were in the library last week.

4. When describing a person or object.

She was tall and slender. — She was tall and slender.

5. When listing a person’s qualities.

He was stupid but kind. “He was stupid, but kind.”

6. In stable expressions.

They were interested in Literature 3 years ago. — They were interested in literature 3 years ago.
I was fond of music when I was student. — I was interested in music when I was a student.
My brother was good at Physics when he studied at school. — My brother was a good physics student (= he was good at physics) when he was at school.

7. When describing the weather.

It was warm and wet last winter. — Last winter it was warm and damp.
It was hot and windy this summer. — This summer it was hot and windy.

Construction There was/There were

In English, the verb “to be” is an integral part of the construction there is/there are, which in the past tense looks like this: there was/there were. It is not always easy to translate into Russian, but its meaning is that it denotes the location of something or someone (somewhere, something was or existed).

If the sentence is about a singular noun, then the construction there was is used. To denote plural nouns, the expression there were is used.

There was a book on the table/There was a book on the table.
There were many birds in the sky/There were many birds in the sky.

Sometimes this phrase is translated as an impersonal sentence.

There was a terrible cry. (A terrible scream was heard).

Was/were as an auxiliary verb

There are times when the verbs was/were in English lose their meaning. semantic meaning(to be) and perform the function of auxiliary verbs. For example, in the sentence I was watching this program at 7 o’clock yesterday / I watched this program yesterday at 7 o’clock, the verb was indicates that the narration is in the Past Continuous (past long time). This time is formed using auxiliary verb“to be” in the past tense and the present participle (Participle I).

Affirmative form

Negative form

Question form

I was playing

He / she / it was playing

I wasn't playing

He / she / it was not playing

Was I playing?

Was he / she / it playing?

We were playing

You were playing

They were playing

We weren't playing

You weren't playing

They were not playing

Were we playing?

Were you playing?

Were they playing?

The verbs was/were also participate in the formation of passive or passive voice (Passive Voice) in the past tense (Past Simple Passive). For education passive voice in the past tense the verb to be is required in the past tense + participle II, the third form of the verb.

was/were + V3

The day before yesterday, after a lesson, one student (by the way, upper-intermediate level) came up to me and said literally the following: “I don’t understand when in the past tense you need to say did, and sometimes was. Often this melts the brain and causes dry mouth. "

Vividly imagining the girl’s melted brain and dried out mouth, I decided that she needed help. Let's figure out these did and was.

Rule 1.

If we need to say in the past tenseaffirmative sentence, then we say the second form of the verb.

For example: I wrote a love letter to the president. I asked him to marry me. - I wrote love letter to the president. I asked so that he would marry me.

Rule 2.

If we need to say in the past tense interrogative or negative sentence then we say did(or didn't)+ 1 verb form.

For example: Why did you drink my beer ? - I didn't drink your beer. It's evaporated. - Why did you drink my beer? - I didn't drink it. It evaporated.

In this case the verb did - past tense marker. That is, he doesn't not translated, but serves the sole purpose of showing the past tense.

The verb do is the same as all other verbs. That is, if we want to put it in the past tense, we will say it the second form is did (according to rule 1).

For example: I did yoga, ate a banana and went to Yvonne. - I did yoga, ate a banana and went to Yvonne.

What if we want to say this very verb do in a question or negation? Look at rule 2. In accordance with it you need to speak did you do or didn't do.

For example: When did you do the Cosmopolitain test? - I didn't do it. I'm up to the magazine. - When you did test from Cosmopolitan magazine? - I didn't his. I tore the magazine to shreds.

At the same time in the phrase "did you do" the first did is marker, which does not not translated, but the second do is full verb, which translated as "did".

There is one verb that behaves ugly, spits on all the rules and selfishly ignores various stupid markers. Its name is Verb To Be.

Look again at Rule 2 and say in English: “I didn’t buy,” “I didn’t eat,” “I didn’t wash,” and “I didn’t tear.”

What happened? I didn't buy, I didn't eat, I didn't wash and I didn't tear up.

And it turns out that by analogy “I wasn’t” there will be I didn’t be, right?

But we have to talk I wasn't. Because the verb to be is egoist.

And in the question, too, you should say not “did he be,” but "was he".

For example:

Was John at home when the police came? - No wasn't at home. He was in the garage. - John was home when the police arrived? - He wasn't Houses. He was in the garage.

Here the verb was translated into Russian.

And sometimes there was not translated, but only shows that we are in Past Continuous time. This is the past tense, which answers the question “what did” (not “what did”).

For example: Last evening I was eating crayfish pate and reading Walter Scott. - Last night I ate(what did) crayfish pate and read(what did) Walter Scott.

So, let's summarize.

1) Did can mean "did". Then the interrogative form will be - "Did you do?" - “Did you do it?”, and denial - “I didn’t do” - “I didn’t do it.”

2) “Did” can be a Past Simple marker (past tense answering the question “what did you do?”). In this case, did does not translate in any way: “Did you buy?” - “Did you buy it?”; "I didn"t forget" - "I didn't forget."

3) Sometimes “was” (were)* means “was(and)”. In this case, the question is “Were you / was he?”*, and the negation is “I wasn”t / you weren’t”*.

4) Sometimes “was” is a Past Continuous marker (past tense answering the question “what did you do?”). In this case, was is not translated in any way.

* I was
You were
He / she / it was
We were
They were

And now - an exercise. Translate into English.

1. Did you go to the dwarf theater yesterday? - No.
2. Yesterday I did a lot of good deeds.
3. Podger was sleeping while the doctor was eating crayfish pate.
4. When did Louise arrive from Montenegro? - She didn't come.
5. Why did you do it? homework?
6. Yesterday I was picking mushrooms, but I didn’t forget to congratulate Pedro on his birthday.
7. I was at the fitness club, but didn’t do anything there.

Keys to the exercise -

Verb to be in Past Simple

In the present tense ( Present Simple) the verb to be has 3 forms: am (singular), is (singular), are (plural), in the past (Past Simple) 2 forms: was (singular), were (plural) ).

Circumstances of the Past Simple:

1. Yesterday - yesterday

2. Last week (last year, last month)- last week (last year, last month)

3. Last autumn (last spring) - last fall (last spring)

4. 2 years ago - 2 years ago

5. in 1997 - in 1997

6. When I was young - when I was young (when my grandmother was young - when my grandmother was young, being young - being young, in his youth)

7. In childhood - in childhood.

When the verbs were, were ( in what situations)?

- in the same semantic cases as the verbs am, is, are (see memo):

1. When we call person's name:

Her name was Jane. - Her name was Jane.

Their names were Jack and Fred. - Their names were Jack and Fred.

2. When we call age:

Jane was 21 last year. - Jane turned 21 last year.

My parents were 45 last month. - My parents turned 45 last month.

3. When we call location person or group of people.

They were at the party last week. - They were at a party last week.

4. When we describe a person or object.

He was tall and slender. - He was tall and slender.

5. When we list a person’s qualities.

He was smart and generous. - He was smart and generous.

6. In stable expressions:

They were interested in Music 5 years ago. - They were interested in music (as a subject) 5 years ago.

I was fond of basketball when I was young. - I was fond of basketball when I was young.

My sister was good at History when she studied at school. - My sister was a good history student (= she was good at history) when she was at school.

7. Pr Anddescription of the weather conditions.

It was warm and slippery last week. - Last week it was warm and slippery.

It was cold and windy this autumn. - This autumn it was cold and windy.

When do we use was, were (with what pronouns)?

Linking verb was we use with all singular pronouns(I, he, she, it) and singular nouns numbers, for example: I was a student (I was a student). John was a student. (John was a student)

Linking verb were we use with all plural pronouns(you, we, they) and plural nouns, for example: They were students (They were students). Our parents were students many years ago (Our parents were students many years ago).

!!!: With a pronoun you we always use a plural linking verb: in the present tense are, in the past were, regardless of how you is translated in the sentence “you” or “you”, since the pronoun you has in English. language only plural form. For example: You were a good specialist. (You/You were/were a good specialist).

At the same time, when we address you, meaning a whole group of people, we use the plural noun after the linking verb: You were good students.(You were good students ).

Formation of a sentence with the verb to be:

Affirmative Offer	Negative offer	Interrogative offer
I was a writer.	I was not a writer.	Was I'm a writer?
She was a writer.	She was not a writer.	Was she a writer?
We were writers. They	We were not writers. They	Were we writers? They

Accepted abbreviations

I wasn't = I wasn't (worried)

He was = He’s (khiz) He was not = He "s not = He wasn"t (heightened)

She was = She’s (shiz) She was not = She’s not = She wasn’t (worried)

You were= You’re (yue) You were not = You weren’t (vent)

We were= We’re (vie) We were not = We weren’t (vent)

They were= They're (ve(th)e) They were not = They weren't"t (vent)

If you came to our blog to find out the was, were rule in English, then you have come to exactly the right place. We will look at how and when these forms of the verb “to be” are used and why our life is impossible without this knowledge.

First and most important:

was, were in English - past form of the verb “to be” !Past forms are used without the particle “to”, because are not infinitive forms of the verb!

Use of was, were in English, the rule:

1. To the singular subject we add “was”

I, He, She, It- singular persons who are friends only with “was”!

2. To the plural subject we add “were”

We, You, They- plural persons who are friends only with “were”! For example:

P.S. Do you know why “You” is plural? After all, at school we were taught that this translates as the pronoun “you”. Everything is wrong!

In fact, Americans are so well-mannered that they always address each other exclusively as “you.” This is precisely why this pronoun is considered plural.

But even in Russian, we always use the pronoun “You” only in the plural, even when addressing one person (but in a respectful form). For example:

Second and also important rule:

The use of was, were in English does not use the Past Continuous. This tense speaks of an extended activity (process) that occurred in the past. You will never confuse it with the usual past Past tense Simple because:

1. Continuous- it's always a process.

2. IN Past Continuous we see certain time indications of the process:

When you called I was making a cake for my brother.

As you can see, it is not necessary here exact time, there should be a hint at the moment at which the process lasted.

3. was, were in English they are always basic auxiliary verbs.

In using our verbs was, were there are no differences in comparison with the first point. There is only a peculiarity: the predicate will be able to have the ending “ing” (Always only this ending and no other changes to the verb. No need to learn the table irregular verbs to express your thoughts in the Past Continuous. Just add the ending “ing” to the main verb.)

Also, one cannot help but say that was, were in English is used in the passive voice and in a number of other laws and rules foreign language, but we revealed the most striking functions of these verbs in our article.

If you have an addition to our story about was, were in English, the rules of their use and features, then feel free to write your thoughts in the comments and we will discuss your ideas.

Confused about use Present Perfect and Past Simple? Some useful clarifications on this topic!

Hi all! I remember at the beginning of learning English, I was very often worried about the difference between the use of Present Perfect and Past Simple. He often made mistakes when speaking and could not understand when it would be correct to use “I’ve been” and when “I was.” As you know, both phrases translate as “I was.” If you are experiencing the same difficulties, then read this short article “The difference between i’ve been and i was” to the end and perhaps everything will become a little clearer to you.

Using "I was".

Friends, whenever you cannot decide between “I was” and “I have been,” always quickly refresh your memory of the conditions under which these two tenses are used!

After all, you know that we never use the Present Perfect, if we know exactly when in the past we performed this or that action! That is, if you want to say “I was in London last summer,” the phrase “last summer” is a marker that determines the time at which it would be best to say this phrase in English. Do you know exactly when I was in London? Yes, last summer! Means, the right option will:

I was in London last summer.

I've been to London last summer.

If in a conversation you just want to say that you have already been to London (sometime in the past, just as a fact), then the Present Perfect Tense is eager to fight:

I've been to London.

More examples:

I was there two times.

(I've been there twice)

The implication is that it is clear from the context when exactly you were there twice in the past. For example, you can discuss your summer holidays with a friend. In English, a lot depends on the situation.

I've been there two times.

(I've been there twice)

In this case, it is absolutely not clear from the topic of conversation exactly when you were there. This could have been a week ago or right after you were born. In this case, you are simply stating a fact - I was there twice.

Using “I’ve been.”

So, from the first part of the article it became clear that when using “I’ve been” we are in no way attached to any specific moment in time in the past.

By the way, after “I’ve been” it would be correct to use the preposition “to” and not “in”:

I’ve been to London - I was in London.

I’ve been to Thailand - I was in Thailand.

I’ve been to Moscow - I was in Moscow.

There is another difference between the use of the Past Simple and the Present Perfect. Let's say there are two phrases:

I've been at home.

What's the difference? Again, the first case assumes that you were home in the past (for example yesterday), but now you are no longer at home.

Using “I’ve been” means that you were at home, say this morning, and now you are still at home.

She was the best student in the class.

She has been the best student in the class.

In the first case, she was the best student in the class. But now she is no longer studying, or is no longer the best.

In the second case, she was the best student in the class, and still is.

Once again I want to emphasize that in English a lot depends on the context, the topic of conversation, and the situation. The ability to feel the temporary difference in a specific situation and helps to use right time. All this comes with experience and practice. If you are having trouble with this now, just keep studying and very soon everything will become clear to you and you will stop being confused English times. Now you know the difference between ive been and i was

Keep learning English and good luck to you working week!

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