The verb to be in English: meaning, types, rules of use. The difference between the verbs was and were

Hello friends. Many people make the mistake of not using auxiliary verbs AM, IS, ARE in the present tense when they are needed. In our lesson we will dwell in detail on am, is, are, and analyze situations when these three words must be inserted into a sentence. At the end of the lesson you can take a test and test yourself. As I already said, AM, IS, ARE are needed in the present tense. These three words are verb forms TO BE, which translates as “to be.” AM, IS, ARE can be translated as “there is”, but almost always in Russian these verbs are completely omitted from speech. This is where difficulties arise.

A little theory

As you probably know, in English we are required to use both a subject and a predicate in a sentence. In other words, in any sentence there is always an author of the action (who?) - this is the subject. And there is an action it produces (what does it do?) - this is the predicate. This is very important for understanding the English grammar system as a whole.

But now we will focus on the present tense.

In Russian, when an action is not specified, we understand that the situation takes place in the present tense.

For example: It's cold. Rain. I'm under an umbrella.

In each of these sentences there is no verb, no explicit action. But reading them, we understand that all this is happening in the present.

Now let's look at how an English-speaking person sees this situation:

[This state exists] cold. [This state exists] rainy. I [There is] under the umbrella.

“This state” - “it” is the subject. By the way, it is also called “formal subject”. Because it is needed exclusively for grammatical construction, and doesn't make any sense.
In the third sentence from our example, the subject is the word “I”, the author of the action.
As you might have guessed, the action that is present in each of the examples is the verb “is” - a variant of the verb “to be”, “to be in a state”.

Do you know that in the Old Russian language the word “is” was used, but it sounded like “is”? Remember one of catch phrases from the wonderful film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession,” when Tsar Ivan the Terrible says: “I am the Tsar, Ivan Vasilyevich.” “Az” is “I”, and “am” is “there is”. Over time, this form fell out of use.

Let's remember the rule:
Where in Russian there is no visible action, in English there is action.
Usually this applies to the present tense.
In Russian we call action for past and future tense.

Example in past tense: Was Cold. Was rain. I was under the umbrella. Example in the future tense: Will Cold. Will rain. I will under the umbrella.

Here the action is expressed by the verb “was/was/was” in the past and “will/will be” in the future. You just need to add a formal subject to translate such a sentence into English.

Verb “to be” in the present tense has 3 forms in English tense: am / is / are. Please note that to be itself is not translated into any tense, but depending on whether we are talking about the present, past or future, to be begins to change. As well as Russian word"to be" changes to "was", "is" or "will be" depending on the time.

The following act as the subject: pronouns, How
I - I
You, you - You
He, she, it - He, she, it
We - We
They - They
And words that can be replaced with these pronouns.
For example, children - they - they

The form of the predicate depends on the subject:
I am
You are
He, she, it is
We are
They are

So am can only be used with I, not in any other case.
We put Are if the subject is you, we, they and words that can be replaced with these pronouns (people, eggs, “you and I”, etc.)
Is appears only after he, she, it and the words they replace (Kate, a boy, an apple, a cow, etc.)

Carefully study the table and examples:

Am, is, are very often are being reduced in speech and writing. An apostrophe is used instead of the first letter.

Negative particle not

If we want to make a negation, then we need to put the negative particle “not” immediately after am, is, are. Not can also be shortened for ease of speech. There are 3 negation options used at the same time:
You are not - You aren't - You're not
But for I am there are only 2 options:
I am not - I’m not. There is no abbreviation for I amn't.

English is a must-learn these days, because without knowing it you can hardly count on getting a well-paid, interesting and very promising job. In addition, it is with the help of the English language that you can communicate freely in any country in the world. Many, having begun to study this foreign language, do not complete the task because of the difficulties that arise on the way to such a cherished goal.

Learning English is not an easy task, because there are a lot of nuances. Now we will talk about how to correctly use the verbs was - were, and find out how they differ from each other.

Verbs was - were - past form of "to be"

Before starting a conversation about the use of the above verbs in English, it is recommended to find out what they are and where they come from. The verbs was - were are formed from one irregular verb, which is “to be”, and they are its past form. The very verb to be is our native language translated as “to be”, “to happen”, “to exist”. Thanks to William Shakespeare's signature phrase “To be or not to be,” this irregular English verb is known even to those who are just about to start learning a foreign language.

As stated above, to be is an irregular verb, so its past forms are not formed by adding the ending "ed" in the second form ( Past Simple), as well as the auxiliary verb had/have and the same ending “ed” in the third form (Past Participle). Irregular verbs are called that way because there is no specific rule by which they are formed. Their past forms simply need to be learned, which is not as difficult as it might initially seem.

What is the difference between was and were?

Now it’s time to talk about why the irregular verb to be in the past form, which is the Past Simple, has two variants at once and how they actually differ. The verb was is translated into Russian as “was”, “happened”, “existed”, while were is interpreted as “existed”, “were” or “happened”. From the translation it is clear that these verbs differ primarily in number. The verb was in English should be used with a singular noun, while were is used with a plural noun.

The verbs was and were in the Past Simple

Let us now consider the use of the verbs was - were in English. The first time when these verbs should be used is when constructing sentences in the Past Simple. This is the most understandable and common case, about which much should not be said. Sentences with the verb was or were will now be considered. For example, “I was at home last evening” is translated as “I was at home last evening,” and “They were at the college yesterday” should be translated as “Yesterday they were at college.”

Despite the fact that there is nothing complicated in the Past Simple, many beginners simply cannot understand when to use the verb was, and in what cases they should use were. In fact, there is nothing complicated about this either. With singular nouns or pronouns (I, it, he, she) the verb was should be used, while for the plural (you, were, they) the verb were. With the pronoun you, which, depending on the situation, can be translated as “you”, “you” in the plural and the respectful address “You”, the verb were is always used.

There was/There were constructions

In English there are stable expressions There is/There are, which essentially do not have a specific translation, but they are often used in sentences like “There are seven pupils in the classroom”, which should be interpreted as “There are seven students in the class” . Hence, past form of such phrases is There was/There were. The sentence “There were seven pupils in the classroom” should already be translated as “There were seven students in the class.” It is worth noting that in this case, the use of the above construction depends primarily on the number of the subject.

Verbs was and were in Past Continuous Tense (past continuous tense)

In English there is another interesting construction going to, which translates as “getting ready to do something.” In the past tense it takes the form was. As an example, consider two sentences. The translation of the sentence “I am going to swim” will look like “I am going to swim,” while “I was going to swim yesterday” should be interpreted as “Yesterday I was going to swim.” As in previous cases, the use of the verbs discussed in this article depends entirely on the number of the subject.

The verbs was and were in Conditional Sentences

By and large, in this article we have already examined the main cases in which the verbs were-were should be used, but if you want to study such a beautiful English language more deeply, then you should know something else.

English also has special constructions of conditional sentences. To make it more clear, let's look at an example. The sentence “If I were you, I would buy this T-shirt” can be translated into Russian as: “If I were you, I would buy this T-shirt.” It should be said that such conditional sentences in most cases begin with the conjunction if, translated as “if”. For more detailed information about this construction, you should familiarize yourself with the section of English grammar “Conditional Sentences”.

Quite often in such cases, to be appears as auxiliary verb for the formation of more complex times. In turn, the verbs were and was are also auxiliary, and they should be used depending on the number of the subject. However, you should always keep in mind the construction If I were, which occurs in conditional sentences in the present tense and requires the presence of the verb were after the pronoun I. But in no case should it be confused with some similar constructions that are not conditional and contain the phrase I was. For example, “Sorry if I was late for this lesson,” which translates to “Sorry if I was late for this lesson.”

As you can see, mastering these subtle nuances of the English language is not as difficult as it initially seems. The use of verbs is limited to just a few simple rules that you simply need to remember. The main thing is to understand when the correct form of the verb to be should be used in the past tense.

Believe me, knowledge of English will certainly be useful to you in the future. And if you don’t work abroad or are never able to get a well-paid and prestigious job in your country, you will still have to speak fluently in English while on vacation in some exotic and sunny country. Learn English, improve, and you will certainly succeed.

The verb “to be” is one of the five hundred irregular verbs, therefore, when forming the past simple (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 plural nouns and the 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

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 cases when the verbs was/were in English lose their 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 tense is formed using the auxiliary verb “to be” in the past tense and the present participle (Participle I).

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

The verbs was and were are one of the most common words in English. It is almost impossible to avoid their use. They act not only as independent verbs, but also participate in the formation of other constructions.

Understanding when was and when were is used is necessary for everyone who learns English. The rules for their use are simple, but they may depend on the role of the verb in the sentence.

The verbs was and were are involved in different designs and act in different capacities. Cases of their use can be divided into 5 types: as the verb “to be”, in the coordination of tenses, for Education Past Continuous, in passive constructions, in conditional sentences with if.

1. Verb "to be"

Was and were in English are two forms of the verb to be in the past tense. They differ in persons and numbers: in the form was the verb is used in the singular, except for the second person (the pronoun you), were - in the plural and in the second person singular.

The rule was / were according to the conjugation table for the verb to be in the past tense:

The cases of using verbs in the meaning of “to be” are very similar to sentences in Russian. For was / were using typical when describing location, qualities, type of activity and other cases:

The key was in the car – The key was in the car
George was tall and thin – George was tall and thin
I was a dancer – I was a dancer
Her name was Margaret - Her name was Margaret

In negation with the particle not, verbs can take the abbreviated form wasn’t, weren’t. The particle not in this case is adjacent to the verb and loses its vowel “o”:

The key wasn’t in the car - The key was not in the car
They weren’t at home yesterday - Yesterday they weren’t at home

For the verbs was or were the formation rule interrogative sentence does not require the use of an additional verb to do (did in the past tense).

To turn an affirmative sentence into a question, just move was / were to the first place in the phrase. Whereas for all other verbs you need to resort to to do and put it in first place. Let's compare the following examples:

He was in the library (He was in the library) – Was he in the library? (Was he in the library?)
He went to the library (He went to the library) – Did he go to the library? (Did he go to the library?)

You cannot use both verbs to form an interrogative sentence. A sentence like “Did he be in the library?” will be grammatically incorrect.

The verb to be is actively used in a variety of constructions. For example, in the phrases there was / there were. Such constructions indicate the fact of the existence of objects. The rule for when to use was / were depends only on the number of objects referred to in the sentence:

There were six apples in the box – There were 6 apples in the box
There was a very old house at the end of the street - At the end of the street there was a very old house

There are also various set expressions with the verb “to be”. This verb is actively used in constructions that describe a state, characteristic or a certain quality. Such phrases include to be interested in (to be interested in something), to be in hurry a (hurry), to be fond of (to be carried away by something), to be good at (to understand well, be able to), to be mistaken ( be mistaken) and many others. In sentences with these constructions can be used various faces verb, so here for was were The same rules from the conjugation table are used:

Michel was incredibly fond of dancing – Michael was crazy about dancing

I thought you were in a hurry - I thought you were in a hurry

I could rely on them because they were good at that job - I could rely on them because they did their job well

2. Coordination of times

We must not forget about the rules for agreeing tenses in English: in indirect speech The timing of the subordinate clause depends on the main clause. If the main part is spoken in the past tense, then in the subordinate clause the form of the verb to be changes to was / were. There is no tense agreement in Russian, so the verb does not require a past tense form.

Betty said that you were thinking about buying a new house - Betty said that you were thinking about buying a new house

3. Auxiliary verb for Past Continuous

Another role of the verbs was and were is to serve as a means of forming the Past Continuous. All Continuous tenses are formed using the verb “to be” and a participle ending in ing. The auxiliary verb here does not carry an independent meaning, but only takes on a grammatical function in order to form the desired form. In the past tense, the verb to be looks like was/were, so the formula for forming the Past Continuous looks like was/were + V-ing.

In distinguishing between themselves for were or was the rule remains the same as described above, and depends on the number and person according to the conjugation table of the verb to be.

I was packing my suitcases at this time - At this time I was packing my suitcases

They were walking together in the park – They walked together in the park

You were studying in your room when Mr. Gray arrived – You were studying in your room when Mr. Gray arrived

4. Passive constructions (formation of the passive voice)

The use of was / were in English is characteristic of creating passive structures in the past tense. Such phrases are formed through the verb to be and the past participle, which is the semantic verb. For the past tense, the formula for the formation of the passive is built as was/were + V3.

The passive (or passive voice) is derived from the active form of the sentence and is used in situations where the role of the subject of the original sentence is not so important. In the active voice, the subject describes the actor in the situation and is the most important member of the sentence. In the passive voice, the new subject is the object that experiences the action on itself.

The problem was solved - The problem was solved
Children were separated from their parents - Children were separated from their parents

The examples show that the person and number of this new subject determine whether we use was or were. It doesn't matter which phrase the passive sentence is derived from: the form of the verb is determined by the subject of the phrase.

After converting a sentence into a passive, the original subject may completely disappear from the sentence or appear in a less significant position (for example, in the function of an object). Let's illustrate both cases with examples:

He wrote a letter (He wrote a letter) – The letter was written (The letter was written): the subject he (he) from the first sentence completely disappears in the second.

The President approved this law two months ago (The President approved this law two months ago) – This law was approved by the President two months ago (This law was approved by the President two months ago): the subject of the first sentence, the President, does not disappear, but ceases to be the main member and turns from a subject into an object.

If the active participant in the action remains in the sentence, he can be indicated through the preposition by. The preposition with may also appear in a sentence: it refers to inanimate objects and denotes the instrument with which the action was performed.

This house was chosen by my mother - This house was chosen by my mother
The bread was cut with a knife - The bread was cut with a knife

5. Conditional sentences

Conditional sentences are divided into various types. The second type, in which the atypical use of the verb were, appears, is built according to the scheme if + Past + should/would + Vinf.

Such conditional sentences describe an unrealistic situation that will most likely never come true. By using this construction, the speaker expresses obvious doubts that the situation is possible in reality.

In conditional sentences for the verbs was and were, the rules differ from all the examples discussed earlier: in all numbers and persons, only the form were is used. The verb were appears in the subordinate clause of a sentence if the semantic verb to be is to be used in the construction. Was is not used in English in this type of conditional construction.

If I were a king I wouldn't need such a pompous palace - If I were a king, I wouldn't need such a pompous palace.

The peculiarity of conditional constructions with if is also that the verb were appears in them when the indicated situation refers to the present or future tense, and not the past.

If we were in Paris now I would show you the Eiffel Tower - If we were in Paris now, I would show you the Eiffel Tower.

When it comes to learning any language and breaking down language barriers, polyglots always highlight knowledge of verbs. And it’s true: knowing verbs and knowing how to use them in various forms, you just need to “string” other words on them and you will already have whole sentences. In this situation, it is not surprising that most of the standard vocabulary of a native speaker of Russian, English, Chinese, and another arbitrarily chosen language is made up of this part of speech. But wait, this doesn’t mean that you should immediately start chaotically memorizing any verbs that catch your eye. If this makes any sense, it will be very small. Instead, it is better to analyze in detail those English verbs that are often and actively used in speech. This is exactly what we will do by studying the verb to be in English.

The verb to be, which is equivalent to the Russian “to be”, “to appear”, “to be”, is one of the most universal and most commonly used verbs in the English language. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that, unlike other representatives of this part, the verb to be is conjugated, changing in persons and numbers.

In addition, to be can be used as a semantic verb or assisted by another verb, acting as an auxiliary. But let's talk about everything in order.

The verb to be refers to irregular verbs, so it has 3 forms. These forms are formed independently, without being explained by rules, so they simply need to be memorized:

The verb to be in the Past Simple or simple past tense in the number of its forms is reduced to two. Their use again depends on the person and number:

This, however, was not always the case. Previously, the future tense form shall be was used for first person pronouns (I / we). Nowadays you can find it very rarely, so just knowing about its existence is enough. In all cases, use the form will.

Please note that other verbs in English are not conjugated. The fact is that there are no conjugations in this language at all, which makes it much easier English grammar. The verb to be is an exception to the rule.

Above were the forms of this verb in Simple times. All tense forms of the verb to be can be expressed in the following table:

The verb to be may not be used in all tenses. So, in the Perfect Continuous the verb to be is not used. It may also be noted that tenses continuous It is not very common to be friends with the verb to be. The use of verbs in continuous forms is possible only in certain situations.

Verb to be in English: sentence forms

Affirmative form

The affirmative form of a sentence with the verb to be is constructed in a standard way: first comes the subject, followed by the verb to be in the required form as a predicate. Study the table:

Negative form

Negative forms of sentences with this verb are formed by adding the negative particle not after to be. No auxiliary verbs are required to use the form:

In both affirmative and negative sentences, the verb to be can be shortened:

There are no shortened forms for the past tense in the statement.

I am not, unlike other verbs, is shortened as I’m not. I amn't is used only in Scotland and Ireland.

Question form

The English question form depends on the type of question:

• IN general issue or alternative issues The verb be in the required conjugation is placed before the subject. Tables for clarity :

The answer uses only the verb to be:

The answer uses affirmative sentence:

If you want to use future form verb, then will must be brought forward, while be will remain in the same place:

• In special questions, an English question word is added to the form above:

The answer is used in the affirmative form:

In your answer it is enough to use the verb to be:

• As part of a nominal predicate, which consists of a linking verb (to be) and a nominal part expressed by nouns or adjectives. In this case, the verb is translated into Russian as “is”.

Despite the fact that " There is” can be used, its presence will seem inappropriate, and the proposal will turn out somehow ugly. Judge for yourself:

The Russian language does not need this verb, so it is not usually used. The English language will not allow this, because English sentences is that they are strictly ordered. In simple terms, if you, for example, are composing a complete affirmative sentence, then it must consistently use the subject and verb, nothing else. In some way, a similar role to be can be associated with the obsolete “is”, which previously performed exactly the same function in the Russian language.

Verb to be in nominal predicate can also be used to mean "be" in imperative sentences:

1. As an auxiliary verb in Continuous and Perfect Continuous. In this case, the auxiliary verb to be is used with semantic verbs. The verb to be itself is usually not translated in such sentences. Study the examples in the table:

The verb to be can also be used to use the passive voice:

1. Besides the functions mentioned, the verb to be is also used as component in designs:

• to be going to (getting ready);

• there is / are / (there is / exists);

1. The use of the verb is also possible as a modal verb in the meaning of “should”, “agreed”, “agreed” when we are talking about obligations, orders, schedules and plans, the inevitability of events. In this case, to verb the to particle is added:

1. And also when using the verb to be in English in the following constructions:

1. Frequent uses of the verb are also associated with idioms. Here are some of them:

As you can see, the verb to be is very popular and varied, so it can be used in any situation with almost any tense. Once you understand the conjugations of this verb and its role in a sentence, you should not have any difficulty using it. Devote some time English exercises on this topic to reinforce the material, make up your own examples and most importantly - practice the language with native speakers. Because you won't find as much benefit in any exercise as you can get from people who use the language on a daily basis and can help you with any language barriers.