Was or Were? What is the rule for using Was and Were in English? Why are AM, IS, ARE needed in English?

WAS and WERE are forms of the irregular verb to be in the Past Simple, that is, in the past tense. Remembering the conjugation is quite easy. In the singular, WAS is used, and in the plural, WERE. With the pronoun YOU, which can be translated as you and as you, you should use WERE.

HE, SHE, IT - WAS

Was for the first person (I, we), for the rest were

Of course, there is no special America with the use of verb forms was / were won't open: form was is used in the singular, and the form were- in plural tense Past Indefinite.

This could close the discussion. But we won't close it. We listen to the song and get inspired by its grammatical aspect:

Beyonc - If I Were A Boy

Why is there a form here? were next to the first person singular pronoun? Blatant ignorance? African American slang?

No, the strictest rules there are English grammar. We have before us conditional sentences of the 2nd type

which describe improbable or impossible assumptions relevant to the present time. Beyoncé sweat: If I were a guy, then... (I would do this and that), but she was not a guy and never will be. That is, such proposals do not describe a situation that is possible under certain conditions, but completely unrealistic assumptions.

In such cases, the form were should be used regardless of grammatical number, and the second part should be followed by modal verb (should / would / could), in speech after pronouns often shortened to d, and only then the infinitive of the verb describing the action itself.

This is what happens in the song in question:

I would turn off my phone

Tell everyone its broken

So theyd think that I was sleeping alone

An explanation of the features of constructing such sentences, as well as interactive exercises, can be found Here.

Not all English speakers remember this rule. The English language has its own bells and whistles - indicators of illiteracy, that is. And the ability to correctly construct conditional sentences of type 2 is one of them.

Fans of the detective series Inspector Morse may have heard in the episode

Virtual Ghost - Ghost in the Machine,

how Morse chastises Lewis for an error in constructing just such a sentence, at 16 minutes:

Chief Inspector Morse: You are not a bloody mason, are you?

Detective Sergeant Lewis: No such luck - I might have been a Chief Inspector by now if I was.

Chief Inspector Morse: Were, Lewis, if you were. Youll never get on if you cant master your subjunctives.

You can see how the Russian translators handled the matter here. By the way, they did not reflect the play on words in the original: mason and mason - mason.

• Morse: You're not a mason, Lewis, are you?
• Lewis: Bad luck - I would have already risen to Chief Inspector if I had been (that is, if he had been a member of the Masonic Lodge).
• Morse: If only, Lewis, if only I were. You will never advance if you do not master (construction of) conditional sentences (conditional mood).

• It's very simple. Was refers to the singular, were - to the plural. At the same time, with the pronoun you, no matter what number it is in, the verb to be is used in the plural, that is, were.

  was-singular, were-plural, do not forget that in modern English there is no singular pronoun for the 2nd person.

  It is very easy to remember that the past tense form of the verb to be varies depending on the number of the pronoun or noun to which the verb refers. The form WAS refers to the singular, WERE - to the plural. It is worth dwelling on the pronoun YOU, in combination with which the verb in the form WERE is used.

  You need to know English. After all, how many new things can be learned by knowing the English language - its rules and pronunciations. Regarding the words was and were, they are used in the following cases:

  was - used in singular

  were - used in plural

• Was or Were

  Here is a table of conjugations for the verb to be in the simple past tense.

  On this page you will find detailed information about conjugating the verb to be in other tenses. And there are also test exercises that you can perform.

If with nouns:

• In the singular the verb was is used. For example, My mother was...
• The verb used in the plural is were. For example, My sisters were...

If with pronouns:

• With I, he, she, it, was is used.
• C we, you, they are used.

Exercises can be done in grammar textbooks, good textbook Raymond Murphy has it, for beginners - red.

Regarding exercises, I can advise you to look for tables that will help you consolidate theoretical material and learn it. Something like this:



or this:



The more visual and colorful the material, the faster man will remember him.

Was or Were are used from a pronoun. IF the pronoun is singular, then the form Was is used. If the pronoun is plural, then Were is written in the sentence. You just need to remember this.

The verb to be occurs very often in English and has many different forms. In the past tense the verb is used in the singular as WAS, and in the plural as WERE. You can read more about this verb and other rules of the English language here.

Tenses in English become a real obstacle for many who strive to master it. Another difficulty is the use various forms verb depending on the person and number of the subject. Such an example is the verb be: even having understood in what cases was/were is used, not everyone realizes when the first option is used and when the second?

Was/were– the second form of the irregular verb be, referring to the past tense. The construction “there was/where” is translated as “was”, “there was”. This verb connects parts of speech (for example, two nouns, a noun and a pronoun or an adjective) in those sentences where there is no semantic verb.

How do you remember when to use which form? With pronouns/nouns in the singular – was (I/he/she/it), in the plural – were (you/we/they). Please note that after you, which is used for both “you” and “you” in English, you must write were. Where there are many of us (we, they) - there the word is longer (were - were), where there is one person (I, he ...) - there it is shorter (was - was).

However, you need to keep in mind the construction If I were, which is found in present tense conditional sentences and which requires the presence of were after the pronoun I. Example: “If I were you, I would definitely press a like button below this post.” Do not confuse with similar constructions that contain "I was" because they are not conditions. For example: “Sorry if I was rude with you on the phone yesterday.”

Conclusions website

1. Was – for the main word in the singular, Were – in the plural (but remember the exception to this rule “If I were” in conditional sentences)

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 pronouns plural (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:

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)

Common English verb to be - one of not regular verbs and its conjugation and application differs from that of regular verbs. In time, the verb to be has two forms: was and were (hence the notorious “ was were rule"). We will tell you which form to use where and when in this article. The basic rule to remember about the use of was and were: the form was is used with singular nouns, and the form were will be used with plural nouns.

Form was

The verb to be in the Past Simple will usually have the form was with the pronouns I, it, he and she i.e. with singular pronouns. The verb was is used only when there are no other verbs in the sentence, otherwise it will be written auxiliary verb did.

Free lesson on the topic:

Irregular verbs English: table, rules and examples

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She was an happy child— She was a happy child.
She was prettier than me- She was more beautiful than me.
He was a terrible actor- He was a terrible actor.
He was a boy, she was a girl- He was a boy and she was a girl.
I was the ugliest man in a room“I was the ugliest person in the room.”
I was made for loving you, baby“I was made to love you, baby.”
It was a perfect first date— It was an amazing first date.
It was a very good year— It was a very good year.

Shape were

The verb to be in the Past Simple will usually have the form were with the pronouns you, we, they i.e. with plural pronouns. The verb were is used only when there are no other verbs in the sentence, otherwise it will be written did.

You were so right to say that“You were so right to say that.”
You were meant for me- T was meant for me.
They were so tired after school— They were so tired after school.
They were all dead“They were all dead.”
We were best friends- We were best friends.
We were reading the whole evening- We read all evening.

Exceptions

There are exceptions to any rule, and the use of the verbs was/were was not without them. We have highlighted for you some of the most common exceptions:

1. In the stable construction If I were, the singular pronoun I and the verb were will be used.

   If I were her, I would like this dog- If I were her, I would like this dog.
   If I were here I would dance a pasodoble- If I were here, I would dance the paso doble.

2. In sentences with the construction I wish (when the fulfillment of a wish is unattainable), the phrase I were will be written.

   I wish I were Batman- It's a pity that I'm not Batman.
   I wish I were smart- It's a pity that I'm not smart.

Was/were in negative sentences

There are two ways to get a negative sentence with the verb was/were: adding no to the sentence or adding negative particle not, after which you will need to add an auxiliary word (any, much, etc.)

There was no gift for her“There was no gift for her.”
Were there boxes on the bureau?– Were there boxes on the bureau?

Was/were in interrogative sentences

To get interrogative sentence with the verb was/were you need to put the verb before the subject.

Was she a doctor?— Was she a doctor?
Was it breathtakingly?— Was it exciting?
Were you honest with me?-Were you honest with me?
Were we fun?— Did we have fun?
Where was she yesterday?-Where was she yesterday?
Were they yelling?— Did they fight?

Video about the use of the verbs was and were: