Was and Were Exercises
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Was and were: be in the past
Was and were are the past forms of am, is and are. Use them to talk about people and things at a past time.
- Choose the form:
- Use was with I, he, she, it and one person or thing. Use were with you, we, they and two or more people or things.
- Negative:
- Add not: was not (wasn't) or were not (weren't).
- Question:
- Put was or were first: Was she at home? Were they late?
- There was / there were:
- Use there was for one thing and there were for two or more: There was a cat. There were two cats.
- Short answer:
- Was he there? Yes, he was. Were you tired? No, I wasn't.
Examples
I was at home yesterday.
Use was with I.
They were at school on Monday.
Use were with they.
She wasn't tired last night.
Wasn't means was not.
Were you at the park? Yes, I was.
The question uses you; the answer uses I.
There was one chair. There were three tables.
Choose by the number of things that follow.
Audio uses a synthetic voice.
Practice exercises
Choose was or were
Select the correct past form of be.
1.My mother ___ at work yesterday.
2.We ___ at the beach last Sunday.
3.There ___ two books on the table.
4.___ your brother at home last night?
5.The shop ___ open yesterday. It was closed.
Fill the gaps
Type was, were, wasn't or weren't. Use the clue in each sentence.
Put the words in order
Select the parts in order to make a sentence or question.
11. Build the sentence:
12. Build the sentence:
13. Build the sentence:
14. Build the sentence:
Right or wrong?
Decide whether each English sentence is correct.
15.They was at home yesterday.
16.Was she tired last night?
17.There were three chairs in the room.
18.Were he at the party?
The past of be: was and were
Use was and were to speak about a past time, such as yesterday or last week. The choice follows the subject: I was, he was, she was, it was; you were, we were, they were. A singular name takes was, and a plural noun takes were.
For a negative sentence, put not after was or were. Wasn't and weren't are common short forms: She wasn't at school. We weren't tired. For a question, move was or were before the subject: Was she at school? Were you tired? No did is needed.
There was and there were tell us what existed in a place in the past. Use there was before one thing and there were before two or more. There was a chair in the room. There were three chairs in the room.
Frequently asked questions
When do I use was?
Use was with I, he, she, it and a singular person or thing: I was late. The shop was open.
When do I use were?
Use were with you, we, they and plural people or things: You were ready. The children were here.
How do I make a question in the past with be?
Put was or were before the subject: Was he there? Were they tired? Do not use did.
What is the difference between there was and there were?
There was introduces one person or thing. There were introduces two or more: There was one chair. There were two chairs.
Answer key
1. My mother ___ at work yesterday.
Answer: was
My mother is one person, so use was.
2. We ___ at the beach last Sunday.
Answer: were
Use were with we in the past.
3. There ___ two books on the table.
Answer: were
Two books are plural, so use there were.
4. ___ your brother at home last night?
Answer: Was
Your brother is one person. Start the question with was.
5. The shop ___ open yesterday. It was closed.
Answer: wasn't
Closed means not open; use wasn't with the singular shop.
6. I ___ very happy yesterday.
Answer: was
Use was with I.
7. The children ___ at school last week.
Answer: were
Children is plural, so use were.
8. There ___ a dog in the garden yesterday.
Answer: was
A dog is one animal, so use there was.
9. You ___ late. You came on time.
Answer: weren't
On time means not late. Use weren't with you.
10. ___ they at the party?
Answer: Were
Start a past question about they with were.
11. you / Were / at home?
Answer: Were you at home?
A question begins with were before you.
12. one cat / There was / outside.
Answer: There was one cat outside.
Use there was for one cat.
13. were / They / happy.
Answer: They were happy.
Use were with they.
14. at school / She wasn't / yesterday.
Answer: She wasn't at school yesterday.
Use wasn't for a negative with she.
15. They was at home yesterday.
Answer: False
Use were with they: They were at home yesterday.
16. Was she tired last night?
Answer: True
Was comes before she in a question.
17. There were three chairs in the room.
Answer: True
Three chairs are plural, so there were is correct.
18. Were he at the party?
Answer: False
Use was with he: Was he at the party?