Grammar

Past Simple tense with was and were

1,800 fill-in-the-gap exercises across 4 forms

The past of be. Two forms, no auxiliary — was and were make their own negatives and questions.

Pick a form to practice

Which form goes with which subject

• was — I, he, she, it, and any single person or thing
• were — you, we, they, and any plural

I was tired. She was tired. They were tired.

Two things catch people out. I takes was, although it takes am in the present. And you takes were even when you mean one person: You were right.

No auxiliary, ever

This is the whole difficulty of the tense. Ordinary verbs need did for negatives and questions; be does not:

So Did you were and didn’t was are always wrong. If the sentence has was or were in it, did has no business being there.

What it is used for

The same jobs as the present forms, moved back:

• a past quality: The film was long.
• a past role: She was a teacher.
• a past place: We were in Oslo.
• age, price, weather: He was nine. It was raining. The tickets were cheap.

there was and there were

To say what existed, the verb agrees with the noun that follows:

• There was a chair in the corner.
• There were two chairs in the corner.

With a list, the verb follows the first item: There was a table and four chairs.

if I were you

One fixed exception. In an unreal condition, were is used with every subject, including I and he:

If I were you, I would ask.

If I was you is heard in speech, but were is the standard form and the one tests expect.

All forms

Mistakes to avoid