Was and were: wh-questions

450 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 45 tests of ten

Question word first, then was or were, then the subject.

Where question word

were was / were

you subject

last night? the rest

Practice this form

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Getting your first question ready.

The usual order

Three slots: question word — was or were — subject.

Why was the road closed?

The verb agrees with the subject that follows, so look ahead: Where was the key? but Where were the keys?

who was and what was

When who or what is the subject, the order does not change, because there is nothing to swap with:

Who was driving?
What was the noise?

These take was even if the answer turns out to be plural.

How was it

How was it? is the standard way to ask about an experience that is over — a trip, an exam, a meal. The answer is a judgement, not a description of events.

Compare What was it like?, which invites more detail.

Measurements

The question word takes an adjective or much directly:

How long was the queue? How old were they? How much was the bill?

All forms

Question word	Example	Asking about
What	What was the problem?	the thing
Where	Where were you?	the place
When	When was the meeting?	the time
Why	Why were they angry?	the reason
How	How was the journey?	the experience
How long	How long was the film?	the length
Who	Who was at the door?	the person

Examples

Taken from the 450 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.

What was the price of the book at the bookstore?
Where were your friends staying during their visit?
How did you manage to solve the problem?
What was the reason for the cancelation of the event?
Where were Peter and his family last weekend?
How did they get to school this morning?
How was your family reacting to the news?
Where were your sister and her friends on vacation?
When did the train arrive at the station?
What was the main topic of discussion at the conference?
Where were Maria and Mike when you saw them?
When did you last visit your grandparents?

Mistakes to avoid

Wrong: Where did you were? correct: Where were you?

Did never joins was or were, question word or not.

Wrong: How was the tickets? correct: How much were the tickets?

Tickets is plural, so were — and how much is the question for price.

Quick choices from this form

Was or were? 2,186 sentences, 218 tests of ten

Other forms of Past Simple with was and were

Positive Statements in Past Simple Tense with "was/were" 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Negative Statements in Past Simple Tense with "was/were" 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten Questions in Past Simple Tense with "was/were" 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten WH-Questions in Past Simple Tense with "was/were" 450 sentences, 45 tests of ten

Mixed practice → Done with this form? Try it among all the others — ten, twenty or thirty sentences from every form at once.