In the present tense, the verb “to be” has three forms: am, is, and are.
In the past tense, it changes to:
- was (used with I, he, she, it)
- were (used with you, we, they)
| Subject | Past Form of “To Be” |
|---|---|
| I | was |
| You | were |
| He | was |
| She | was |
| It | was |
| We | were |
| They | were |
Examples:
- I was at the market yesterday.
- She was tired after work.
- They were very happy with the news.
- You were late for the meeting.
❌ Negative Form
To make the sentence negative, simply add “not” after was or were.
- I was not (wasn’t) ready.
- He was not (wasn’t) home.
- We were not (weren’t) at school.
❓ Question Form
To form questions, place was or were at the beginning of the sentence.
- Was she your teacher?
- Were you at the party last night?
- Was it cold yesterday?
