SIMPLE PAST – VERB TO BE

Was / were

Celia: HI, Don. How was your vacation?Don: It was excellent! I went to Howaii with my

cousin. We had a great time.Celia: Lucky you. How long were you there?Don: About a week.Celia: Fantastic! Was the weather OK?Don: Not really. It was cloudy most of the time. But

we went surfing every day. The waves were amazing.Celia: So, what was the best thing about the trip?Don: Well, something incredible happened. You won’t

believe it.

How was your vacation?

We use the past tense to talk about

actions that happened and finished in the past, so we talk about memories, my birthday party, my first love…..

The verb to be is the first verb to learn in simple past tense.

Use

I wasYou wereHe wasShe was at home yesterday.It was last night.We were last week.They were

Form

• Edgar was at the party with Lucy.• Gerrard and Kim were tired after they

played soccer.• I was sick and I went to the hospital.

In negative form just add "not" (just like in present with to be ).

I/he/she/it wasn't (was + not)

We/you/they weren't (were + not)

I wasn't at the mall in the morning. My parents weren't hungry when they

went to the restaurant. Charlie wasn't happy because his soccer

team lost

Were you in Hawaii? Yes, I was.Was the weather OK? No, it wasn’t.Were you and your cousin on vacation?

Yes, we wereWere your parents there? No, they weren’t.

Questions

How long were you away? I was away for a week.How was your vacation? It was wxcellent!

Where were you yesterday? What was the problem? Why were they sad? What time was the party? Were your parents sick?

Information questions

1) I ___________tired last night.

2) You ___________happy last night.

3) Richard and I __________excitied last night.

4) Javier and Roberto ________lazy last night.

5) Julian ______________angry yesterday.

6) Rachel _____________ sleepy yesterday.

7) The movie ____________ scary. I don't want to watch it again.

8) Ko, Teddy, and Peter __________ tired after the long drive.

9) Johnathan __________ hungry. So, he ate a sandwich.

10) My mom ___________ helping the teacher at school yesterday.

Excercises

Write a short description about

your last vacation.

Get in pairs and create and role-play a dialog using the simple past tense of the verb to be.

Follow-up activities