Simple Past Tense — Was and Were
🔤 1. What are “was” and “were”?
Was and were are the past forms of am, is, and are.
We use them to talk about someone or something in the past.
For example:
Now
I am tired.
Past
I was tired.
The person is tired now in the first sentence.
The person was tired before in the second sentence.
📘 2. When do we use was and were?
Use was/were when you want to talk about:
- how someone was
- what someone was
- where someone was
- a situation in the past
Examples:
She was happy.
He was a student.
The shop was closed.
We were at home.
The important idea is:
was/were = past of am/is/are
🧩 3. The most important rule
The choice between was and were depends on the subject.
💡 Use WAS with:
- I
- he
- she
- it
- one person
- one thing
💡 Use WERE with:
- you
- we
- they
- two or more people
- two or more things
Easy table
| Subject | Past form |
|---|---|
| I | was |
| he | was |
| she | was |
| it | was |
| you | were |
| we | were |
| they | were |
Easy memory:
I / He / She / It → WAS
You / We / They → WERE
🔍 4. “Was” with I
Even though I means one person, it uses was in the past.
Examples:
I was tired.
I was at school.
I was happy.
I was a student.
Not:
Correct:
🧠 5. “Was” with he, she, and it
Use was with one person or one thing.
Examples:
He was hungry.
She was busy.
The dog was outside.
The computer was broken.
Think:
he → was
she → was
it → was
🗂️ 6. “Were” with you
You always uses were in the simple past.
This is true whether you means one person or several people.
One person
You were tired.
More than one person
You were tired.
So:
You were...
Not:
This is an important exception to the simple “one = was” idea.
🎯 7. “Were” with we and they
Use were with we and they.
Examples:
We were tired.
We were at the hotel.
They were happy.
They were students.
Plural nouns also use were:
The children were outside.
The cars were dirty.
💬 8. Singular and plural nouns
Look at the noun.
Singular → was
The dog was hungry.
The teacher was busy.
The house was empty.
Plural → were
The dogs were hungry.
The teachers were busy.
The houses were empty.
Easy rule:
One → was
Two or more → were
But remember:
You → were, even when you mean one person.
🔤 9. Compare now and past
The easiest way to understand was/were is to compare them with am/is/are.
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| I am | I was |
| He is | He was |
| She is | She was |
| It is | It was |
| You are | You were |
| We are | We were |
| They are | They were |
Examples:
I am tired. → I was tired.
She is happy. → She was happy.
They are busy. → They were busy.
📘 10. Was/were for descriptions
Use was/were when describing someone or something in the past.
Examples:
I was tired yesterday.
She was angry this morning.
The movie was interesting.
The children were excited.
The rooms were clean.
You are describing how something or someone was at a past time.
🧩 11. Was/were for jobs and identities
Use was/were to say what someone was in the past.
Examples:
He was a teacher.
She was a nurse.
I was a student.
They were doctors.
The building was a school.
If the noun is singular:
She was a teacher.
If the noun is plural:
They were teachers.
🔍 12. Was/were for places
Use was/were to say where someone or something was in the past.
Examples:
I was at home.
She was at the office.
The keys were on the table.
We were in Jakarta.
The children were at the park.
Compare:
The keys are on the table. → now
The keys were on the table. → past
🧠 13. Negative sentences
To make was/were negative, add not.
Was → was not
I was not tired.
She was not at home.
The shop was not open.
Were → were not
We were not tired.
They were not at home.
The shops were not open.
🗂️ 14. Short negative forms
We commonly shorten:
was not → wasn't
were not → weren't
Examples:
I wasn't tired.
He wasn't at school.
She wasn't angry.
We weren't ready.
They weren't at home.
Easy table
| Full form | Short form |
|---|---|
| was not | wasn't |
| were not | weren't |
🎯 15. Common negative mistakes
Don't use didn't with was/were.
For example:
Correct:
And:
Correct:
Why?
Because was/were already show the past.
So use:
wasn't / weren't
not:
didn't + was/were
💬 16. Questions with was/were
To make a question, put was or were before the subject.
Was + subject...?
Use was with:
- I
- he
- she
- it
- singular nouns
Examples:
Was she tired?
Was he at home?
Was the movie good?
Was the restaurant open?
Were + subject...?
Use were with:
- you
- we
- they
- plural nouns
Examples:
Were you tired?
Were they at home?
Were the children hungry?
Were the shops open?
🔤 17. No “did” with was/were questions
This is very important.
Don't say:
Correct:
Don't say:
Correct:
The structure is simply:
Was/Were + subject +...?
📘 18. Short answers
Was...?
Was he tired?
Yes:
Yes, he was.
No:
No, he wasn't.
Were...?
Were they tired?
Yes:
Yes, they were.
No:
No, they weren't.
Notice that the short answer repeats was or were.
🧩 19. Was/were with “there”
We can also use there was and there were to talk about something that existed in the past.
One thing → there was
There was a problem.
There was a restaurant here.
There was a dog outside.
More than one → there were
There were two problems.
There were several restaurants here.
There were three dogs outside.
So:
There is → There was
There are → There were
🔍 20. There was vs. there were
Compare:
One
There was a car outside.
Many
There were three cars outside.
Another example:
There was one person in the room.
There were ten people in the room.
The noun tells you whether to use was or were.
🧠 21. There wasn't vs. there weren't
Negative forms work the same way.
One
There wasn't a problem.
Many
There weren't any problems.
Another example:
There wasn't a bus.
There weren't any buses.
🗂️ 22. Was/were with time expressions
We often use was/were with words that show a past time.
Common examples:
- yesterday
- last night
- last week
- last month
- last year
- two days ago
- this morning
- when I was young
Examples:
I was tired yesterday.
She was at work last night.
They were here last week.
We were very busy last month.
🎯 23. “Was” and “were” can describe past situations
Not every past sentence describes an action.
For example:
The weather was cold yesterday.
There is no action.
You are describing the weather.
Another example:
The students were nervous before the test.
Again, this is a description.
So was/were are very useful for talking about a past state or condition.
💬 24. Was/were vs. normal past verbs
This difference is very important.
Was/were
Use was/were for things such as:
- descriptions
- identities
- locations
- conditions
Examples:
She was tired.
He was a doctor.
They were at home.
Normal past verb
Use a normal past verb for an action.
Examples:
She worked yesterday.
He visited his friend.
They played football.
Don't put was/were before a normal past verb.
Not:
Correct:
🔤 25. Don't use was/were before every past verb
This is one of the biggest beginner mistakes.
You might want to say:
She went home.
But incorrectly say:
Correct:
Another example:
They watched a movie.
Not:
Correct:
Was/were and normal past verbs have different jobs.
📘 26. But “was/were + -ing” is possible
There is one important structure to recognize:
was/were + verb-ing
This is an example of the past continuous.
Examples:
She was studying.
They were playing.
I was sleeping.
This is different from simple past was/were.
For this lesson, focus mainly on:
She was tired.
They were happy.
I was at home.
The was/were + -ing structure belongs to another tense.
🧩 27. A simple decision method
When you want to talk about the past, ask:
Is it a description, identity, or place?
Use was/were.
She was tired.
He was a teacher.
They were at home.
Is it a normal action?
Use a past verb.
She worked yesterday.
He visited his friend.
They played football.
This distinction is extremely useful.
🔍 28. Common mistakes
Correct:
Correct:
Correct:
Correct:
Remember:
You → were
Correct:
“Children” is plural.
Correct:
Correct:
Correct:
For a normal past action, don't add were.
🧠 29. Easy memory guide
WAS
Use with:
I / he / she / it / one
Examples:
I was tired.
The dog was hungry.
WERE
Use with:
you / we / they / many
Examples:
You were tired.
The dogs were hungry.
Negative
wasn't / weren't
Question
Was/Were + subject...?
Most important idea
Was/were = past of am/is/are
🗂️ 30. One complete comparison
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| I am tired. | I was tired. |
| She is happy. | She was happy. |
| The shop is open. | The shop was open. |
| You are busy. | You were busy. |
| We are ready. | We were ready. |
| They are at home. | They were at home. |
| There is a problem. | There was a problem. |
| There are two problems. | There were two problems. |