The Simple Past of the Verb to Be

This page provides an overview of the simple past of the verb to be, covering its form and usage.

The Simple Past of the Verb To Be

Here are the forms of simple past tense of the verb to be

The Affirmative Form

I, he, she, it	was.
you, we, they	were.

Examples:

1. I was in London in 1999.
2. Pam was also in London in 1999.
3. We were together.
4. She was my girlfriend.

The Interrogative Form

Was	I, he, she, it?
Were	you, we, they?

Examples:

1. Were you in London last year?
2. Was Pam with you?
3. Were you together?

The Negative Form

I, he, she, it	was not.
	wasn’t.
You, we, they	were not.
	weren’t.

Examples:

1. I wasn’t in Paris in 1999.
2. Pam wasn’t in Paris in 1999.
3. We weren’t in Paris.

Use of the Simple Past

The simple past is primarily used to describe events that occurred in the past.

Remember:

1. Wasn’t is the contraction of was not. You can say either:
   • I was not in Paris.
   • I wasn’t in Paris.
2. Weren’t is the contraction of were not. You can say either:
   • We were not in Paris.
   • We weren’t in Paris.

Summary

Personal Subject	Affirmative Form	Interrogative Form	Negative Form
I	was	Was I?	was not (wasn’t)
he, she, it	was	Was he/she/it?	was not (wasn’t)
you, we, they	were	Were you/we/they?	were not (weren’t)

More on the simple past here.

Related Pages:

• Exercise: the simple past
• Exercise: the simple past of the verb to be
• Lesson: the simple past
• Lesson: the simple past of to be