Was and Were

Was and Were :


The verbs was and were are also forms of the verb be. Was is the simple past tense of am and is. Use was with the pronouns I, he, she and it, and with singular nouns. Were is the simple past tense of are. Use were with the pronouns you, we and they, and with plural nouns.


Edison was a famous inventor.
These were my best jeans.
Beethoven was a German composer.
Sue was at the library this morning.
It was very wet on Monday.
Ten years ago she was only a baby.
He was not well yesterday.
Last year she wasn’t tall enough to reach the high shelf.
Samantha was second in the race, wasn’t she?
The Romans were brave soldiers.
They were third in the wheelbarrow race.
There weren’t any clouds in the sky.
Were you still in bed when I phoned?
We were on the same school team.
Those were my best jeans.


Here is a table to help you remember the rules.


First person Singular….I was
First person Plural….we were
Second person Singular….you were
Second person Plural….you were
Third person Singular…. he was
Third person Singular….she was
Third person Singular….it was
Third person Plural….they were


Here’s a table to show you the different forms of the verb be.

First person Singular Simple Present….I am
First person Plural Simple Present….we are
Second person Singular Simple Present….you are
Second person Plural Simple Present….you are
Third person Singular Simple Present…. he is
Third person Singular Simple Present….she is
Third person Singular Simple Present….it is
Third person Plural Simple Present….they are


First person Singular Simple Past….I was
First person Plural Simple Past….we were
Second person Singular Simple Past….you were
Second person Plural Simple Past….you were
Third person Singular Simple Past…. he was
Third person Singular Simple Past….she was
Third person Singular Simple Past….it was
Third person Plural Simple Past….they were


Learn these contractions.

was not = wasn’t
were not = weren’t

Was and Were :

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