The Past of Be: Statements, Yes / No Questions On the Job 3.

The Past of Be: Statements, Yes / No Questions

On the Job

3

At a RestaurantAt a Restaurant

Were you on vacation last week?

Were you on vacation last week?

Was the weather

nice?

Was the weather

nice?

Yes, it was. It was

sunny and hot.

Yes, it was. It was

sunny and hot.

Yes, I was.Yes, I was.My wife

and I were in Mexico.

My wife and I

were in Mexico.

At the Office 1At the Office 1

Were you at the

meeting?

Were you at the

meeting?

No, I wasn’t. I was late.

No, I wasn’t. I was late.

Were they at the

meeting?

Were they at the

meeting?

Yes, they were.

Yes, they were.

At the Office 2At the Office 2

Was the meeting

interesting?

Was the meeting

interesting?

No, it wasn’t. It was long and boring.

No, it wasn’t. It was long and boring.

I don’t know. I was

asleep.

I don’t know. I was

asleep.

Were our bosses angry?

Were our bosses angry?

The Past of BeThe Past of Be

We were in Mexico.

The meeting was boring.

The past of be has two forms: was and were.

Past FormsPast Forms

SubjectPresent Tense

bePast Tense

be

I

You

He

She

It

We

They

am

are

is

was

were

was

are were

Practice 1Practice 1

1. I ______ with my friends last night.

2. My children ______ in Greece last summer.

3.My classmates and I ______ nervous about the test.

4. My brother ______ at the post office this morning.

5. The weather ______ cold yesterday.

Example: You ______ alone at lunch.were

was

were

were

was

was

Complete each sentence with was or were.

NegativeNegative

It was not cold and windy.

We were not in Hawai’i.

Use was or were + not to make negative statements.

ContractionsContractions

It was not cold and windy.

We were not in Hawai’i.

wasn’t

weren’t

Use the contractions wasn’t and weren’t in speaking and informal writing.

Practice 2Practice 2

1. I was on the third floor.

I wasn’t on the third floor.

4. You were late to class.

3. My grandfather was at the bank.

2. The actors were funny.

The actors weren’t funny.

My grandfather wasn’t at the bank.

You weren’t late to class.

Make each sentence negative. Use wasn’t and weren’t.

Example: The meeting was interesting.

The meeting wasn’t interesting.

QuestionsQuestions

Were our bosses angry?

Was the weather good?

subjectsubject

subjectsubject

Put was or were before the subject to ask a yes / no question.

Short AnswersShort Answers

Were you on

vacation?

Were you on

vacation?

Yes, we were.

Yes, we were.

No, it wasn’t.No, it

wasn’t.

Was the meeting

interesting?

Was the meeting

interesting?

Use a pronoun and was, wasn’t, were, or weren’t in short answers.

Practice 3Practice 3

1. Was the weather good yesterday?

4. Were you a student last year?

3. Was your dinner good last night?

2. Were you in class last Wednesday?

Work with a partner. Take turns. Ask and answer the questions. Use short answers. Add information.

Example: Q: Were you at home last night?

A: No, I wasn’t. I was at my uncle’s house. He was sick. . .

5. Was the quiz difficult?