PAST OF VERB TO BE

We use this tense when you want to talk about something at a definite time in the past: yesterday, last night, in 2006 etc.

**The past simple of be is '' was''or ''were'': the form depends on the subject as it is almost always the case**

POSITIVE SENTENCES

ENGLISH		CASTELLANO
	Time adverbials in the past		Adverbios de tiempo en pasado
I was at home	yesterday	Yo estaba, era, tenía (en casa)	ayer
You were at the cinema	yesterday morning	Tú estabas, eras, tenías (en el cine)	ayer a la mañana
He was	yesterday afternoon	El estaba, era, tenía	ayer a la tarde
She was	last night	Ella estaba, era, tenía	anoche
It was rainy	last week	estaba, era, tenía (lluvioso)	la semana pasada
We were	in 1999, in 1819	Nosotros estábamos, éramos, teníamos	en 1999, en 1819
They were in prison	two days ago three week ago	Ellos estaban, eran, tenían (en prisión)	hace dos días hace tres semanas etc

NEGATIVE SENTENCES

To make negative sentences with the verb to be in this tense you have to use:

was + not (wasn`t) or
were + not (weren`t)

Depending on the subject of the sentence

ENGLISH		CASTELLANO
	Time adverbials in the past		Adverbios de tiempo en pasado
I wasn't at home	yesterday	No estaba, era, tenía (en casa)	ayer
You weren't at the cinema	yesterday morning	No estabas, eras, tenías (en el cine)	ayer a la mañana
He wasn't	yesterday afternoon	No estaba, era, tenía	ayer a la tarde
She wasn't	last night	No estaba, era, tenía	anoche
It wasn't	last week	No estaba, era, tenía	la semana pasada
We weren't	in 1999, in 1819	No estábamos, éramos, teníamos	en 1999, en 1819
They weren't	two days ago three week ago	No estaban, eran, tenían	hace dos días hace tres semanas etc

INTERROGATIVE (Short questions)


Was	I	at home	yesterday?
Were	you	at the cinema	last Saturday?
Was	he	ten years old	in 2001 ?
Was	she	a teacher	five years ago?
Were	we	at a party	two weeks ago?


	¿Estaba, era, tenía	en casa ayer?
	¿Estabas, eras tenías	en el cine el sábado pasado?
	¿Estaba, era, tenía	diez años en el año 2000?
	¿Estaba, era, tenía	profesora hace cinco años?
	¿Estábamos, éramos, teníamos	en la fiesta hace dos semanas

Activity: Now try to choose the right form of the verb to be in the past Was... were... wasn't... or weren't

She at home yesterday morning...Now she is at the office.

I 20 years old in 2001...Now it is 2008 and I am 27.

My father in hospital last month...Remember...He was there two months ago.

Paul and Tom in prison two years ago. Now they work in a restaurant.

It cloudy yesterday....It was sunny.

You in America last summer. You were in Paris!

My cousin at a party last night. Were you there? -Yes, I was there too.

My best friends in Porto Seguro Brazil last summer. It is a beautiful place!

Paul's aunt Tina at home last night. She never misses her favourite programme.

Yesterday it rainy and cold.Today it is sunny and hot. Who understands the weather?

The American Independence in 1700...It was in 1776

Paul and Mike at the theatre yesterday. They were at the cinema.

Wh questions with was/ were

ere you have the usual structure with wh questions. Some useful questions are listed below.		Aquí tienes la estructura más usual de las preguntas que comienzan con "wh". Algunos ejemplos de utilidad se listan más abajo.
wh	+ verb was/were + subject
What	was the date yesterday?	¿Que fecha fue ayer?
What date	was it yesterday?	¿Que fecha fue ayer?
What	was the first song in your country last year?	¿Cual era la canción número uno en tu país el año pasado?
What	was the name of your first girlfriend?	¿Cual era el nombre de tu primera novia?
What	was the weather like last Monday?	¿Como estuvo el tiempo el lunes pasado?
What	were your first words this morning?	¿Cuales fueron tus primeras palabras esta mañana?
Where	was Paul yesterday?	¿Donde estuvo Pablo ayer?
Where	were you in the year 2006?	¿Donde estuviste en el año 2006?
When	was your friend there?	¿Cuando estuvo tu amiga/o allí?
When	were they in Canada?	¿Cuando estuvieron en Canadá?
Who	was your maths teacher five years ago?	¿Quien fue tu profesor de matemática hace cinco años?
Who	was the first man on the moon in 1969?	¿Quien fue el primer hombre en la luna en 1969?
Who	were the first to arrive at America?	¿Quienes fueron los primeros en llegar a América?
How old	were you in 1999?	¿Cuantos años tenías en el año 1999?
How long	was the last lesson at school?	¿Cuanto duró tu última lección en la escuela?

Activity: Complete the following dialogue. Use was / were.

Paul: Hi...Pet...!...Well....I in the USA. I in Miami to be more precise...

Peter: Miami!....What it like?

Paul: It great....The sea calm....The weatherincredible....

Peter: And what the hotel like?

Paul: Fantastic. There a casino....I can`t tell....There four cinemas!

Peter: What the people like?

Paul: They very charming and friendly....

	Past simple of to be:	Pasado simple del verbo ser / estar / tener
	Interrogative forms	Formas interrogativas:
a)	Short questions /short answers: To make short questions put ''was'' or ''were'' before the subject:	Para hacer preguntas cortas: coloque ''was'' o ''were'' antes del sujeto:
	Was I at the elicopter an hour ago? Yes, I was No, I wasn't	¿Estuve en el o hace una hora?
	Were you at the gardener`s yesterday? Yes, you were No, you weren`t	Estuviste en el jardinero ayer?
	Was he at the city last Friday? Yes, he was No, he wasn`t	¿Estuvo en la ciudad el viernes pasado?
	Was she at the disco last Saturday? Yes, she was No, she wasn't	¿Estuvo en la discoteca el sábado pasado?
	Was it at the vet last week? Yes, it was No, it wasn`t	¿Estuvo en el veterinario la semana pasada?
	Were we in Europe in 2001? Yes, we were No, we weren`t	¿Estuvimos en Europa en el año 2001?
	Were they close to Mars two hours ago? Yes, they were No, they weren`t	¿Estuvieron cerca de Marte hace dos horas?
	Were you four in 1995? Yes, I was. No, I wasn`t	¿Tenías cuatro años en 1995?
	Was it a sunny day yesterday? Yes, it was. No, it wasn`t	¿Fue un día soleado ayer?
	Was she a `beautiful girl`
	Were they sportman
b)	Wh questions with this tense.	Preguntas wh con este tiempo verbal.
	What day was it yesterday?	¿Qué día fue ayer?
	It was Sunday.	Fue domingo.
	Where was he last night?	¿Dónde estuvo anoche?
	He was at the pub.	Estuvo en el bar.
	Who was your maths teacher in 2005?	¿Quién fue tu profesor de matemática en el año 2005?
	My math teacher was Silvana.	My profesora de matemática fue Silvana.
	When were you in Brazil?	¿Cuándo estuviste en Brasil?
	I was there two years ago.	Estuve allí hace dos años.
	How old were you five years ago?	¿Cuántos años tenías hace cinco años?
	I was six years old.	Tenía seis.

PAST OF VERB TO BE

We use this tense when you want to talk about something at a definite time in the past: yesterday, last night, in 2006 etc. The past simple of be is '' was''or ''were'': the form depends on the subject as it is almost always the case

NEGATIVE SENTENCES

She at home yesterday morning...Now she is at the office.

We use this tense when you want to talk about something at a definite time in the past: yesterday, last night, in 2006 etc.

**The past simple of be is '' was''or ''were'': the form depends on the subject as it is almost always the case**