We use the Past Simple to describe actions in the past.

Affirmative Negative Questions Short answers

I was
I wasnt Was I? Yes I was / No, I wasnt
You were
You werent Were you ? Yes, you were / No, you werent
She was
She wasnt Was she? Yes, she was / No, she wasnt
He was
He wasnt Was he ? Yes, he was / No, he wasnt
It was
It wasnt Was it? Yes, it was / No, it wasnt
We were
We werent Were we? Yes, we were / No, we werent
You were
You werent Were you? Yes, you were / No, you werent
They were
They werent Were they? Yes, they were / No, they werent

Short forms: was not = wasnt were not = werent

Past time adverbials

Yesterday, yesterday morning, yesterday afternoon, yesterday evening / last night, Three days ago, a
week ago, a month ago, a year ago, last week, last Monday, last month, last year, last summer, some
time ago, in 1985,

Question tags

he was a famous actor, wasnt he?

I wasnt at the cinema last night, was I?

It was very funny, was it?

These shoes wasnt sheep, were they?

Those boys were nice, werent they?

You werent in Paris last summer, were you?

Fill in the blanks with was or were

Last year Mary _________ 10 years old.

Last summer my family _________ in London.

Last weekend my friends _________ at home.

Yesterday I _________ ill.

The children _________ happy.

Mary _________ late for dinner.

Mr. Smith _________ my English teacher.

make sentences and put the verb To Be into the correct form of the Past Simple

Unhappy / to be / I _______________________________________________

Mark / to be / angry.______________________________________________

hot / to be/ it ___________________________________________________

Mary and Sue / to be / late ________________________________________

Ann / to be / my best friend. ______________________________________

Rewrite these sentences in the negative

I was with my parents in the mountains.

________________________________________________________________

Susan was a teacher.

________________________________________________________________

They were born 1971.

________________________________________________________________

They were my grandparents.

________________________________________________________________

It was sunny and warm.

________________________________________________________________

They were born in Lisbon.

B) Write yes / No questions and the answers according to the information in brackets.

Mary was ill last month.

_________________________________________________________?
Yes, _____________________________________________________.

Mary and I were in London last month.

_________________________________________________________?
No, _____________________________________________________. (Paris)

Helen was born in Lisbon.

_________________________________________________________?
No , _____________________________________________________. (Porto)

Lord Byron was famous for his poems.

_________________________________________________________?
Yes, _____________________________________________________.

A) Complete with question tags.

Mr. Smith was a famous actor, _________________?

I wasnt ill last night, _________________?
Those singers were in Paris last month, _________________?
I was 10 years old in 1981, _________________?
Mary hasnt at home last night, _________________?
The Cold Play werent in Portugal last year, _________________?
Marilyn Monroe was born in 1926, _________________?
Beethoven wasnt German, _________________?
I was a cute baby, _________________?
Diana Spencer was a princess, _________________?