to be: There was / There were,

Where were you this morning?

You weren’t at home. I was at the zoo!

Learn it!
Read and complete.

Aflrmative Negative
full form short form
I was here. I was not here. I wasn’t here.
You were there. You were not there. You weren’t there.
He was happy. He was not happy. He wasn’t happy.
She Greek. She was not Greek. She wasn’t Greek.
It was hot. It was not hot. It wasn’t hot.
We were at home. We were not at home. We weren’t at home.
You were sad. You were not sad. You sad.
They were at the zoo. They were not at the zoo. They weren’t at the zoo.

Questions Short answers

aflrmative negative
Was I here? Yes, you were. No, you weren’t.
Were you there? Yes, I was. No, I wasn’t.
Was he happy? Yes, he was. No, he wasn’t.
Was she Greek? Yes, she was. No, she wasn’t.
Was it hot? Yes, it was. No, it wasn’t.
Were we at home? Yes, we / you . No, we / you weren’t.
Were you sad? Yes, we were. No, we weren’t.
Were they at the zoo? Yes, they were. No, they weren’t.
there was, there were
Aflrmative Negative
There was a match yesterday. There wasn’t any fruit in the fridge.
There were a lot of people at the concert. There weren’t many people in the shop.

Questions Short answers

aflrmative negative
Was there a mountain on the island? Yes, there was. No, there wasn’t.
Were there a lot of statues in the museum? Yes, there were. No, there weren’t.

Time expressions
in in January, in February, etc. We weren’t in Paris in December.
on on Monday, on Tuesday, etc. There were a lot of people at the cinema on Friday.
last last night, last week, last month, etc. I was ill last week.
ago three days ago, a week ago, a My dog was here a minute ago! Where did he go?
minute ago, etc.
yesterday yesterday, yesterday morning, He wasn’t at the match yesterday afternoon.
yesterday afternoon, etc.

Do it!
1 Match.
1 Was John at school today? f a Yes, I was.
2 Was your sister at the cinema? b Yes, it was. It was €1,000!
3 Was Shrek on television last night? c No, they weren’t.
4 Were the children in the playground? d No, it wasn't.
5 Was your laptop expensive? e Yes, she was.
6 Were you at the bank this morning? f No, he wasn’t.
2 Write was or were.
1 Your friend was here a minute ago. 6 There some actors at the theatre on
2 The children at the party very shy. Wednesday.
3 You sleepy in class yesterday. Why? 7 This morning, James in the toy shop
4 There a good programme on with his dad.
television last night! 8 My sister and I at the train station
5 That puzzle diflcult. yesterday morning.

3 Choose the correct answer.

1 a before b ago
2 a On b In
3 a morning b evening
4 a ago b last
5 a Yesterday b Last
6 a afternoon b noon
7 a yesterday b last

4 Write the negatives. Use short forms.

1 I was at home. 5 There were a lot of girls in the playground.
I wasn’t at home.
2 You were at school. 6 The sandwiches were nice.

3 My dad was at the post oflce. 7 We were cold.

4 The programme was good. 8 There was a dog on my towel!

5 Write was, were, wasn’t or weren’t.
Mark: There 1 was a great party at Eva’s house on Saturday.
2
Sam: Really? there a lot of people?
Mark: Yes, there were 20 or 30 people. And of course, Eva 3 there with her sisters.
4
Sam: And Eva’s parents there?
Mark: No, they 5 . They 6 at the cinema.
7
Sam: there food?
8
Mark: No, there , but there was music. It was fantastic!

6 Write questions. Use the past simple of be.

1 (the boy / in front of / the house / yesterday) 4 (there / children / in / park)
Was the boy in front of the house yesterday?
2 (you / at / the post oflce / this morning) 5 (there / a car / in / the car park)

3 (your mum / at / the bank / three days ago) 6 (Ellie and Alex / on / their bikes / there)

7 Write the answers. Then ask and answer with a friend.

1 Were the children at the hospital? 4 Was Natalie at the train station?
No,they weren’t.Theywereatthetrainstation.

2 Was Anthony at the supermarket? 5 Were Jim and Tom at the café?

3 Were Mr Jones and Steven in the school? 6 Was the dog in the cinema?

8 Put the words in the correct order to make sentences or questions.

1 night / at / home / wasn’t / I / last 5 children / three / class / the / in / were / There
I wasn’t at home last night.
2 ago / was / a / here / My / phone / minute 6 Monday / was / late / for / school / Jane / on

3 December / test / in / Was / the ? 7 was / night / There / party / last / a

4 you / at school / morning / yesterday / Were ? 8 there / on / yesterday / television / Was / football ?

Time to talk!
9 Ask and answer questions. Use the past simple and time expressions.
a lot of people your friend your brother(s) / your (birthday) party the supermarket school
sister(s) / cousin(s) / uncle(s) /aunt(s) / parents the museum the café
music food drinks dancing games
Was there music?
Were your cousins at your birthday party last night? No, the
Yes, they were.