LESSON 7: SIMPLE PAST VERB TO BE

WORK IN PAIRS:

P: Where were you last Tuesday evening?

S: I was staying in a hotel in Brighton.
P: Who were you with?
S: I was with my girlfriend, Joan.
P: What was the name of the hotel?
S: The George and Dragon.
P: What was your room number?
S: It was 213.
P: Did you speak to anyone?
S: Yes. I spoke to the waitress and the barman.
P: What was the barman's name?
S: His name was Colin

SIMPLE PAST VERB TO BE

The simple past is used principally to describe events in the past. The past
tense of To Be in English has two forms: WAS and WERE

Before the verb you can also have a WH- Question word (Why, Who,
What, Where etc.)
Were you happy? Yes, I was.
Why were you happy? Because I was promoted at work.

EXERCISES
1. Put the verb “to be” into the simple past
- I in Canada last summer holiday.
- My sister with me.
- We in Montreal.
- She very happy.
 - I happy, too.
2. Choose the correct answer for each sentence:
- I in Canberra last spring.
a) was b) were
- We at school last Saturday.
a) was b) were
- Tina at home yesterday.
a) was b) were
- He happy.
a) was b) were
- Robert and Stan Garry's friends.
a) was b) were
- You very busy on Friday.
a) was b) were
- They in front of the supermarket.
a) was b) were
- I in the museum.
a) was b) were
- She in South Africa last month.
a) was b) were
- Jessica and Kimberly_ late for school.
a) was b) were
3. Make the past simple with 'be' - it could be positive, negative or
question

- (I / be / at the cinema last night)

- (the children / be / naughty)?

- (we / be / in a cafe when you called)?

- (I / be / late)?

- (she / be / a teacher when she was young)

 - (where / we / be)?

- (you / be / okay)?

- (we / be / too tired)

- (she / be / beautiful)?

- (they / be / late for the interview)

- (you / be / in the garden)

- (it / not / be / cold)

- (she / not / be my wife at the time)

4. Read and answer

Last week, there was one really, really bad day. It was Monday. Usually, there are about 25
students in my class, but that day, there were only 5 people! It wasn’t warm. In fact, it was
really cold. It was raining a lot. It was dark and gray outside. There wasn’t any sunshine. I think
the students weren´t at school because they were sick. They were at home. Maybe they were in
bed.
Mr. Jibbit is our teacher. He is always at school. He is never at home on a Monday. Last
Monday was no different. He was not in bed. He was in the classroom, and he was cold! Why
was he so cold? That´s a very good question. He was cold because the heater in the school was
broken. It was freezing. The school was like a refrigerator. Our room was like a freezer! And
poor Mr. Jibbit was like ice! The small class was cold, cold, cold!
The next days were much warmer. The heater was fixed on Tuesday, so everything was ok.
There were 25 students, not only 5. But where was Mr. Jibbit? He wasn´t there. He was at
home, sick in bed!

Write True or False

There were 25 students in the class that Monday

It was warm that day
Mr. Jibbit was present that Monday
The heater in the school was working that day
Mr. Jibbit and the students felt cold that day
The heater was broken on Tuesday
The next days were warmer
 Mr. Jibbit had to stay at home because he got sick

TIME EXPRESSIONS

Look at these time expressions. It is important to use the right preposition when using
time expressions.
at + the exact time
I usually wake up at half past six.
in + a period of time
She started working in the morning and left late in the evening.
on + a day
I was born on 13th June 1968
He had an amazing party on his birthday.
for + a length of time
I waited for Sarah for two hours.
since + a point in time
I’ve been here since eleven o’clock.
There is no preposition before last, next, this/that day, every, all, whole, yesterday,
tomorrow, today.
He arrived from France last night
I have a meeting with him next Monday