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

Affirmative Negative Questions Short answers

I was
I wasn´t Was I…? Yes I was / No, I wasn´t
You were
You weren´t Were you …? Yes, you were / No, you weren´t
She was
She wasn´t Was she…? Yes, she was / No, she wasn´t
He was
He wasn´t Was he …? Yes, he was / No, he wasn´t
It was
It wasn´t Was it…? Yes, it was / No, it wasn´t
We were
We weren´t Were we…? Yes, we were / No, we weren´t
You were
You weren’t Were you…? Yes, you were / No, you weren´t
They were
They weren´t Were they…? Yes, they were / No, they weren´t

Short forms: was not = wasn´t were not = weren´t

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, wasn´t he?

I wasn´t at the cinema last night, was I?

It was very funny, was it?

These shoes weren´t sheep, were they?

Those boys were nice, weren´t they?

You weren´t in Paris last summer, were you?

©My English Printable Worksheets 2010 - http://vanda51.blogspot.com/

A) 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.

B) 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. ______________________________________

C) 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.
________________________________________________________________

©My English Printable Worksheets 2010 - http://vanda51.blogspot.com/

D) 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)

Luis de Camões was famous for his poems.

_________________________________________________________?
Yes, _____________________________________________________.

E) Complete with question tags.

Mr. Smith was a famous actor, _________________?

I wasn´t ill last night, _________________?
Those singers were in Paris last month, _________________?
I was 10 years old in 1981, _________________?
Mary hasn´t at home last night, _________________?
The Scorpions weren´t in Portugal last year, _________________?
Marilyn Manroe was born in 1926, _________________?
Beethoven wasn´t German, _________________?
I was a cute baby, _________________?
Diana Spencer was a princess, _________________?

©My English Printable Worksheets 2010 - http://vanda51.blogspot.com/