THE VERBS "WAS" AND "WERE"

The verbs was and were are also forms of the verb be. Was is the simple past tense of am and is. Use was with the pronouns I, he, she and it, and with singular nouns.

For example:

Edison was a famous inventor.

Beethoven was a German composer.

Sue was at the library this morning.

It was very wet on Monday.

Ten years ago she was only a baby.

He was not well yesterday.

Last year she wasn’t tall enough to reach the high shelf.

Samantha was second in the race, wasn’t she?

Were is the simple past tense of “are”. Use were with the pronouns you, we and they, and with plural nouns.

These were my best jeans.

The Romans were brave soldiers.

They were third in the wheelbarrow race.

There weren’t any clouds in the sky.

Were you still in bed when I phoned?

We were on the same school team.

Those were my best jeans.

Here is a table to help you remember the rules:

Singular - Plural

First person: I was - we were

Second person: you were - you were

Third person: he was - they were

she was - they were

it was - they were

Here’s a table to show you the different forms of the verb be:

Simple Present - Simple Past

First person singular: am - was

Second person singular: are - were

Third person singular: is - was

First person plural: are - were

Second person plural: are - were

Third person plural: are - were

Learn these contractions:

was not = wasn’t

were not = weren’t