It's similar to the present
simple because it has different rules for the verb 'be', which becomes
'was' or 'were':
The Past Simple with 'be'
Here's how to make the positive:
FORM: SUB + WAS / WERE + COMPLEMENT
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POSITIVE WITH 'BE'
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I was cold
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You were tired
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He was in the garden
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She was late
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It was sunny
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We were on holiday
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They were hungry
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To make the negative with 'be', just add 'not':
FORM: SUB + WAS / WERE + NOT +
COMPLEMENT
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Negative with 'be'
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Negative Short Form
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I was not sleepy
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I wasn't sleepy
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You were not on the bus
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You weren't on the bus
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He was not at school
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He wasn't at school
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She was not beautiful
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She wasn't beautiful
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It was not cold
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It wasn't cold
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We were not at work
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We weren't at work
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They were not tired
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They weren't tired
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Here's an exercise to practice the
positive and negative forms with 'be'. To make a question, just like the
present simple, we change the position of 'was / were' and the subject. Here
are the past simple 'yes / no' questions with 'be':
FORM: WAS / WERE + SUB + COMPLEMENT?
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'YES / NO' QUESTIONS WITH 'BE'
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Was I sleepy?
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Were you late?
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Was he at the cinema?
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Was she kind?
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Was it hot?
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Were we hungry?
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Were they at work?
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And the 'wh' questions with 'be' (the question word just goes
at the beginning, everything else is the same):
FORM: WH-WORD + WAS / WERE + SUB +
(COMPLEMENT)?
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'WH' QUESTIONS WITH 'BE'
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Why was I sleepy?
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Where were you?
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When was he at the cinema?
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How was she?
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How was it?
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Why were we hungry?
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When were they at work?
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