Grammar: A2 - ⚙️ Verbs in Depth: ⏳ Past & Future Tenses (Basics) - Lesson 1: Past Simple with "be" (was, were) - Affirmative, Negative, Question

✨ Lesson 1: Past Simple with "be" (was, were)

Welcome to a new series on verb tenses! So far, we have learned about the present¹ tense. Today, we will learn how to talk about the past² using the Past Simple Tense³.

We use the Past Simple to talk about actions or states that started and finished in the past. We will begin with the most important verb: 'to be'.

The Past Forms of 'be': 'was' and 'were'

The verb 'to be' has two forms in the past simple. The one you use depends on the subject.

Subject	Present	Past
I	am	was
He / She / It	is	was
You / We / They	are	were

Affirmative, Negative, and Question Forms

Here is how to use 'was' and 'were' in all three sentence forms.

Form Type	Example Sentences
Affirmative (+) (Subject + was/were...)	I was tired yesterday. They were at Angkor Wat this morning.
Negative (-) (Subject + wasn't/weren't...)	She wasn't at home last night. We weren't busy.
Question (?) (Was/Were + Subject...?)	Was he a student last year? Were you happy with the hotel?

Short Answers

To answer Yes/No questions in the past, we use 'was/wasn't' or 'were/weren't'.

• Was she late? → Yes, she was. / No, she wasn't.
• Were they friendly? → Yes, they were. / No, they weren't.
• Were you cold? → Yes, I was. / No, I wasn't.

🧠 Practice Quiz: Choose 'was' or 'were'

Complete the sentences with the correct past simple form of 'be'.

1. I ______ very happy to see my friends yesterday.
   → was
2. The streets ______ very quiet this morning.
   → were
3. ______ she at the market last Sunday?
   → Was
4. We ______ not tired after the trip.
   → were (or weren't)

📝 Homework: Rewrite the Sentences

Rewrite these present tense sentences in the past, using the time phrase in parentheses ( ).

Example: He is busy. (yesterday) → He was busy yesterday.

---

1. They are at Pub Street. (last night)

→ ___________________________________.

2. I am not hungry. (this morning)

→ ___________________________________.

3. Is the museum open? (on Monday)

→ ___________________________________?

(Answers: 1. They were at Pub Street last night. 2. I wasn't hungry this morning. 3. Was the museum open on Monday?)

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Present: (Noun) - បច្ចុប្បន្ន (păch'chŭb'bân) - The period of time now occurring. ↩
2. Past: (Noun) - អតីតកាល (a'təy'tâ'kal) - The period of time that has gone by. ↩
3. Past Simple Tense: (Noun) - អតីតកាលធម្មតា (a'təy'tâ'kal thoam'mada) - A verb tense used for completed actions in the past. ↩