What Was and Were Mean
Was and were are the past forms of the verb be. Am, is and are talk about now; was and were talk about a time that is over — yesterday, last night, 2020.
NOWam / is / are
The sentence is about now.
Lan is in Đà Lạt now.
It is about now, so the verb is in the present: is.
YESTERDAY · WASI / he / she / it
The sentence is about a time that is over.
Lan was in Huế yesterday.
Same person, different time, so a different form.
YESTERDAY · WEREyou / we / they
Her parents were there too.
Her parents is plural, so the verb is were.
Am and is become was. Are becomes were. A word like yesterday does not change the verb. You change it.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"My grandparents in Cần Thơ last week."
- Question 2
"I very busy yesterday."
The four forms
POSITIVE
Swas / wereadjective / noun / place
The film was great.
I, he, she, it and singular nouns take was; you, we, they and plural nouns take were.
NEGATIVE
Swas / werenot...
We weren't at home last night.
Not follows was and were. Was not shortens to wasn't, were not to weren't.
QUESTION
Was / WereS...?
Were they at school on Monday?
Was or were moves in front of the subject, like am, is and are. No do or did.
SHORT ANSWER
Yes, Swas / were· No, Swasn't / weren't
Was the bus late? — Yes, it was.
Answer with was or were. Match the subject of the answer.
WAS / WERE AT A GLANCE
- I amI was
- she isshe was
- it isit was
- you areyou were
- they arethey were
am, is → was · are → were
You takes were even when you are talking to one person: Thanks, Hoa — you were a big help.
In a short answer, the subject can be different from the question. Asked Were you…?, you answer Yes, I was or No, I wasn't.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"The shops open last Sunday."
- Question 2
" your brother at the party last night?"
- Question 3
"Were you cold?" — "No, I ."
When to use was and were
Feelings and states
We were hungry after the football match.
How a person felt at a time that is over.
Signal words: tired · happy · ill · bored · hungry
Places
Where were you at eight o'clock?
Where somebody was at a moment in the past.
Signal words: at home · at work · in Hà Nội · on the bus
Descriptions
The hotel was small but clean.
What a person, a place, a thing or the weather was like.
Signal words: big · old · cheap · sunny · noisy
Jobs and ages in the past
My dad was a bus driver in the 1990s.
How things were before; they may be different now.
Signal words: was ten · was a student · were neighbours
Common past time phrases are yesterday, last night, last week, in 2020 and two days ago. Ago counts back from now. It comes after the length of time: five minutes ago, a year ago.
Am, is, are vs. was, were
The time of the sentence decides between am, is, are (now) and was, were (a finished time).
| NOW | IN THE PAST | |
|---|---|---|
| I | I'm hungry. | I was hungry an hour ago. |
| Plural | We're at the airport. | We were at the airport at six. |
| Negative | She isn't at school. | She wasn't at school on Friday. |
| Question | Are you OK? | Were you OK last night? |
TRY IT
- Question 1
"My glasses on the table now."
- Question 2
"The streets very quiet at five this morning."
Common mistakes
Incorrect:She is sick yesterday.
Correct:She was sick yesterday.
A past time phrase needs a past verb, so is becomes was.
Incorrect:Did you were happy at your new school?
Correct:Were you happy at your new school?
Was and were move to the front on their own, so the question needs no did.
Incorrect:They was at the cinema.
Correct:They were at the cinema.
They is plural and takes were; was belongs to I, he, she, it and singular nouns.
Incorrect:You was right, Huy.
Correct:You were right, Huy.
You takes were even when it means just one person.
Incorrect:Were you at the concert? — Yes, I were.
Correct:Were you at the concert? — Yes, I was.
The short answer follows its own subject, and I takes was.
Incorrect:I was at the bank ago two hours.
Correct:I was at the bank two hours ago.
Ago comes after the length of time, not before it.
Incorrect:We were at a wedding yesterday night.
Correct:We were at a wedding last night.
English says last night. Yesterday works with morning, afternoon and evening, but not with night.
Quick check · 7 questions
Choose the correct form:
The weather was terrible on our trip last month.
- A. was — Correct
- B. were
Answer: A. was
You can replace the weather with it, and it takes was. Were belongs to you, we, they and plural nouns.
Choose the correct form:
Tuấn, you were very funny in the school play.
- A. were — Correct
- B. was
Answer: A. were
The sentence speaks to Tuấn alone, but you still takes were. English has no separate singular form of you.
Choose the correct form:
Hà was really happy last night.
- A. was — Correct
- B. is
Answer: A. was
Last night is in the past, so the verb is past too: is becomes was.
Choose the correct negative:
My parents weren't at home on Saturday. They were at my aunt's house.
- A. weren't — Correct
- B. wasn't
- C. not were
Answer: A. weren't
My parents means they, which takes were. The negative is were not, or weren't. Not comes after were, not before it.
Choose the correct question:
Were your friends at the beach?
- A. Were your friends at the beach? — Correct
- B. Did your friends were at the beach?
- C. Your friends were at the beach?
Answer: A. Were your friends at the beach?
Was and were make their own questions, so no did is needed. C keeps the statement order, which is not the normal question form.
Choose the correct short answer:
Was the museum open? — No, it wasn't.
- A. wasn't — Correct
- B. weren't
- C. isn't
Answer: A. wasn't
The question uses was, so the short answer does too: No, it wasn't. Isn't is present and does not match a question about the past.
Choose the correct phrase:
I was in Singapore three years ago.
- A. three years ago — Correct
- B. ago three years
- C. before three years
Answer: A. three years ago
Ago counts back from now, and it always comes after the amount of time: three years ago, ten minutes ago.
See whether it really stuck.
Start the quiz · 12 questions
