Level 2

Simple Past of Be: Was/Were

SIMPLE PAST VERB TO BE WAS: is the past of is and am.
WERE: is the past of are.

PRESENT PAST

I am I was
You are You were
He is He was
She is She was
It is It was
We are We were
You are You were
They are They were
STRUCTURE

VERB TO BE
(simple past)

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE QUESTION

I was I wasn’t Was I?

You were You weren’t Were you?
He/She/It was He/She/It wasn’t Was he/she/it?
We were We weren’t Were we?
They were They weren’t Were they?

Contraction of was not and were not

TODAY PAST

1. I am a student. 1. I was in Canberra last spring.

2. She is at home. 2. We were at school last Saturday.
3. You are bored. 3. Tina was at home yesterday.
4. My friends are tired. 4. He was happy.
5. My sister is happy. 5. We were tired.
6. It is cold today. 6. Your were very busy on Friday.
7. I am at home now, 7. I was bored yesterday.
8. They are Korean. 8. I was in the museum last weekend.
9. She is my mother. 9. She was in Brazil last month.
10. My name is Nikita. 10. They were late for school.
YES/NO Questions We put the verb to be at the beginning of the question.

Affirmative short Negative short

answer answer

Was I/he/she/it famous? Yes, I was No, I wasn’t

Were you/we/they Yes, you were No, you weren’t

They were happy.

We use contractions to respond with a short answer.

Were they happy?

Yes, they were / No, they weren’t.

WH Questions The answer of these type of questions is information that is more specific.

WH- word + verb + subject + complement + ?

Where was I/he/she/it sick…?

Why tired…?
When were we/you/they ready…?

I was angry because I failed my exam.

I was at school yesterday.
She was nervous last week.
They were my parents.
USAGE
● We use was/were to talk about the past.
● We often use was/were with past time expressions.
● We use was/were with born: I was born in Vietnam.

Time expressions Don’t forget we use verb to be to talk about:

● Age
➔ Last night, week, day, month ● Nationality
➔ Yesterday ● Characteristics
➔ Ago ● Location
➔ In (1999) ● Profession
➔ When
EXAMPLES ● He was Michael Jackson
● He was tall
● He was American
1. President Reagan’s wife was an ● He was The King of Pop
actress. ● He wasn’t an actor, he was a singer
2. She wasn’t in class yesterday. ● He wasn’t born white, he was born black
3. Was she sick?
4. The Beatles were famous in 1960’s.
5. Where were you last night? You
weren’t at home.
Practice
Complete with was/wasn’t, were/weren’t to make true sentences.

1. Brad Pitt _____ married to Jennifer Aniston.

2. Beethoven _______ a Swiss composer.
3. Marco Polo _________ born in Italy.
4. The Incas _______ from Mexico
5. The Beatles _____ from Liverpool.
6. The Wall Street Crash ______ in 1939.
7. Pablo Picasso _______ Spanish
8. Vincent van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci _____ famous
German painters.
9. Socrates and Plato ______ Brailian soccer players.
10. Hillary Clinton ______ president of the US in the 1990’s.
Practice
Complete with was/wasn’t, were/weren’t.

1. I _______ in Philippines last summer.

2. My brother and I______ at school last Saturday. We ______at the mall.
3. Tina ______ at home yesterday, she ______ at work.
4. You _______ very busy on Friday,right?
5. Bella and Rino _____ my cats, they died 5 years ago.
6. My father _______ at work yesterday because he ________ sick.
7. He ______ in a hurry because there ______ a lot of traffic.
8. Last night you _______ angry because your girlfriend ______ at home.
9. Mary and John _____ late for school yesterday.
10. My highschool ____ really big.
Level 2

Simple Past Regular Verbs

SIMPLE PAST REGULAR VERBS
We use simple past tense to talk about completed actions in the past
(actions that started and finished)

Simple Past Tense

past present future

The -ED: Regular verbs create the past and past participle by adding “-ed” to the main verb.

Verb Past Past Participle

remember remembered remembered

call called called

Examples:

1. I remembered him to call her at 6 pm.

2. I called my best friend last night to tell her I got a
promotion.
If the verb ends with consonant or with “-y” we substitute the “-y” for an “-i”. Then we add “-ed”

Verb Past Past Participle

marry married married

study studied studied

Examples:
1. After a 10 years relationship Daniela and Oscar are
finally married.
2. I studied this topic last year so I know what I have to
do.
If the verb ends with “-e” we just add “-d”.

Verb Past Past Participle

love loved loved

like liked liked

Examples:
1. Romeo loved her so much, fair enough to die for her.
2. I really liked the movie, I’ll wait for the second part.
-ED: How do I pronounce it?
Conjugated verbs that end in "ED" usually depends on the final sound (consonant).

Pronounce it with a “t” at the Pronounce it with a “D” at Pronounce it with a “id” at
end. the end. the end.

/t/ /d/ /id/

developed called ended
asked rained decided
washed offered hated
researched engaged needed
breathed loved waited
missed used wanted
danced followed
relaxed tried
gazed
Affirmative verb in past form
In affirmative, you only have to change the Subject Regular Verb Past form

verb into simple past. The structure is the I /YOU / HE/SHE/IT WANT WANTED
WE / THEY
same for every subject.
I /YOU / HE/SHE/IT LEARN LEARNED
✓ I wanted to study another language. WE / THEY

✓ He learned a lot during his abroad

I /YOU / HE/SHE/IT LIKE LIKED
studies. WE / THEY

✓ They liked meeting you.

I /YOU / HE/SHE/IT TALK TALKED
✓ We talked about traveling to Europe. WE / THEY
Negative verb in past form
In the negative form, the auxiliary verb for negative is DIDN’T. So the structure is DIDN’T+ the verb
in base form. The structure is the same for every subject.
Subject + DIDN’T + verb in base form = Final sentence

I /YOU / HE/ SHE/ IT didn’t work He didn’t work today.

WE / THEY

I /YOU / HE/ SHE/IT didn’t cook We didn’t cook yesterday.

WE / THEY

I /YOU / HE/ SHE/ IT didn’t talk I didn’t talk to her..

WE / THEY
Question form
For WH questions, you only have to
The auxiliary verb for yes/no question is DID + the verb in put the question word before the
auxiliary did.
base form. The structure is the same for every subject.
✓ What did you watch on TV last
Auxiliary + subject + verb in base form. night?
✓ Where did you study high
Did you ask?
Did he leave?
school?
Did she want?
Did they study?
Did we learn?
Time expressions Time expressions for SIMPLE PAST

✓ yesterday ✓ last week

Time expressions are words and ✓ an hour ago ✓ recently

expressions to refer time, used to ✓ one week ago ✓ two months ago

specify exactly when something ✓ four years ago ✓ the day before
happened in the past. ✓ In 1980 ✓ Last December

✓ On Saturday ✓ When I was 8

Time expressions: examples
● Yesterday we decided to go to the cinema instead of the park.
● He finished the exam an hour ago.
● Remember one week ago when they looked for job, well now they have one.
● We had broken up for good four years ago.
● In 1914 the great war was just getting started.
● On Saturday we finished our puzzle.
● The employees had a good performance during last week.
● Impossible, I was there recently and I didn’t see her.
● Two months ago I wasn’t sure about this, but now I am.
● The director arrived the day before the meeting.
● Last December I spent Christmas with my boyfriend’s family.
● When I was 8 I had my first surgery.
Practice

Complete the dialogues in the Past tense. Use the verbs in parentheses.

a. Jess: ____ you ________ your trip? (enjoy)

b. Albert: I ____ it! We ______ it to end. (do not want)

a. Jess: Which places ______ you ______? (visit)

b. Albert: I ______ the Empire State, some famous churches and also I ______ a lot about in
museums. (visit, learn).

a. Jess: ____ you _____ your english skills? (practice)

b. Albert: Not all the time, I ______ to but I felt intimidated by the native speakers. (want)
Practice

Complete the dialogues in the Past tense. Use the verbs in parentheses.

Taylor: Where _____you _______ German? (learn)

Julien: I _____ German when I _________ abroad in Berlin. I _____ and ______ my skills everyday. (learn,
study, use, practice)

Taylor : Why ____you ______ to go there? (want)

Julien: I have always ____ that city because I think it’s a great example on how history has _____ a
place and the ______ it can have not only in politics but in the society. (like, change, impact)
Practice
Use the verbs in past or past participle to complete the sentence.

fail arrive remember concentrate study notice

Ana: This test was so difficult, I ______________ them easier.

Denisse: I agree, even though I ____________ during the whole week I think it was a hard
exam.
Ana: I really hope to get a high grade in this cause I _________ the previous one.
Denisse: Don’t worry, you should trust your knowledge. Anyway, did you __________ there
was a handsome guy at the back?
Ana: Not really I was so ______________ in the test.
Denisse: I think I’ll talk to him, seems kind of nice.
Ana: Yeah, you really should. But first let’s go to our class, last time we _______ late.
Denisse: Oh sure, let’s go.
Level 2

Simple Past Irregular Verbs

SIMPLE PAST IRREGULAR VERBS
We use simple past tense to talk about completed actions in the past
(actions that started and finished)

Simple Past Tense

past present future

English Irregular verbs

Group 1 Group 2
put -D -GHT -T
cut
shut Say/Said Teach/Taught Sleep/Slept
hit
let Stand/Stood Buy/Bought Dream/Dreamt
cost
Pay/Paid Think/Thought Keep/Kept

Read/Read Catch/Caught Spell/Spelt

Hold/Held Bring/Brought Sit/Sat

Hear/Heard Get/Got

Make/Made Lose/Lost

Have/Had Build/Built

Spend/Spent

Send/Sent
English Irregular verbs

Group 3
- EN -E/ -WN -I / -A / -U

fall / fell / fallen blow / blew / blown begin / began / begun

break / broke / broken grow / grew / grown swim / swam / swum

wake / woke / woken know / knew / known ring / rang / rung

write / wrote / written throw / threw / thrown drink / drank / drunk

forget / forgot / forgotten draw / drew / drawn sing / sang / sung

bite / bit / bitten show / showed / shown

hide / hid / hidden

ride / rode / ridden

give / gave / given

Base Form Simple Past Tense

IRREGULAR VERBS See Saw

Take Took
They are called irregular verbs
because some of them change Be Was/Were
in the past and some others do
Come Came
not change at all.
Get Got

Go Went

Teach Taught

Leave Left

Speak Spoke
Usage

● Use the irregular past form only in positive (+) sentences:

○ I saw a play last night.

● Use the base form after did/ didn´t:

○ Did you see your mom last night? NOT Did you saw…?
○ I didn't go out last night. NOT I didn’t went…

● Remember the word order in questions:

○ auxiliary, subject, base form, e.g., Did you eat out last night? or question
word, auxiliary, subject, base for, e.g., Where did you eat out at?

● Could:
○ Past of can = could.
○ Negative (-) = couldn’t NOT didn’t can
○ Interrogative (?) = Could you…? NOT Did you can…?.
In affirmative, you only have to change the verb into the simple past.
Affirmative The structure is the same for every subject.

I Phil said he would be here by noon.

You I hope the teacher doesn’t take much longer, I made
He/She/It played plans at 10:00 p.m.
We If he took the bus he will be late.
They I just saw him drive away.
Maybe he went to the store after school.
The auxiliary verb for negative is did not + the verb in base form.
Negative The structure is the same for every subject.

I I didn’t go to the movies.

You You didn’t play soccer.
He/She/It didn’t play We didn’t watch the game.
We He didn’t love her.
They
This is the contraction of did not
The auxiliary verb for yes/no question is Did + subject + the verb in base form.
Question The structure is the same for every subject.

Auxiliary + subject + verb base form + complement + ?

Time expressions for SIMPLE PAST

Did you go to the cinema last week? ✓ yesterday ✓ last week

Did he get enough time? ✓ an hour ago ✓ recently

Did she see her mother yesterday? ✓ one week ago ✓ two months ago
Did he run the marathon on July?
✓ four years ago ✓ the day before
Did they speak with the manager?
✓ In 1980 ✓ Last December

✓ On Saturday ✓ When I was 8

Examples
Affirmative
Affirmative
She rode her bike around downtown last night.
She wrote a poem in class yesterday.
Negative
Negative
She didn’t ride her bike around downtown last night.
She didn’t write a poem in class yesterday.
Question
Question
Did she ride her bike around downtown last night?
Did she write a poem yesterday?
Practice
Complete the story with the simple past form of the
verbs in the parentheses.

“My memorable night at the Hogwarts

Festival by Goya”

This happened in my first summer when I was at Hogwarts University. I lived in a room in a big apartment with three friends.
That summer some musicians rented two other rooms in our apartment. It 1 was (be) August, and the Hogwarts Music and
Arts festival was going on. The musicians 2______ (be) from Poland, Japan, and Peru. One afternoon, they 3_______ (tell) me
about a Latin music club. My friends and I 4______ (say) that we wanted to go with them. We 5 ________ (meet) them at the club
that evening at 10:00 p.m. It 6 _________ (have) a really friendly atmosphere, and the music 7 __________ (be) fantastic! Our new
friends 8 _________ (speak) English very well and we 9 _________ (spend) the evening dancing and talking, When we 10 __________
(leave) the club we 11 ______(find) that we 12 ____________ (not have) enough money for a taxi. It 13 __________ (be) a warm night,
so we walked home through the street. The musicians 14 __________ (see) the historic buildings and monuments for the first
time, and they 15 ________ (think) that they 16 ________ (be) really beautiful. We 17 __________ (get) home at 5:00 a.m., but we 18
______ (not go) to bed. We 19 ________ (make) some coffee and talked. Then our friends played their guitars and we 20 __________
(sing) songs that we all 21 ________ (Know). It 22 _________ (be) a wonderful, memorable evening and 20 years later; we are still
pals.
Practice

Fill in the blanks with the past form of the verbs.

Benjamin Franklin ...... was born ..... (be born) in Boston in 1706. He ..................... (be) the fifteenth of the seventeen children of a
poor candle maker. He .....................(go ) to school only one year. He ................................. (begin) to work when he was twelve. At
the age of fourteen he ................................. (decide) to be a writer. He ......................(copy) the great stories of famous writers and
later he ................................. (become) the best known writer in his time.

When he ....................... (be) seventeen, he .............................. (leave) Boston and................................. (arrive) in Philadelphia with only
a few pennies in his pocket. He........................... (get) a job as a publisher of a newspaper and ......................... (retire)from business
as a very rich man at forty-two. Then he ............................ (spend) the next forty years for his government. He ............................
(play) an important role in the founding of the USA.

Franklin .................. (be) also an important scientist and inventor. He ................ (draw) electricity from a cloud on a kite string. He
........................... (write) one of the first text books on electricity. He ........................... (invent) a simple lightning rod and many
other practical tools. He ........................... (make) a study of water and ............................(discover) many principles of
hydrodynamics. He even .............................. (invent) bifocal glasses when he was seventy-eight and ........................... (need) them
himself. Franklin .................. (do) all these things and many more because he ......................... (believe) he .............................. (can).