⏳ Lesson 1.1: Past Simple — Was & Were
🔁 Building on A1: In A1 you learned am, is, and are — the present forms of the verb to be. Was and were are simply their past forms, so this is a natural next step rather than something brand new. That's by design.
Welcome to A2! You can already talk about now. Now we learn the past. This lesson teaches the two most important past words in English — was and were. With them you can say where you were and how things were.
📚 What You'll Learn
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Use was and were to talk about the past
- Make negatives (wasn't / weren't) and questions (Was…? / Were…?)
- Use past time expressions like yesterday, last week, and two years ago
- Say "There was / There were" to describe past places and situations
⏱️ Estimated Time: 45–55 minutes
🎯 Project: Talk (or record yourself) for one minute about your day yesterday and a place you visited recently — where you were and how it was.
In This Lesson
From Present to Past
In your A1 course, you learned the verb to be in the present: I am, you are, he is. It is a very important verb in English. Now we put it in the past.
Right now you can say "I am at home." But you also want to talk about before: "I was at work." "We were on vacation." "The movie was great!" The past helps you tell people about your life. And talking about your life is how real conversations begin. 🗣️
🧠 Mindset
The past of to be is very small: just two words — was and were. You already know am/is/are, and these two words work the same way. You are not starting again. You are just adding a little. If it feels new, add the word yet — "I can't tell stories in English… yet." 🌱
Was & Were: The Forms
Here is the whole rule in one table. Look at the pattern. The words that used am/is now use was. The words that used are now use were.
| Person | Present (A1) | Past (A2) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | am | was | I was tired. |
| he / she / it | is | was | She was at home. |
| you | are | were | You were right. |
| we | are | were | We were happy. |
| they | are | were | They were late. |
graph LR
A["I / he / she / it"] --> WAS["was"]
B["you / we / they"] --> WERE["were"]
✅ Pro Tip
There is no -s and no did here. To be is special: it changes by itself (was/were). It does not need a helper word. That makes it easy. You only need these two words for every past sentence with be.
Say these out loud:
I was busy yesterday. My friends were at the party. It was a great night. We were very happy.
Negatives & Questions
To make a negative, add not. We almost always use the short forms wasn't and weren't.
| Person | Negative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I / he / she / it | was not = wasn't | He wasn't at school. |
| you / we / they | were not = weren't | They weren't ready. |
To make a question, put was or were at the front of the sentence (just like am/is/are in A1).
| Question | Short answer (yes) | Short answer (no) |
|---|---|---|
| Were you at home? | Yes, I was. | No, I wasn't. |
| Was she happy? | Yes, she was. | No, she wasn't. |
| Were they late? | Yes, they were. | No, they weren't. |
⚠️ Important Note: In a short answer, don't make the positive answer short. Say "Yes, I was." — never "Yes, I's." But the negative answer is short: "No, I wasn't."
You can also ask for information with Wh- words:
Past Time Expressions
Past sentences usually have a word that tells us when. These words point to the past. When you see or say one, use was/were.
- yesterday
- last night
- last week
- last year
- two days ago
- an hour ago
- in 2015
- when I was a child
💡 ago vs last
Use ago after a length of time, to count back from now: "three days ago," "a week ago." Use last before a time word: "last Monday," "last summer." We don't say "last three days" or "ago week."
There Was / There Were
Remember "There is / There are" from A1? The past is just as useful. You can use it to describe a place in the past:
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| one thing | There was | There was a café near the hotel. |
| more than one | There were | There were many people at the beach. |
| negative | There wasn't / weren't | There weren't any free tables. |
| question | Was there…? / Were there…? | Was there a pool? |
Now let's hear it all in a real conversation:
A: How was your weekend?
B: It was great! I was at the coast with my family.
A: Nice! Was the weather good?
B: Yes, it was sunny. There were a lot of people on the beach, but it wasn't too crowded.
A: Were your kids happy?
B: Very! They weren't tired at all — I was the tired one!
🔊 Hear It & Repeat — Model Sentences
Listen to each model sentence, then say it back. Use the 🎧 Audio control (bottom-right) to choose a UK or US voice and slow the speed down. These sentences use was and were to talk about the past.
- I was tired last night.
- We were at the park yesterday.
- She was happy on her birthday.
- Were you at home this morning?
- They were not at school on Monday.
Practice & Project
🏋️ Exercise 1: was or were?
Objective: Choose the correct form.
- I at home last night.
- They very friendly.
- The movie boring.
- We late for the bus.
- You right!
✅ Answer
1. was · 2. were · 3. was · 4. were · 5. were
🏋️ Exercise 2: Make it negative, then a question
Objective: Change the sentence two ways.
Example: She was at work. → She wasn't at work. → Was she at work?
- They were at the party.
- It was cold yesterday.
✅ Answer
1. They weren't at the party. / Were they at the party?
2. It wasn't cold yesterday. / Was it cold yesterday?
🎯 Your Project: Talk About Yesterday
Speak out loud — to a partner, in class, or into your phone's recorder.
- (2 min) Say 4 sentences about yesterday: where you were in the morning, afternoon, and evening, and how you were (tired? happy? busy?).
- (2 min) Describe a place you visited recently using There was / There were (2–3 sentences).
- (2 min) Ask a partner (or imagine one): "How was your weekend? Where were you?" and answer.
- (1 min) If you recorded yourself, listen back. Did you use was and were correctly?
✅ Project Completion Checklist
- ☐ I said 4 sentences about yesterday with was/were
- ☐ I used "There was / There were" to describe a place
- ☐ I asked and answered a "How was…?" question
- ☐ I checked my was/were choices
🎯 Quick Quiz
Question 1: Choose the correct sentence.
Question 2: Complete: "___ you at the meeting?" — "No, I ___."
Tips & Common Mistakes
✅ Do's
- Match the person to the form: I/he/she/it → was, you/we/they → were.
- Use short forms wasn't / weren't when you speak — they sound natural.
- Add a time expression (yesterday, last week, two days ago) to make the past clear.
❌ Common Mistakes
⚠️ Watch Out
- "You was…" ❌ → "You were…" ✅ (even for one person, you always takes were).
- "They was…" ❌ → "They were…" ✅.
- Don't add did: it's "Was he there?" ✅, not "Did he was there?" ❌ — to be never needs a helper.
📓 Learning Journal
Keep your learning journal going. After this lesson, take a few minutes to write down:
- Key concepts you learned
- Things that clicked for you
- Questions or confusion points to revisit
- Ideas you want to try
- Your progress and feelings about moving into A2
✍️ This lesson's prompt: Write three true sentences about where you were and how you felt at different times yesterday — for example, "At 8 a.m. I was on the bus. I was sleepy." See how the past tense helps you tell your own story.
📝 Lesson Summary
🎓 Key Takeaways
- I / he / she / it → was; you / we / they → were.
- Negatives are wasn't and weren't; questions put was/were at the front.
- To be needs no did — it changes shape by itself.
- Signal the past with time words: yesterday, last week, two years ago.
🎉 What You've Accomplished
You just used the past tense for the first time. With was and were, you can now talk about where you were, how you felt, and what places were like. You need these words for every story and every real "how was your day?" conversation. That's a big step into A2. 🎉
❓ Common Questions at This Stage
Why does "you" use "were" even for one person?
In English, you is the same for one person or many people. So you always takes were. It's just the rule, and you'll get used to it fast.
When do I use "was" for "we"?
You don't — we always takes were ("We were happy"). Only I, he, she, it take was.
Is "There was" or "There were" for uncountable things like water?
Use There was for uncountable nouns: "There was a lot of water." Use There were only with plural countable nouns: "There were three bottles."
🔭 Looking Ahead
Now you can put to be in the past. Next, we put action verbs in the past. In Lesson 1.2, we'll learn the past simple of regular verbs — the -ed ending (walked, played, watched) — and how to say it.
✅ Before the Next Lesson
- Say five true sentences about yesterday using was/were.
- Ask someone (or yourself) "How was your weekend?" and answer in full.
- Write your Learning Journal entry for this lesson.
🌟 Encouragement for the Journey
Reaching A2 means you're not a total beginner anymore — you can tell stories now. Every "was" and "were" you use brings your real life into English. Keep going! The past tense makes your conversations more interesting. See you in Lesson 1.2! 👋