Many people get confused when using the past tense of various verb forms of to be. These verbs refer to a tense called Past Indefinite. They are completely unrelated and each form is used in strictly defined types of sentences.
Let's look at the basic rules for writing was and were. Was is used with the following pronouns: I, he, she, it. Were is written with the following pronouns: we, you, they.
When to write was and when to use were?
The verb was is used when the sentence talks about the singular number, that is, about a person or thing in one quantity. For example:
- He was hungry - He was hungry. ((past tense Past Indefinite, was is a linking verb)
- Was he hungry? – Was he hungry? (past tense Past Indefinite, was is a linking verb)
The verb were should be used when talking about the plural, that is, about a person or thing in more than one quantity. For example:
They were hungry - They were hungry.
What do you need to remember about writing was\were verbs?
There are several nuances that you should pay attention to when writing the verb was.
1. Everybody was there - Everyone was there
Everyone translates to " All”, which means plural, but the verb was written correctly. The pronouns everyone and everybody refer to each person from the group individually, therefore the singular verb is used correctly.
2. Many mistakes can be made with the pronouns none\each. For example:
- Each of us was red-heard - Each of us was red.
- None of them was red-heard - None of them were red.
- With these pronouns the verb was is always used.
3. Pronoun all is used in relation to the entire group of persons or objects, which means the plural, therefore the verb were is always used with this pronoun.
All of them were hungry- They were all hungry.
4. There are situations when were is not used with the pronoun all. The easiest way to remember is this: if the nouns in a sentence are countable, put were. If the noun is uncountable and singular, it is written was. For example:
All the water was over- All the water is gone.
It is worth paying attention to another example of writing was and all:
The work was failed by all the workers- All the workers failed.
It seems that all is used in relation to all students in general, but the verb was is used. This is because was here does not refer to workers, but to the word work, which is singular. When writing the plural - works, the verb were would be used.
Exceptions to the spelling was\were in English grammar
Each rule must be remembered, but it is also necessary to remember that there are exceptions to the rules, and when writing was\were it is worth remembering a number of exceptions when with pronouns in the singular it is written were, together was. Exceptions apply to the following offers:
- Where is the if construct.
- In conditional sentences and sentences of the second type.
- In individual cases with the verb wish.
- In this construction of the sentence: If I were you - if I were in your place.
In a sentence written in time Past Indefinite You cannot use the verbs was and did at the same time. There are certain cases in which the pronoun I is used with were. For example:
- If I were you, I would love the cat - If I were you, I would love the cat.
- Sentences with the construction I wish to denote the desired unrealistic. Often such sentences begin with the expression: it’s a pity that or I would really like that...
- I wish I were tall – It’s a pity that I’m not tall
- I wish I were in the school - How I would like to be at school.
In conditional sentences of the secondary type in the subordinate part, for example:
- If I were there I would read a book - if I were there, I would read a book.
- Sentences that are built using the as if construction. Sentences of this type use the past tense to make the action seem unreal. In such cases, the forms of to be in Past Indefinite can be was and were.
- You look at me as if I were a superstar - You look at me as if I were a superstar (in reality, I’m not a superstar).
It is with this verb that you need to start learning English grammar. Verbs in English do not change for persons, but the verb to be is an exception. Using this verb, we will learn to compose simple sentences that do not contain a verb in Russian, for example, “I am a student,” “he is at home,” “this is interesting,” etc. In English it is unacceptable to form without a verb that performs the action, and to be serves as a linking verb. For example, to say “I am a student,” we must insert the desired form of the linking verb to be and, as a result, the sentence will take on the meaning “I am a student” - “I (am) a student.”
Forms of the verb to be in the present tense
In the present tense, the verb to be has three forms: AM, IS, ARE:
- Remember: to be and AM, IS, ARE are not 4 different ones, but forms the same verb:
(We hope our dragon will help you remember this)
Let's look at how the verb to be changes in the present tense
Affirmative form
- We are friends - we are friends
- They are busy - they are busy
- The book is thick - the book is thick
- It is a cat
- She is clever - she is smart
Negative form
To form a negative conjugation form of a given verb, you need to put the negative particle “not” after one of the required forms of the verb (am, is or are). Here are some examples of negative sentences:
- I am not hungry – I am not hungry
- He is not busy
- The room is not big – the room is not big
Question form
To form an interrogative form, you need to put the appropriate form of the verb (am, is or are) at the beginning of the sentence:
- Are you Peter? -Are you Pete?
- Is this a room? – Is this a room?
- Are you hungry? -Are you hungry?
- Is he busy? – Is he busy?
- To understand how verbs live in the English language, let's first remember at least one verb of the Russian language in its initial form, for example, the verb “to live”. As you know, Russian verbs in their initial form end in “-т”, and later, when conjugated, the ending changes. As for the English language, the verb in its initial form is used together with the particle to, for example, we say to be – would t, find t Xia, i.e. if the particle to precedes the verb, this means that the verb is in the initial form, and when further using the verb with persons, this particle is omitted. Let's give an example: “To be or not to be” - there are two verbs in the sentence - and both are in the initial form, and they must be used together with the particle to, and, accordingly, we will translate into English as “to be or not to be”. If we have before us the sentence “I (am) a student,” i.e. we have changed the verb to suit the person of the subject, then the particle to is omitted and the proper form of the verb is used, in this case am.
- Unlike the verb to be, other verbs in English are not conjugated, for example, the verbs “live, sit, love” in the initial form are translated into English “to live, to sit, to love”, i.e. with a particle to, and when conjugated - without to, for example, “I live, sit, love” will be translated into English as “I live, sit, love,” i.e. initial form of a verb in English without a particletonot used, but when conjugatedtofalls. The initial form in English is called the Infinitive - Infinitive.
More about the particle to watch our video tutorial:
Verb conjugation tobe in the present tense
Now let's learn how the verb to be changes (conjugates) in the present tense. As mentioned above, in Russian, sentences like “I am a student, she is a doctor, we are workers” are formed without a predicate verb. But to translate these sentences into English, you need to put the appropriate form to be after the subject - “I am a pupil, she is a doctor, we are workers.”
Please note the translation of the following sentences in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms into English:
Verb conjugation tobe in past and future tense
In the past tense, the verb to be has two forms - was and were (was, was, were)
In the future tense, the verb to be is conjugated as follows
Note: In modern English the form shall is rarely used to form the future tense of verbs (although its use is not a grammatical error), the form is used for all persons will. Therefore, sometimes there are discrepancies in different textbooks.
To summarize, consider the following table:
Here are some commonly used verb expressions: to be which you should learn and conjugate yourself using the conjugation table:
- To be happy/unhappy – to be happy/unhappy
- To be glad - to be joyful
- To be hungry/to be full up– to be hungry/full
- To be fond of - to love, be carried away by something
- To be busy - to be busy
- To be late (for) - to be late (for)
- To be in time for – to be on time
- To be present at – to be present at (for example, in a lesson)
- To be absent (from) – to be absent
- To be married – to be married
- To be single - to be single / not married
- To be lucky - to be lucky
- To be ready (for) - to be ready (for, for example, a lesson)
- To be afraid (of) – to be afraid
- To be interested (in) - to be interested in something
- To be ill / well - to be sick / to feel good
- To be angry (with) - to be angry, angry (at someone)
Let's conjugate together the expression to be married in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences. What did you get?
English is a must-learn these days, because without knowing it you can hardly count on getting a well-paid, interesting and very promising job. In addition, it is with the help of the English language that you can communicate freely in any country in the world. Many, having started to study this foreign language, do not complete the task due to the difficulties that arise on the way to such a cherished goal.
Learning English is not an easy task, because there are a lot of nuances. Now we will talk about how to correctly use the verbs was - were, and find out how they differ from each other.
Verbs was - were - past form of "to be"
Before starting a conversation about the use of the above verbs in English, it is recommended to find out what they are and where they come from. The verbs was - were are formed from one irregular verb, which is “to be”, and they are its past form. The verb to be itself is translated into our native language as “to be”, “to happen”, “to exist”. Thanks to William Shakespeare's signature phrase “To be or not to be,” this irregular English verb is known even to those who are just about to start learning a foreign language.
As mentioned above, to be is an irregular verb, so its past forms are not formed by adding the ending “ed” in the second form (Past Simple), as well as the auxiliary verb had/have and the same ending “ed” in the third form (Past Participle). Irregular verbs are called that way because there is no specific rule by which they are formed. Their past forms simply need to be learned, which is not as difficult as it might initially seem.
What is the difference between was and were?
Now it’s time to talk about why the irregular verb to be in the past form, which is the Past Simple, has two variants at once and how they actually differ. The verb was is translated into Russian as “was”, “happened”, “existed”, while were is interpreted as “existed”, “were” or “happened”. From the translation it is clear that these verbs differ primarily in number. The verb was in English should be used with a singular noun, while were is used with a plural noun.
The verbs was and were in the Past Simple
Let us now consider the use of the verbs was - were in English. The first case when these verbs should be used is when constructing sentences in the Past Simple. This is the most understandable and common case, about which much should not be said. Sentences with the verb was or were will now be considered. For example, “I was at home last evening” is translated as “I was at home last evening,” and “They were at the college yesterday” should be translated as “Yesterday they were at college.”
Despite the fact that there is nothing complicated in the Past Simple, many beginners simply cannot understand when to use the verb was, and in what cases they should use were. In fact, there is nothing complicated about this either. With singular nouns or pronouns (I, it, he, she) the verb was should be used, while for the plural (you, were, they) the verb were. With the pronoun you, which, depending on the situation, can be translated as “you”, “you” in the plural and the respectful address “You”, the verb were is always used.
There was/There were constructions
In English there are stable expressions There is/There are, which essentially do not have a specific translation, but they are often used in sentences like “There are seven pupils in the classroom”, which should be interpreted as “There are seven students in the class” . Therefore, the past form of such phrases is There was/There were. The sentence “There were seven pupils in the classroom” should already be translated as “There were seven students in the class.” It is worth noting that in this case, the use of the above construction depends primarily on the number of the subject.
The verbs was and were in the Past Continuous Tense (past continuous tense)
In English there is another interesting construction going to, which translates as “getting ready to do something.” In the past tense it takes the form was. As an example, consider two sentences. The translation of the sentence “I am going to swim” will look like “I am going to swim,” while “I was going to swim yesterday” should be interpreted as “Yesterday I was going to swim.” As in previous cases, the use of the verbs discussed in this article depends entirely on the number of the subject.
The verbs was and were in Conditional Sentences
By and large, in this article we have already examined the main cases in which the verbs were-were should be used, but if you want to study such a beautiful English language more deeply, then you should know something else.
English also has special constructions of conditional sentences. To make it more clear, let's look at an example. The sentence “If I were you, I would buy this T-shirt” can be translated into Russian as: “If I were you, I would buy this T-shirt.” It should be said that such conditional sentences in most cases begin with the conjunction if, translated as “if”. For more detailed information about this construction, you should familiarize yourself with the section of English grammar “Conditional Sentences”.
Quite often in such cases, to be acts as an auxiliary verb to form more complex tenses. In turn, the verbs were and was are also auxiliary, and they should be used depending on the number of the subject. However, you should always keep in mind the construction If I were, which occurs in conditional sentences in the present tense and requires the presence of the verb were after the pronoun I. But in no case should it be confused with some similar constructions that are not conditional and contain the phrase I was. For example, “Sorry if I was late for this lesson,” which translates to “Sorry if I was late for this lesson.”
As you can see, mastering these subtle nuances of the English language is not as difficult as it initially seems. The use of verbs is limited to just a few simple rules that you simply need to remember. The main thing is to understand when the correct form of the verb to be should be used in the past tense.
Believe me, knowledge of English will certainly be useful to you in the future. And if you don’t work abroad or are never able to get a well-paid and prestigious job in your country, you will still have to speak fluently in English while on vacation in some exotic and sunny country. Learn English, improve, and you will certainly succeed.
When it comes to learning any language and breaking down language barriers, polyglots always highlight knowledge of verbs. And it’s true: knowing verbs and knowing how to use them in various forms, you just need to “string” other words on them and you will already have whole sentences. In this situation, it is not surprising that most of the standard vocabulary of a native speaker of Russian, English, Chinese, and another arbitrarily chosen language is made up of this part of speech. But wait, this doesn’t mean that you should immediately start randomly memorizing any verbs that catch your eye. If this makes any sense, it will be very small. Instead, it is better to analyze in detail those English verbs that are often and actively used in speech. This is exactly what we will do by studying the verb to be in English.
The verb to be, which is equivalent to the Russian “to be”, “to appear”, “to be”, is one of the most universal and most commonly used verbs in the English language. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that, unlike other representatives of this part, the verb to be is conjugated, changing in persons and numbers.
In addition, to be can be used as a semantic verb or assisted by another verb, acting as an auxiliary. But let's talk about everything in order.
The verb to be belongs to irregular verbs, therefore it has 3 forms. These forms are formed independently, without being explained by rules, so they simply need to be memorized:
The verb to be in the Past Simple or simple past tense in the number of its forms is reduced to two. Their use again depends on the person and number:
This, however, was not always the case. Previously, the future tense form shall be was used for first person pronouns (I / we). Nowadays you can find it very rarely, so just knowing about its existence is enough. In all cases, use the form will.
Please note that other verbs in English are not conjugated. The fact is that there are no conjugations in this language at all, which greatly simplifies English grammar. The verb to be is an exception to the rule.
The forms of this verb in Simple tenses were presented above. All tense forms of the verb to be can be expressed in the following table:
| Simple (Simple) |
Continuous | Perfect (Perfect) |
|
| Past (Past) |
was / were | was / were being | had been |
| Present (Present) |
am/is/are | am / is / are being | have / has been |
| Future (Future) |
will be | will be being | will have been |
The verb to be may not be used in all tenses. So, in the Perfect Continuous the verb to be is not used. It can also be noted that continuous tenses with the verb to be are not very rare. The use of verbs in continuous forms is possible only in certain situations.
Verb to be in English: sentence forms
Affirmative form
The affirmative form of a sentence with the verb to be is constructed in a standard way: first comes the subject, followed by the verb to be in the required form as a predicate. Study the table:
Negative form
Negative forms of sentences with this verb are formed by adding the negative particle not after to be. No auxiliary verbs are required to use the form:
In both affirmative and negative sentences, the verb to be can be shortened:
There are no shortened forms for the past tense in the statement.
I am not, unlike other verbs, is shortened as I’m not. I amn't is used only in Scotland and Ireland.
Question form
The English question form depends on the type of question:
- In general questions or alternative questions, the verb be in the correct conjugation is placed before the subject. Tables for clarity :
The answer uses only the verb to be:
The answer uses an affirmative sentence:
If you want to use the future form of the verb, then will must be brought forward, while be will remain in its original place:
- In special questions, an English question word is added to the form above:
The answer is used in the affirmative form:
In your answer it is enough to use the verb to be:
- As part of a nominal predicate, which consists of a linking verb (to be) and a nominal part expressed by nouns or adjectives. In this case, the verb is translated into Russian as “is”.
Despite the fact that " There is” can be used, its presence will seem inappropriate, and the proposal will turn out somehow ugly. Judge for yourself:
The Russian language does not need this verb, so it is not usually used. The English language will not allow this, because the peculiarity of English sentences is that they are strictly ordered. In simple terms, if you, for example, are composing a complete affirmative sentence, then it must consistently use a subject and a verb, nothing else. In some way, a similar role to be can be associated with the obsolete “is”, which previously performed exactly the same function in the Russian language.
The verb to be in a nominal predicate can also be used to mean “be” in imperative sentences:
- As an auxiliary verb in Continuous and Perfect Continuous. In this case, the auxiliary verb to be is used with semantic verbs. The verb to be itself is usually not translated in such sentences. Study the examples in the table:
The verb to be can also be used to use the passive voice:
- In addition to the functions mentioned, the verb to be is also used as a component in the constructions:
- to be going to (getting ready);
| Lena is going to learn how to form verbs in Present Perfect tomorrow. | Tomorrow Lena is going to learn how to form verbs in the Present Perfect. |
| He is going to speak five languages. | He's going to speak five languages. |
| My family is going to London. | My family is going to London. |
| I was going to tell him but she didn’t allow me. | I was going to tell him, but she wouldn't let me. |
| George is going to make this operation in December. | George is going to have this operation in December. |
| We are going to buy some products. | We are going to buy groceries. |
| The students are going to do this whole list of exercises. | Students are going to do a whole list of exercises. |
- there is / are / (there is / exists);
- The use of the verb is also possible as a modal verb in the meaning of “should”, “agreed”, “agreed” when we are talking about obligations, orders, schedules and plans, the inevitability of events. In this case, to verb the to particle is added:
- And also when using the verb to be in English in the following constructions:
| to be good at (good to understand) |
We are good at this English grammar rule. | We are fluent in this rule of English grammar. |
| to be aware of (realize) |
We're aware of all possible risks. | We are aware of all possible risks. |
| to be late (be late) |
My co-worker was late for work because of the traffic jam. | My colleague was late for work due to traffic jam. |
| to be fond of | I'm fond of nature. | I love nature. |
| to be interested in (to be interested) |
They are interested in helping people. | They are interested in helping people. |
| to be sorry about (to regret something) |
I'm sorry about what happened. | I'm sorry about what happened. |
| to be sorry for (to feel sorry for someone) |
We are so sorry for your son. | We are very sorry for your son. |
| to be hungry (to be hungry) |
I am so hungry! I haven’t eaten since morning. | I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten since morning. |
| to be thirsty (to feel thirsty) |
After the marathon everyone was thirsty. | After the marathon, everyone was thirsty. |
| be about to (going to) |
Boris is about to start learning German and French languages. | Boris is going to start learning German and French. |
- Frequent uses of the verb are also associated with idioms. Here are some of them:
| be up to someone (depends on someone) |
We can either win or lose. It's up to you! | We will either win or lose. Everything depends on you! |
| be a man (be a man) |
Stop crying. Be a man! | Stop crying. Be a man! |
| be in love with (to be in love with) |
I should admit that I’m in love with her! She is gorgeous! | I must admit that I am in love with her! She's great! |
| be as stubborn as a mule (analogue in Russian: stubborn as a donkey) |
We can't work together because he doesn't want to listen to me. I say his approach is wrong but he is as stubborn as a mule. | We can't work together because he doesn't want to listen to me. I say his approach is wrong, but he is stubborn as a donkey. |
| be (a bit) on the expensive side (expensive / a bit expensive) |
That service is a bit on the expensive side. Maybe, we try to fix it ourselves, huh? | This service is a bit expensive. Maybe we can try to fix it ourselves, huh? |
| be on cloud nine (to be very happy) |
I'm on cloud nine! She said yes to me! Can you believe it? | I'm incredibly happy! She told me yes! Can you believe it? |
As you can see, the verb to be is very popular and varied, so it can be used in any situation with almost any tense. Once you understand the conjugations of this verb and its role in a sentence, you should not have any difficulty using it. Devote some time to English exercises on this topic to reinforce the material, compose your own examples, and most importantly, practice the language with native speakers. Because you won't find as much benefit in any exercise as you can get from people who use the language on a daily basis and can help you with any language barriers.
If you came to our blog to find out the was, were rule in English, then you have come to exactly the right place. We will look at how and when these forms of the verb “to be” are used and why our life is impossible without this knowledge.
First and most important:
was, were in English - past form of the verb “to be” !Past forms are used without the particle “to”, because are not infinitive forms of the verb!
The use of was, were in English, the rule:
1. To the singular subject we add “was”
I, He, She, It- singular persons who are friends only with “was”!
2. To the plural subject we add “were”
We, You, They- plural persons who are friends only with “were”! For example:
P.S. Do you know why “You” is plural? After all, at school we were taught that this translates as the pronoun “you”. Everything is wrong!
In fact, Americans are so well-mannered that they always address each other exclusively as “you.” This is precisely why this pronoun is considered plural.
But even in Russian, we always use the pronoun “You” only in the plural, even when addressing one person (but in a respectful form). For example:
Second and also important rule:
The use of was, were in English does not use the Past Continuous. This tense speaks of an extended activity (process) that occurred in the past. You will never confuse it with the regular Past Simple because:
1. Continuous- it's always a process.
2. IN Past Continuous we see certain time indications of the process:
When you called I was making a cake for my brother.
As you can see, the exact time is not necessary here; there should be a hint at the moment at which the process lasted.
3. was, were in English they are always basic auxiliary verbs.
There are no differences in the use of our verbs was, were in comparison with the first paragraph. There is only a peculiarity: the predicate will be able to have the ending “ing” (Always only this ending and no other changes to the verb. You don’t need to learn the table of irregular verbs to express your thought in the Past Continuous. Just add the ending “ing” to the main verb.).
Also, it is impossible not to say that was, were in English is used in the passive voice and in a number of laws and rules of a foreign language, but we revealed the most striking functions of these verbs in our article.
If you have an addition to our story about was, were in English, the rules of their use and features, then feel free to write your thoughts in the comments and we will discuss your ideas.
