was / were

Rules

• Rule 1: I / he / she / it → was

  am and is become was.

  Pattern: I / he / she / it + was

  Example: I was eight last year.

  Example: The weather was windy on Monday.

• Rule 2: you / we / they → were

  are becomes were. Use it with you, we, they and plural nouns.

  Pattern: you / we / they + were

  Example: You were brilliant in the play!

  Example: The museums were closed on Monday.

• Rule 3: Negative → wasn't / weren't

  Add not: wasn't (was not), weren't (were not).

  Pattern: wasn't · weren't

  Example: The soup wasn't hot.

  Example: We weren't at school on Friday.

• Rule 4: Questions and short answers

  Put Was / Were first. A question word goes before it: Where were you? Short answers: Yes, I was. / No, they weren't.

  Pattern: (Question word) + Was / Were + subject …?

  Example: Were you at home yesterday? — Yes, I was.

  Example: Was the match exciting? — No, it wasn't.

Common mistakes

• We was at the zoo. → We were at the zoo.

  we → were.

• I were tired. → I was tired.

  I → was.

• It didn't cold. → It wasn't cold.

  With adjectives use wasn't, not didn't.