Remember that was and were are the past forms of the verb to be so they are pretty useful when we make sentences with different tenses in English.
Remember that we use was with the pronouns I, she, he, it
| Present | Past |
| I am | I was |
| She is | She was |
| He is | He was |
| It is | It was |
We use “were” with the pronouns they, we, and you.
| Present | Past |
| They are | They were |
| We are | We were |
| You are | You were |
Now let’s check all the types of sentences you can make with was and were
Table of Contents
Affirmative Sentences with Was and Were
This is the structure to make present simple sentences with was and were:
| Structure | Examples |
| Subject | I |
| was/were | was |
| Complement | sick |
We can make simple present sentences with was such as:
- I was happy
- She was very smart
- He was fit and beautiful
- The game was really expensive
- They were very good people
- We were very successful streamers
- You were my best friend
This is the structure to make present continuous sentences with was and were:
| Structure | Examples |
| Subject | I |
| was/were | was |
| Verb + Ing | cooking |
| Complement | dinner |
We can also make present continuous sentences with was
- I was streaming on YouTube
- She was editing some pictures
- He was designing a website
- It was working really well
- They were playing video games
- We were listening to songs on Spotify
Negative Sentences with Was and Were
If you want to make sentences with was and were, you have to have a look at the following chart
| was | was not | wasn’t |
| were | were not | weren’t |
You can use the uncontracted o contracted forms, however, contracted forms are more frequent in any situation.
Now we can make simple present sentences like these:
- I wasn’t skinny
- She wasn’t that shy
- They weren’t guilty
- The movie was very predictable
- That car wasn’t that expensive
- You weren’t my boss
- He wasn’t outgoing
- We weren’t that smart
These are present continuous negative sentences
- I was telling you something important
- She was smiling at me
- He was staring at me
- It was eating the food
- They were teaching Portuguese
- We were cleaning our rooms
Closed Questions with Was and Were
This is the structure that you have to remember when making questions with was y were:
| Was / Were | Pronoun | Adjective |
| were | you | shy? |
| were | you | talkative? |
| were | you | fit? |
Let’s take a look at these questions and answers
- Were you shy when you were in high school?
- Yes, I was
- Were you fit?
- No, I wasn’t
- Were you talkative when you were a kid?
- Yes, I was
- Were you good at Math?
- I sucked at Math when I was in high school
- Was she an outstanding student?
- Yes, she was
Open Questions with Was and Were
This is the structure to make open questions with the past progressive:
| Wh-Question | Was / Were | Pronoun | Verb + ing? |
| Why | Was | she | running? |
These are some open questions with was and were
- Where were you?
- I was with my friends from High school
- Who were you?
- I was the former vice president of the country
- What was it?
- There was something wrong with the engine
- Why were you so talkative?
- I don’t know, I was probably bored
- Who was that guy?
- He was my former boss
- Who was here?
- I think that Jimmy stayed the night here
Questions using was and Were: Past Progressive
These are some past progressive questions using was
- What was she doing?
- What was he watching?
- What was he talking about?
- What was he listening to?
- Why was she running?
- Why was she swimming?
- Was she watching an action movie?
These are some past progressive questions using were
- What were they doing?
- What were they watching
- What were you talking about?
- What were you listening to?
- Why were you running last night?
- Why were you swimming under this cold weather?
- Were you surfing?
- Were you watching a horror movie?
- Were you surfing?
Was and Were: Then and Now
You can make sentences about the past and the present using was and were
- I was very strong when I was 17 but now I am weak
- I was very shy in kindergarten but now I make friends easily
- I was a very angry kid but now I get along with everybody
- I was in shape when I was 18 but now I go to the gym
- She wasn’t very smart in language but now she is an expert
- She wasn’t talented but now she can sing very well
- She was lazy but she is a very talented developer
- He was a jerk but he seems like a nice guy
- He was attractive but now he is an addict
- He was a happy guy but now he is a grumpy old man
- He was jealous but now he isn’t
