Creation – Day 3 (Part 2) – Grammar

Beginner Lesson 5
Creation – Day 3 (Part 2)

Grammar Exercise

God's creation ESL English
Image by Tom from Pixabay

“Was” and “Were”

Sometimes you might need to talk about simple things in the past. If you want to read a story, it is usually written in the past tense. Let’s learn the verb be in the simple past tense, so you can say things like “I was early,” or “We were in the kitchen yesterday.”

Was and were are irregular, so you will need to memorize them. They also have irregular pronunciation. Listen and repeat.

Pronounce “Was” and “Were”

Conjugate “Be” in the Simple Past Tense

Here is the conjugation of be in the simple past tense.

I was
you were (singular)
he was, she was, it was
we were
you were (plural)
they were

Here are some sample sentences.

I was a stranger. (Matthew 25:42)
You were happy because of this. (Psalm 107:30)
Hezekiah was very rich. (2 Chronicles 32:27)
Sarah was too old to have children. (Hebrews 11:11)
It was Joseph’s coat. (Genesis 37:33)
When we were young, we strayed and sinned. (Jeremiah 31:19)
You were slaves in Egypt. (Judges 6:8)
They were very upset. (Acts 2:37)

Asking Questions

To make questions with was and were, just change the order of the subject and the verb.

Was I?
Was I (Paul) nailed to a cross for you?  (1 Corinthians 1:13)

Were you?  (singular)
Were you happy to see us?

Was he?
Was he a prophet?  (Matthew 11:9)

Was she?
Was she at home yesterday?  

Was it?
Was the clock broken?

Were we?
Were we right?

Were you? (plural)
Were you baptized in my (Paul’s) name?  (1 Corinthians 1:13)

Were they?
Were they already at work? 

Make It Negative

Use the word not after was and were to make the sentence negative.

I was not late for school.

You (one person) were not happy about that. 

But the Lord was not in the wind. (1 Kings 19:11)

Maria was not at home when I called.

It was not time to go.

We were not wrong to brag about you. (2 Corinthians 9:3)

You (two or more people) were not very strong, but you obeyed my message. (Revelation 3:8)

They were not afraid. (Psalm 78:53)

Contractions

We can only make contractions with was and were when we make them negative. We can say wasn’t for was not. We can say weren’t for were not.

Read, listen to, and repeat these sentences with wasn’t and weren’t.

I wasn’t (I was not)
I wasn’t a burden to you. (2 Corinthians 12:16)

you weren’t (you were not, singular)
You weren’t at class yesterday.

he wasn’t
He wasn’t created for her. (1 Corinthians 11:9)

she wasn’t
Maria wasn’t at home when I called.

it wasn’t
The dog wasn’t clean.

we weren’t (we were not)
We weren’t late for work.

you weren’t (you were not, plural)
You weren’t the ones who sent me here. (Genesis 45:8)

they weren’t (they were not)
The children weren’t playing at my house.

Pronounce “Wasn’t” and Weren’t”

Practice Makes Perfect!

When you learn new grammar, practice by using it as much as possible. Do this worksheet about was and were. 

Worksheet about “Was” and “Were”

Now click the button to go to the writing exercise.

Go to the Writing Exercise