Affirmative: I / He / She/ It WAS Negative : I / He / She / It WASN’T Interrogative : WAS I / He / She / It?

You / We / They WERE You / We / They WEREN’T WERE you / we / they?

Past Simple of BE
Exercise 1 – Write the sentences in the past. Exercise 2 – Write the sentences in the
Past Time Use any time reference that you consider interrogative:
References relevant:

Yesterday / the day 1. He was here last night.

before yesterday / 1. He is a writer. ____________________________
last week / last _____________________________
month / last year / 2. Mary and John were in the
last weekend / 2. The people are in the restaurant. restaurant.
yesterday night / _____________________________ ____________________________
this morning (when
3. She is in the cafeteria. 3. Robert was in prison last year.
you are talking in
the afternoon) / _____________________________ ____________________________
this afternoon 4. The teacher is nervous today. 4. Her friends were in the Computer
(when you are _____________________________ Lab.
talking in the ____________________________
evening) / today 5. The students aren’t absent today.
morning (when _____________________________ 5. The boys were in the pub last
you are talking in weekend.
6. John and Mary are married.
the evening or at
_____________________________ ____________________________
night).

Past Simple of BE -
Affirmative

I was here.
You were here.

Leonardo Da Vinci
He was a doctor.
She was a nurse.
It was a sunny day. Leonardo Da Vinci was from a small town called Vinci, near the city of Florence. His
We were happy. father was a very rich and important man. When Da Vinci was 16 years old, he was a
You were good. dedicated art student. After years old of study he could paint, draw, sculpt and play
They were bad. music very well. His most famous paintings are the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”.
The Last Supper was painted on a wall.
Past Simple of BE - But he wasn’t just a painter, a sculptor and musician. He was also an architect, an
Interrogative engineer and an inventor. He could draw flying machines, submarines and mechanical
devices. His pictures were usually complex and full of details.
Was I here? He was good at many other subjects like Anatomy, Biology, Math and Physics. He also
Were you here? studied Meteorology and Geology.
Was he a doctor? Leonardo Da Vinci was very intelligent and fascinating man but maybe his inventions
Was she a nurse? were too modern for his time.
Was it a sunny day?
Were we happy?
Were you good.? Complete with was / were or wasn’t / weren’t according to the text: Mark T(true) or F(false) according to
Were they bad? the text:
e.g. Da Vinci was from a small town called Vinci.
Past Simple of BE - 1. ( ) Da Vinci was a good musician.
Negative 1. The airplane________________ one of Da Vinci´s inventions. 2. ( ) His pictures were simple.
2. His parents______________ important people. 3. ( ) Da Vinci was a creative man.
I wasn’t here. 3. Rodin and Da Vinci________________ doctors.
4. ( ) He painted “The Last Supper”.
You weren’t here. 4. The “Mona Lisa”___________________ an old woman.
5. ( ) Da Vinci was the inventor of the
He wasn’t a doctor. 5. _____________ he a creative person? Yes, he_________.
6. Da Vinci´s paintings______________famous. airplane
She wasn’t a nurse.
7. The young Da Vinci_____________________ a dedicated student. 6. ( ) Da Vinci was the son of a rich man.
It wasn’t a sunny day.
We weren’t happy. 8. His inventions_____________strange. 7. ( ) Da Vinci was from a big city.
You weren’t good. 9. “The Last Supper” _____ painted on a wall. 8. ( ) The “Mona Lisa” was painted
They weren’t bad. 10. Da Vinci _____ a dedicated art student. by Da Vinci