English Past Tense: Verbs and "There Was/Were"

Past vs. Present: Using "There Was/Were"

Twelve years ago, there were several trees. There weren't stores in front of the clock. There were a lot of people around. There weren't uncomfortable wooden benches.

Let's compare the past and present using "There was" / "There wasn't":

• There was a cool view around the square.
• There wasn't any Play Queen Desserts store near the clock.
• There was a big amount of tea.

Rules for "There Was" / "There Were"

Positive Forms

• I/He/She/It: was
• You/We/They: were

Negative Forms

• I/He/She/It: wasn't (was not)
• You/We/They: weren't (were not)

Interrogative Forms

• Was (I/She/He/It)...?
• Were (You/We/They)...?

Short Answers

• Positive: Yes, I was. Yes, you were. Yes, he/she/it was. Yes, we were. Yes, they were.
• Negative: No, I wasn't. No, you weren't. No, he/she/it wasn't. No, we weren't. No, they weren't.

These forms are used in sentences: There is/are, There was/were, There isn't/aren't, There wasn't/weren't. For example: There wasn't a tube station.

Exercise: Describe a City Building

Describe five aspects of the city hall building in Pachuca, comparing now and then. Mention at least 20 things in affirmative and negative forms.

• There were transparent windows.
• There is wireless internet.
• There are planters now.
• There was always a lot of activity.

Practice: Complete Sentences with "There Was" or "There Were"

Complete the sentences using there was (singular: he, she, it) or there were (plural: you, we, they).

1. There was a fantastic shopping center in the town.
2. There were many teenagers at the rock concert.
3. There was an enormous whale in the sea.
4. There were two American bands on the stage.
5. There were some of my friends at the party.
6. There was an excellent saxophonist called Jimmy.
7. There were a lot of delicious cakes on the table.
8. There was an old school boyfriend in the car.
9. There were few monkeys jumping on the tree.
10. There was some custard on the bowl.

Past Simple Tense Rules

The Verb "To Be" in Past Simple

• Affirmative: Subject + was/were (e.g., They were friends.)
• Negative: Subject + was not/were not (e.g., They weren't friends.)
• Interrogative: Was/Were + Subject + ...? (e.g., Were they friends?)

Present Simple vs. Past Simple for "To Be"

Present Simple "To Be"

• I: am / am not
• You/We/They: are / are not (aren't)
• He/She/It: is / is not (isn't)

Examples: I am a doctor. You are my friend. She is a soccer player. We are happy people.

Past Simple "To Be"

• I/He/She/It: was / was not (wasn't)
• You/We/They: were / were not (weren't)

Regular Verbs in Past Simple

• Affirmative: Subject + Verb-ed (e.g., She worked yesterday.)
• Negative: Subject + did not + Verb (base form) (e.g., She didn't work yesterday.)
• Interrogative: Did + Subject + Verb (base form)? (e.g., Did she work yesterday?)

Rules for Forming Regular Past Tense Verbs

Rule 1: Add "-ed" to Most Verbs

To make the past tense with most regular verbs, add -ed.

• watch → watched
• play → played
• talk → talked
• start → started
• cook → cooked
• walk → walked
• show → showed
• rain → rained
• learn → learned

Rule 2: Add "-d" to Verbs Ending in "e"

If a regular verb ends in e, just add -d.

• like → liked
• close → closed
• smile → smiled
• type → typed
• race → raced
• care → cared

Rule 3: Change "y" to "ied" After a Consonant

If a regular verb ends in a consonant and -y, take off the y and add -ied.

• cry → cried
• fry → fried
• try → tried
• carry → carried
• study → studied

Rule 4: Double the Consonant and Add "-ed" (CVC Rule)

If a regular verb ends in a single vowel and a single consonant (CVC), double the consonant and add -ed.

• stop → stopped
• plan → planned
• hop → hopped
• clap → clapped
• jog → jogged
• fan → fanned
• zip → zipped