Week 2

LESSON 1: SIMPLE PAST TENSE WITH WAS / WERE

Exercise 1
Read the text below, and then underline the sentences with was / were.

AN ACCIDENT
There was an accident on one of the main roads into town this morning. A lorry broke into in the middle of
the road. It was eight o’clock, a busy time, and with the lorry blocking the road, there was soon a long tailback. One
man in a Mercedes pulled out to go around a lorry, but another car was coming in the opposite direction. The driver
braked, but he couldn’t prevent the accident. The Mercedes crashed into the front of his car. The driver of Mercedes
was OK, but the other driver was badly injured and both cars were badly damaged.

Exercise 2
Write the correct form of be for the
following sentences.

1. The party (be) was fun last

weekend. 2. They (be) were watching a movie when Ernesto
called. They (be, not) wasn’t watching TV.

3. Jessie (be) was tired. So, he went to sleep. 4. When she was a little girl, Margo (be) was very
good at tennis. She practiced every day.

5. My friends and I (be) were studying English 6. Kendra (be) was in my sixth grade English
last night. class. We (be) were good friends before she
moved away.

7. The movie (be) was really boring. It (be, not) 8. After playing outside, my dog (be) was very
wasn’t entertaining. We stopped watching it dirty. She came into the house and ran into my
before it was over. room. It (be) was such a mess!

9. I (be, not) wasn’t eating a sandwich when you 10. The students (be, not) weren’t ready to take the
called. I (be) was eating a salad. test. They needed to study more.

11. When I (be) was in the ninth grade, I (be) was 12. When he was a kid, Ivan (be, not) wasn’t very
five feet tall. social. He did not spend time with his friends.
He spent a lot of time alone.

13. The cat (be) was faster than the mouse. So, the
cat caught the mouse. Unlucky mouse!
15. The weather (be) was hot.
I asked my mom to roll the window down.
14. Lola (be) was a very nice girl. She helped her
parents, did her homework, and even took
care of her little brother. It is a shame she had
to move away.

Exercise 3
Write the correct form of be (was/were) for the following sentences.

1. She was very happy last week.

2. They were nervous on the first day of school.
3. Luckily, the windows were closed during the rain storm.
4. The boys were tired after the ball game.
5. Tono was sick yesterday.
6. We were in the same class last year.
7. I was tired after a long day at work.
8. The weather was beautiful yesterday.
9. Last semester, my teachers were very good.
10. The wind was very strong last night.

Exercise 4
Write the correct form of be (wasn’t/weren’t) for the following sentence.

1. Bonnie wasn’t at home last night when I called her.

2. He wasn’t hungry at dinner time because he ate a big lunch.
3. They weren’t at school yesterday because it was Saturday.
4. Linda wasn’t happy to see her boyfriend with another girl.
5. The teacher weren’t satisfied with the student’s work.

Exercise 5
Complete the following sentence with wasn’t or weren’t.
Example: I am at work today, but I wasn’t here yesterday.
1. It is cold today, but it wasn’t yesterday.
2. She is sick today, but she wasn’t yesterday.
3. They are at school today, but they weren’t yesterday because it was Sunday.
4. The TV show is good today, but it wasn’t last week.
5. The apples are sweet today, but they weren’t yesterday.

Exercise 6
Practice making questions and giving short answers with the verb “to be” in the
Past Tense.
Example: Were you tired last night?
Yes, I was (I was tired last night)

1. Was it cold outside? No, it wasn’t (It wasn’t cold outside).

2. Were they sick last week? No, They weren’t (They weren’t sick last week).
3. Was Mira at the office last Saturday? Yes, she was (Mira was at the office last Saturday).
4. Was the car expensive? Yes, it was. (The car was expensive).
5. Were the children excited? No, they weren’t (The children weren’t excited).
6. Was the store open? No, it wasn’t (The store wasn’t open).
7. Was the movie interesting? Yes, it was (The movie was interesting).
8. Was the food good? No, it wasn’t (The food wasn’t good).