Simple Past of Be

Past simple: "was/were"

When you need to talk about the past in English, the main form that the verb takes is the simple
past (simple past), and again its spelling changes. In the simple past, the verb to be is written in
two different ways, these are "was" and "were", where both mean "was" or "was", where their use
will depend on the subject of the sentence and its meaning, on the context.

Verb to be in past
As usually happens in English due to its synthetic characteristics, the verb to be has only two forms
in the past tense:

• was

• were

Depending on the subject with which they go, one way or another is used. Here we leave you all the
ways in all people.

• I was – I was, was or was

• You were – You were, were or were

• She/he/it was – He/She/it was, was or was

• We were – We were, were or were

• You were – You were, were or were

• They were – They were, were or were

Some examples of the simple past of the verb to be:

 Yo estaba en la escuela ayer.
I was at school yesterday.
Tú tenías diez años de edad el año pasado.
You were 10 years old last year.
Emma y Jane eran estudiantes, ahora son doctoras.
Emma and Jane were students, now they are doctors.
Estaba lloviendo hace un rato.
It was raining a while ago.

Past Participle: «been»

The past participle is the form of the verb to be used to form the perfect and
passive tenses in English, and it is the same for all subjects. Likewise, the past
participle can also sometimes be an adjective in English.

Ella ha estado ocupada todo el día.

She has been busy all day.

Nick y John han estado corriendo durante una hora.

Nick and John have been running for an hour.

Él ha sido un profesor durante un año.

He has been a teacher for a year now.

Gerund: "being"
The gerund of the verb to be is used mainly to build progressive or
continuous tenses. Like the past participle, it has a single form that
is used with all subjects.
 Elliot está siendo de ayuda.
Elliot is being helpful.

Verbo «to be» en oraciones pasivas

This verb can also be used to make passive sentences, both in its present form and
in its past form.

La casa fue construida en las montañas.

The house was built in the mountains.

El programa está siendo grabado ahora mismo.

The program is being recorded right now.

Questions in English with the verb «to

be»
In English, there are two types of questions that can be asked with
the verb to be, one of these are questions in English with Wh-, which
are those that involve the use of question words.
¿Cuál es su nombre? – What’s her name?

¿Qué edad tiene Baby Bot? – How old is Baby Bot?

¿Cómo se sienten ellos? – How are they feeling?

¿De dónde eres? – Where are you from?

¿Sabes cuál es mi profesión? – Do you know what my profession is?

¿Qué estás haciendo? – What are you doing?

The other type of questions that can be asked with this verb are yes or no questions
with the verb to be, it is the most important use, since they are quite simple questions
that can be answered with just a yes or a no.

¿Estás leyendo? – Sí, estoy leyendo.

Are you reading? – Yes, I am.

¿Lisa está lista para dormir? – No, no lo está.

Is Lisa ready for bed? – No, she isn’t.

Examples of sentences in English with

the verbo «to be»
Yo soy Lisa, y soy de Irlanda.
I am Lisa and I’m from Ireland

Cowy y Lisa son mejores amigas.

Cowy and Lisa are best friends.

¿Dónde están Billy y Elliot? Ellos están en el teatro.

Where are Billy and Elliot? They are at the theater.

Bobby está ayudando a Elliot con sus deberes.

Bobby is helping Elliot with his homework.

El río es muy lindo.

The river is very pretty.

Las flores no son rojas, son naranja.

The flowers aren’t red, they are orange.

¿Están los perros corriendo en el campo? Sí, lo están.

Are the dogs running in the field? Yes, they are.