Unit 11 Looking back: Lesson A My first . . .

Simple past of be
The simple past of be is was / wasn’t / were / weren’t.

Statements
Affirmative statements

Use was with I, he, she, it, and singular nouns:

She was strict.

My teacher was strict.

Use were with you, we, they, and plural nouns:

You were nervous.

The children were nervous.

Negative statements

Use wasn't (= was not) with I, he, she, it, and singular nouns:
He wasn't happy.

My boss wasn't happy.

Use weren't (= were not) with you, we, they, and plural nouns:
We weren't noisy.

The children weren't noisy.

Yes-No questions and short answers

Use Was / Were + subject to ask a Yes-No question in the simple past.

Use was with I, he, she, it, and singular nouns:

Was it fun?
 Was the class fun?

Use were with you, we, they, and plural nouns:

Were they nice?

Were the customers nice?

Affirmative short answers

Use Yes + subject + was with I, he, she, and it:

A Was she strict?

B Yes, she was.

Use Yes + subject + were with you, we, and they:

A Were they nice?

B Yes, they were.

Negative short answers

You can use No + subject + wasn't / weren't to answer a question in the simple past with be.

(wasn't = was + not) (weren't = were + not)

Use No + subject + wasn't (= was not) with I, he, she, and it:

A Were you nervous?

B No, I wasn't.

Use No + subject + weren't (= were not) with you, we, and they:

A Were they nice?

B No, they weren't.

Unit 11 Looking back: Lesson B Vacations

Simple past information questions

Questions with be
You can use question word + was / were + subject to ask a simple past information question.

Use was with he, she, it and singular nouns:

A How was your vacation?

B It was fun.

Use were with you, we, they and plural nouns:

A Where were you exactly?

B In Hawaii.

Questions with other verbs

Simple past information questions use did.

Use question word + did + subject + verb:

A Who did you go with?

B A couple of friends.

Remember, you use did for all subjects (I, you, he, she, we, and they).

Get and go
You can use get and go with some words. Some expressions have a similar meaning:
get / go back

get / go home

get / go to a concert / movie

Some expressions have a different meaning:

get along with someone = be friends with

go along with someone (to a movie) = go with