be - past tense - negative
Level One
Lesson 9a: be - past tense - negative
To make the verb “be” negative in the past tense add “not” to was and were. (CEFR: A1) Most speakers use contractions for the negative when speaking.
- I was not here yesterday. / I wasn’t here yesterday.
- You were not at home. / You weren’t at home.
- There were not happy. / They weren’t happy.
The subject determines the verb. I wasn’t / You weren’t / They weren’t
There is an exercise for you at the end of the lesson.
9. be - past tense - negative
To form the negative for the verb “be” in the past tense, just add the word “not” after the verb: was + not / were + not
Singular
I was not ______.
You were not ______.
He was not ______.
She was not ______.
It was not ______.
Plural
We were not ______.
You were not ______.
They were not ______.
Contractions:
Singular
I wasn’t ______.
You weren’t ______.
He wasn’t ______.
She wasn’t ______.
It wasn’t _______.
Plural
We weren’t _______.
You weren’t ______.
They weren’t ______.
9. be - past tense - negative
- I wasn’t in the classroom.
- We weren’t in school.
- The temperature was not warm.
- It wasn’t dark outside.
- There weren’t a lot of people at the park.
- They weren’t in school.
- The school wasn’t open.
- The beach wasn’t very crowded.
- It wasn’t cold outside.
9. There was / There were
There wasn't / There weren't
To introduce the existence of something in the past, use “there” + “was” or “were.” To make it negative, add “not” to the verb.
Singular
There was… / There wasn’t…
There was a class yesterday.
There wasn’t a meeting.
There was a beautiful sunset.
There wasn’t any time.
There was a loud sound.
There wasn’t any noise.
Plural
There were…/ There weren’t…
There were 20 students in class.
There weren’t any problems.
There were eggs on the table.
There weren’t any eggs.
There were some problems.
There weren’t any people at the park.
Are you ready for an exercise? Give it a try.
Directions: Write the correct form of the verb “be” negative in the past tense: wasn’t or weren’t.
You __________ at work this morning.
My wife __________ at home.
The car __________ in the garage.
The dog __________ outside.
Our shoes __________ in the closet.
The battery __________ good.
The water __________ very cold.
The milk _________ in the refrigerator.
Several cars __________ at the gas station.
There __________ a problem with the engine.
In Lesson Ten, you will learn how to use demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, and those.