The verb to be in past simple(Simple past)

In present time ( present simple) the verb to be has 3 forms: am (singular), is (singular), are (plural), in the past (Past Simple) 2 forms: was (singular), were (plural ).

Circumstances of time Past Simple:

1. Yesterday - yesterday

2. Last week (last year, last month)- last week (last year, last month)

3. Last autumn (last spring) - last autumn (last spring)

4. 2 years ago - 2 years ago

5. in 1997 - in 1997

6. When I was young - when I was young (when my grandmother was young - when my grandmother was young, being young - being young, in my youth)

7. In childhood - in childhood.

When the verbs were, were are used ( in what situations)?

- in the same semantic cases as the verbs am, is, are (see memo):

1. When we call person's name:

Her name was Jane. - Her name was Jane.

Their names were Jack and Fred. - Their names were Jack and Fred.

2. When we call age:

Jane was 21 last year. Jane turned 21 last year.

my parents were 45 last month. - My parents turned 45 last month.

3. When we call location person or group of people.

They were at the party last week. - They were at the party last week.

4. When we describe a person or an object.

He was tall and slender. - He was tall and slim.

5. When we list the qualities of a person.

He was smart and generous. - He was smart and generous.

6. In stable expressions:

They were interested in Music 5 years ago. - They were interested in music (as a subject) 5 years ago.

I was fond of basketball when I was young. - I was fond of basketball when I was young.

my sister was good at History when she studied at school. - My sister was good at history (= she was good at history) when she was at school.

7. Pr anddescription of the state of the weather.

It was warm and slippery last week. - It was warm and slippery last week.

It was cold and windy this autumn. - It was cold and windy this autumn.

When do we use was, were (with what pronouns)?

linking verb was use with all singular pronouns(I, he, she, it) and singular nouns numbers, for example: I was a student (I was a student). John was a student. (John was a student)

linking verb were use with all plural pronouns(you, we, they) and plural nouns, for example: They were students (They were students). Our parents were students many years ago (Our parents were students many years ago).

!!!: With pronoun you we always use the plural linking verb: in the present tense are, in the past were, regardless of how you is translated in the sentence "you" or "you", since the pronoun you has in English. only the form of the plural. For example: You were a good specialist. (You/you were/were a good specialist).

At the same time, when we turn to you, meaning a whole group of people, we use the noun after the verb-link in the plural: You were good students.(you were good students ).

Forming a sentence with the verb to be:

affirmative Sentence	negative sentence	interrogative sentence
I was a writer.	I was not a writer.	was I'm a writer?
She was a writer.	She was not a writer.	was she's a writer?
We were writers. They	We were not writers. They	Were we writers? They

Accepted abbreviations

I was not I wasn "t (resurrection)

He was = He's (chiz) He was not = He "s not = He wasn" t (resurrection)

She was = She’s (shiz) She was not = She’s not = She wasn "t (resurrection)

You were= You’re (yue) You were not = You weren "t (vent)

We were= We’re (vie) We were not = We weren "t (vent)

They were= They’re (ve (th) e) They were not = They weren "t (went)

To be or not to be? That is not the question... The sea deity Proteus among the ancient Greeks could (like the sea) take on any form. Why are we?

To the fact that the verb "to be" is known in the world not only as the most vital and always relevant, but also as the most changeable (protean) in English language, constantly changing and taking on different forms, sometimes not so noticeable to us.

Given that it is so commonly used in English speech, sadly enough, "to be" has to be the most fickle and slippery verb in the language. Let's get to know him better. C "mon!

What is the verb to be and why is it needed

The verb To Be (am, is, are) is the basis of English grammar. If you misunderstood or under-learned this material, then your entire study of English is likely to be of little success. Therefore, if you feel that somewhere there is a gap in this material, then it is better to stay longer on this article.

It is this verb that underlies the construction of approximately 30 percent of all English grammatical constructions and it is with him that you should start learning English grammar.

For example, to say “I am a student”, we must insert the correct form of the linking verb “to be” and the sentence will take on the meaning “I am a student." - "I (am) a student."

We must choose carefully correct form verb for object, depending on singular or plural. This is usually easy. After all, we wouldn’t write: “The troops were moving to the border” - “The troops were moving to the border.” Well, where does it fit?

However, some proposals require closer attention. How would you write, for example:

The majority of Facebook users are (or is?) upset about the increase in spam.
Most Facebook users are frustrated by the increase in spam.

In fact, in this sentence, everything depends on your accent - if it is focused on users- put " are", if on group of people— « is».

Plural or singular depends on your choice. If you are at a loss on what exactly to focus on, then choose what sounds best to you. It is unlikely that your chosen form of "to be" will upset someone.

By the way, "majority" is only used with countable nouns: "he ate the majority of cookies", but not "he ate the majority of the pie". instead say: "he ate most of the pie."

Translation into Russian of the verb To Be

“To be” is translated as “to be”, “to be”, “to exist”, “to be” or not translated at all, and can be in Present (am, is, are), Past (was, were) and Future (will ( be)/shall (be)) times. The form of the verb depends on who is performing the action.

Unlike the Russian language, in English the linking verb is never omitted, due to the strict fixed order words:

Rule To Be: subject ( subject) + predicate ( verb) + complement ( object).

• As independent verb(to be, to be, to exist or not translated):

I am at home.
I'm at home.
She was at the Institute yesterday.
She was at the institute yesterday.
Not is in New York.
He (is) in New York.

• AT interrogative form of the verb "to be" is put before subject and does not require auxiliary verb to form an interrogative or negative form. The same thing happens in the continuative (durative) form of the verb (Continuous).

Is he in New York?
Is he (is) in New York?
was she at the Institute yesterday?
Was she at the institute yesterday?

• negative form is formed by negating " not", which is set after the verb "to be".

She was not (wasn't) at the Institute yesterday.
She was not at the institute yesterday.
Not is not (isn't) in New York.
He is not (located) in New York.

In colloquial speech, "not" usually merges with "to be", forming abbreviations:

is not = isn't
are not = aren't

The verb "to be" is also shortened from personal pronoun:

I am = I "m
We are = we're
He is = he's

• As auxiliary verb.

Used to form verb forms of continuous tenses ( continuous) and continuous perfect tenses ( Perfect continuous).

They are reading a book.
They are reading a book.
He is sleeping now.
He is sleeping now.
We have been working here for 10 years.
We've been here for (already) 10 years.

Auxiliary Verbs, by the way , can also be combined with the basic "to be" form to form simple answers:

Is Jack in class this morning?
Well, he might be.
Is anyone helping Jack with his homework?
I "m not sure. Jane could be.

Also "to be" is used to form the passive voice ( passive Voice):

Active: Didn't buy a new magazine.
He bought a new magazine.
passive: A new magazine was bought.
Bought a new magazine.

• As verb-bundles(to be, to be).

I am a doctor.
I am a doctor.
Not is a doctor.
He is a doctor.
Her new hat is red. Her new hat is red.

• In the design " there is/there are"(to be, to be).

There is a table in the room.
There is a table in the room.

AT this proposal « there' is the formal subject. The real subject is the noun that follows the verb "be" (is), i.e. "table".

If this subject is in plural, then the verb "to be" must also be in the plural.

There are tables in the room.
There are tables in the room.

At time change the form of the verb changes to be»:

There was a table in the room.
There was a table in the room.
There were tables in the room.
There were tables in the room.

The translation of sentences with the construction "there is / there are" begins with the translation circumstances places.

negative the form:

There is no table in the room. (There isn't a table...).
In the room there is no (no) table.
There is no water in the bottle. (There isn't any water in the bottle.)
In the bottle no water.

Interrogative form:

Is there a man in the house?
In the house have a man?
Are there(any) apples in the greengrocers?
In vegetable store have apples?

• "To be" often works in conjunction with others verbs:

He is playing the piano
She will be arriving this afternoon.

• And sometimes "to be" will stand myself on yourself. Especially in simple answers to equally simple questions:

Who's going to the movies with me tonight?
I am.
Who's responsible for this mess?
She is.

present:
I am to (not to) / We are to (not to) / You are to (not to);
He/she/it is to (not to) / They are to (not to).

Past:
I was to (not to) / We were to (not to) / You were to (not to) You were to (not to);
He/she/it was to (not to) / They were to (not to).

• to be ( present) is used only With Indefinite Infinitive(indefinite infinitive).

They are to be here.
They must be here.

• "to be" ( Past) is used with Indefinite Infinitive(indefinite infinitive) and with Perfect Infinitive(perfect infinitive), which means that the action is not performed:

She was(suggested) to be in the cinema.
She should have been in the movies.

• The modal verb "to be" can be used to express responsibilities, which is based on previous agreements (plan, schedule etc.)

We are to go to the cinema.
We must go to the cinema.

• We also use this modal verb to express orders or instructions:

You are to go to school.
You need to go to school.

• We use "to be" if something categorically forbidden in negative form.

Children are not allowed drink alcohol.
Children are not allowed to drink alcohol.

• "To be" is used for the imperative advice or wishes:

You are to drive straight.
Drive straight ahead.

• "To be", in passive voice(built with the infinitive "to be") and Past Participle— 3 form irregular verb or adding the ending "- ed» to the correct one), describes possibility:

She was not to be heard.
It was impossible to hear her.

You were to be heard very good at the concert.
You were very well heard at the concert.

Conclusion

We have considered all the main important nuances of this tricky verb. AT last time we draw your attention to the fact that when you say a phrase and doubt whether it is necessary to put the verb be there, you can always check yourself by asking questions to the sentence: am I who / what, is where, is what?

If in translation the words “is, is, is” give the sentence a logical meaning, then in English such a sentence will be correct.

We hope this article helped you deal with the verb to be, which is simple at first glance. Cheers!

Big and friendly family EnglishDom

You have probably met the verb to be in the form more than once being. To be honest, at first I was terribly strained by this word “being”. There are too many incomprehensible things in the English language, and now this too. Although, if you think about it, every verb has four forms: present tense, past tense, past participle and continuous form. Therefore, everything is logical.

Be is the present tense form. Past tense - were, were. Past participle - been(for the formation of perfect tenses). And the long form being. Now it only remains to figure out when exactly we use being .

Let's take the easiest to understand examples - the description of people.

Use being and be: feel the difference

The boy is naughty. This boy is naughty. (This is a feature of his character, he always behaves like this).
The boy is being naughty. (In this specific situation This boy is behaving badly.

You are rude. You are rude. (This is a trait of your character, you always treat people rudely).
You are being rude. (In this situation, you behaved rudely, impolitely. Although, perhaps you are a well-mannered person).

I was careful when I drove. (I am an attentive person, I try to be attentive when I drive a car).
I was being careful when I drove. (I'm usually not that attentive on the road, but maybe I saw a traffic police inspector on the road and it changed my behavior).

Jack is stupid. Jack is stupid.
Jack is being stupid. (Jack is smart enough, but he did one stupid thing)

Stacy is lazy. Stacy is lazy.
Stacy is being lazy. (Stacey may be a workaholic and loves to work, but on this day (moment) she was tired and decided not to do anything).

Thus, being + adjective characterizes someone's behavior or actions. A few more examples:

Why are you being so silly? Why are you acting so stupid?

You are being cruel when you hurt others with your words or actions.

Of course, being can be used not only in the present tense with am, are or is, but also in the past tense with was, were.

When I said that dress doesn't look good on you, I was just being honest. When I said the dress didn't suit you, I was just being honest (with you).

Note that when adjectives describe feelings and emotional states, the long form is not used:

I was upset when I heard that I had failed the test. (Not"I was being upset")

I am delighted to hear that you won the first prize. (Not"I am being delighted").

Use being to form the passive voice

Being is also used with the past participle when forming the passive form:

My sister is cooking dinner. (Assets)
Dinner is being cooked by my sister. (Passive)

I'm quite sure that somebody is following me. (Assets)
I'm quite sure that I am being followed. (Passive)

My car is being repaired. My car is being repaired.

Other uses being

Besides, being used with verbs followed by a gerund (verb + ing):

I love being with my family. I love spending time (being) with my family.

I hate being alone.

Stop being lazy and help me wash the dishes.

Also, we put being after prepositions, like here:

I was in the hospital for a month after being in a car accident. I was in the hospital for a month after a car accident.

That's the problem with being late all the time – people stop trusting you. This is the problem of constant lateness - people stop believing in you.

The best part of being a teacher is interacting with the students. The best part of being a teacher is interacting with students.

She got an award for being the best salesperson in the company. She received an award as the best sales person in the company.

Do not try to use in such cases be or been! Only being!

Finally you can meet being in complex sentences as part subordinate clause, when being replaces unions because / as / since.
These were all cases use of being. Hopefully, now you understand the difference between be and being, and you can use them correctly in your sentences.

The day before yesterday, after a lesson, a student came up to me (by the way, at the upper-intermediate level) and said literally the following: “I don’t understand when in the past tense you need to say did, and sometimes was. Often this melts the brain and causes dry mouth. "

Vividly imagining the girl's melted brain and withered mouth, I decided that she needed help. Let's deal with these did and was.

Rule 1

If we need to say in the past timeaffirmative sentence, then we say the second form of the verb.

For example: I wrote a love letters to the president. I asked him to marry me. - I wrote love letter to the president. I asked for him to marry me.

Rule 2

If we need to say in the past tense interrogative or negative sentence, then we say did(or didn't)+ 1 verb form.

For example: Why did you drink my beer ? - I didn't drink your beer. It wasted. Why did you drink my beer? - I didn't drink it. It evaporated.

In this case the verb did - elapsed time marker. That is, he does not does not translate, but serves the sole purpose of showing elapsed time.

The verb do is the same as all other verbs. That is, if we want to put it in the past tense, then let's say it the second form is did (according to rule 1).

For example: I did yoga, ate a banana and went to Yvonne. - I did yoga, ate a banana and went to Yvonne's.

And if we want to say this very verb do in a question or negation? Look at rule 2. According to it, you need to speak did you do or didn't do.

For example: when did you do the Cosmopolitan test? - I didn't do it. I tore up the magazine. - When you did test from Cosmopolitan magazine? - I did not his. I tore the magazine to shreds.

Wherein in the phrase "did you do" the first did is marker, which does not does not translate, but the second do is full verb, which the translates as "made".

There is one verb that behaves ugly, spitting on all the rules and selfishly ignoring various stupid markers. His name is Verb To Be.

Look again at Rule 2 and say in English: "I didn't buy," "I didn't eat," "I didn't wash," and "I didn't rip."

What happened? I didn't buy, I didn't eat, I didn't wash and I didn't tear up.

And it turns out that, by analogy, "I wasn't" would be I didn't be, right?

But you have to speak I wasn't. Because the verb to be is selfish.

And in the question, too, it is necessary to say not "did he be", but "was he".

For example:

was John at home when the police came? -He wasn't at home. He was in the garage. - John was at home when the police arrived? - He was not at home. He was in the garage.

Here the verb was translated into Russian.

And sometimes was does not translate, but only shows that we are in time Past continuous . This is the past tense, which refers to the question "what did you do" (and not "what did you do").

For example: Last evening I was eating crayfish pate and reading Walter Scott. - Last night I ate(what did) cancer pate and was reading(what did) Walter Scott.

So let's sum it up.

1) Did can mean "did". Then interrogative form will be - "Did you do?" - "Did you do it?", and denial - "I didn't do" - "I didn't."

2) "Did" can be a past simple marker (past tense answering the question "what did you do?"). In this case, did does not translate in any way: "Did you buy?" - "You bought?"; "I didn't forget" - "I didn't forget."

3) Sometimes "was" (were)* means "was(and)". In this case, the question is "Were you / was he?" *, and the denial is "I wasn" t / you weren "t" *.

4) Sometimes "was" is a past continuous marker (past tense answering the question "what did you do?"). In this case, was is not translated in any way.

* I was
You were
He/she/it was
We were
they were

And now - exercise. Translate into English.

1. Were you at the dwarf theater yesterday? - Not.
2. Yesterday I did a lot of good deeds.
3. Podger was sleeping while the doctor was eating cancer pate.
4. When did Luiza arrive from Montenegro? - She didn't come.
5. Why did you do homework?
6. Yesterday I was picking mushrooms, but I didn't forget to wish Pedro a happy birthday.
7. I was in a fitness club, but I did nothing there.

Keys to the exercise -

WAS and WERE are forms of the irregular verb to be in Past Simple, that is, in the past tense. Remembering the conjugation is easy enough. AT singular WAS is used, and in the plural - WERE. With the pronoun YOU, which can be translated as and as youquot ;, WERE should be used.

HE, SHE, IT - WAS

Was for the first person (I, we), for the rest were

Of course, no special America with the use of verb forms was / were won't open: form was is used in the singular, and the form were- in plural Past Indefinite.

This could close the discussion. But we won't close. We listen to the song and get into the grammatical aspect:

Beyonc - If I Were A Boy

Why is the form here were next to the pronoun of the first person singular? Blatant illiteracy? African American slang?

No, the most strict rules of English grammar. Before us are conditional sentences of the 2nd type

which describe unlikely or impossible conjectures relating to the present. Beyonce sweat: If I were a guy, then ... (would do this and that), but she was not a guy and never will be. That is, such proposals do not describe a situation that is possible under certain conditions, but completely unrealistic assumptions.

In such cases, the form were should be used regardless of the grammatical number, and in the second part should be followed by a modal verb ( should / would / could), in speech after pronouns often shortened to d, and only then the infinitive of the verb describing the actual action.

This is what happens in this song:

I would turn off my phone

Tell everyone it's broken

So theyd think that I was sleeping alone

An explanation of the features of constructing such sentences, as well as interactive exercises, can be found here.

Not all English speakers remember this rule. The English language has its own lay down;, - indicators of illiteracy that is. And the ability to correctly build conditional sentences of the 2nd type refers to them.

Lovers of the detective series Inspector Morse could hear in the episode

Virtual ghost - Ghost in the Machinequot ;,

as Morse chastises Lewis for a mistake in constructing just such a sentence, at 16 minutes:

Chief Inspector Morse: Youre not a bloody mason, are you?

Detective Sergeant Lewis: No such luck - I might have been a Chief Inspector by now if I was.

Chief Inspector Morse: Were, Lewis, if you were. Youll never get on if you cant master your subjunctives.

You can see how the Russian translators coped with the matter here. By the way, they did not reflect the pun in the original: mason and Freemason - mason.

• Morse: You're not a bricklayer, Lewis, are you?
• Lewis: No luck - I would have already reached the rank of Chief Inspector if I was (that is, if he was in the Masonic lodge).
• Morse: If only, Lewis, if I were. You'll never reach the top if you don't master (building) conditional sentences(conditional mood).

• Everything is very simple. Was is singular, were is plural. At the same time, with the pronoun you, in whatever number it is, the verb to be is used in the plural, that is, were.

  was - singular, were - plural, do not forget that in modern English the 2nd person does not have a singular pronoun.

  It is very easy to remember that the past tense form of the verb to be varies depending on the number in which the pronoun or noun to which the verb refers is used. WAS is singular, WERE is plural. It is worth stopping at the pronoun YOU, in combination with which the verb in the form WERE is used.

  You need to know English. After all, how many new things can be learned by knowing the English language - its rules and pronunciation. Regarding the words was and were, they are used in the following cases:

  was - used in singular

  were - used during plural

• was or were

  Here is the conjugation table for the verb to be in the simple past tense.

  On this page you will find detailed information about the conjugation of the verb to be at other times. And there are test exercises that you can do.

If with nouns:

• In the singular, the verb was was used. For example, My mother was...
• Used in the plural were verb. For example, My sisters were...

If with pronouns:

• Was is used with I, he, she, it.
• C we, you, they are used.

Exercises can be done in grammar books, Raymond Murphy has a good textbook, red for beginners.

As for the exercises, I can advise you to look for tables that will help to consolidate the theoretical material and learn it. Something like this:



or like this:



The clearer and more colorful the material, the faster man will remember him.

Was or Were are used from a pronoun. IF the pronoun is in the singular, then it is used Was form. If the pronoun is in the plural, then Were is written in the sentence. It just needs to be remembered.

The verb to be in English is very common and has many different forms. In the past tense, the singular is used as WAS, and in the plural as WERE. You can read more about this verb and other rules of the English language here.