Past Simple

Verb “to be”

1. Put the sentences into the Past Simple.

A a)
I am 10 years old.
B I am not from India.
C Am I in London?

b) You are 12 years old. You are not from Italy. Are you in Ljubljana?

c) He is 13 years old. He is not from China. Is he in Vienna?

d) We are in London. We are not from Spain. Are we in Budapest?

e) You are in a hotel. You are not here. Are you in Rome?

f) They are in France. They are not in a car. Are they in Dubai?

2. Complete the sentences by filling in was or were.

a) I at school.
b) You at the cinema.
c) She at a party.
d) It in the library.
e) We on the phone.
f) You at his place.
g) They at the photographer.

3. Complete the sentences by filling in was not or were not.

Then rewrite the sentences by using the short forms wasn’t or weren’t.
a) I at school.
b) You at the cinema.
c) She at a party.
d) It in the library.
e) We on the phone.
f) You at his place.
g) They at the photographer.
4. Put the sentences from exercise 2 into the question form.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
5. Write the sentences in the remaining two forms.

POSITIVE FORM QUESTION FORM NEGATIVE FORM

I was in a bank.

Was I in Mexico?

I was not in New York.

We were at the party.

Were you in the house?

They were not best friends.

She was in the bathroom.

Was Peter at work?

Mandy and Anna were not here.

You were nice.

Was it great?

We were in town.

Was he your servant?

He was not with her.

Was Anna on Skype?

They were not on the phone.

He was the best.

Were people on that train?

The mouse was not in the house.

I was with you.

6. Complete the dialogue by filling in was or were.
Liam: Hello, Miss Brown.
Miss Brown Hello, Liam. You _____________ at school last week. _______ you ill?
Liam: Yes, Miss. I _________ in bed for three days.
Miss Brown: Oh, dear. What _______ the matter?
Liam: I had flu.
Miss Brown: Are you better now?
Liam: Yes, thank you. Here is a letter from my mum.

Complete the note from Liam’s mother by filling in was or was not.
27 Cathedral Street
January 14th 2011
OX45 H6

Dear Miss Brown,

Liam _____________ at school last

week, because he ____________ ill. He

had flu.

Yours sincerely,
Patricia Ford

7. Write meaningful sentences (in positive, negative, question form) in the

Past Simple with the verb was/were and the past time expressions from
the box.

YESTERDAY, LAST YEAR, A WEEK AGO, LAST WEEK, LAST MONTH

Example 
I was in the park yesterday. I was not in the park yesterday. Was I in the park yesterday?
8. Write questions to the given answers.
a) b)
I was at the cinema yesterday. They were at our house.
c) d)
No, I was not. Mary was in Africa last summer.
e) f)
The keys were in my bag. Yes, the dog was in the garden.

9. Write questions. Ask for the underlined words.

a) Jane was in Australia.
b) Peter was under the table.
c) We were in Prague.
d) The sun was red.
e) Kenny was 13 years old.

10. Where was it?

Write questions and answers with the given cues.

Where was the passport?

The passport was in the bag.

PASSPORT BAG

BALL BOX

LADYBUG,
LEAF

PENCIL PENCIL CASE