Past Simple: Verb “be”

Learn English Verbs - Past Simple Verb "be"
Were you a famous musician when you were younger?

Positive:

I / he / she / it was born in 1982.
you / we / they were born in 1982.

 

Negative:

I / he / she / it was not (wasn’t) born in Europe.
you / we / they were not (weren’t) born in Europe.

 

Question:

Was I / he / she / it a famous musician?
Were you / we / they a famous musician?

Common words used to talk about the past:

  • Yesterday
  • Last Sunday / last week / last month / last November / last year
  • 2 hours ago / 5 days ago / 3 months ago / 10 years ago
  • When I was a child

Learn more English verb tenses: past, present, future, simple, perfect, continuous!

Simple past vs. present perfect


Past Simple: Verb "be"

Congratulations - you have completed Past Simple: Verb "be". You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%. Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%
Your answers are highlighted below.
Question 1
"Were you shy when you were a child?"

"No, I ________. I talked to everyone!"

A
was
B
weren't
C
wasn't
D
were
Question 2
"Did you like the movie?"

"The special effects ________ great, but the story __________ very good."

A
were / wasn't
B
weren't / were
C
was / weren't
D
wasn't / were
Question 3
Where ________ you yesterday afternoon?
A
was
B
were
C
wasn't
D
weren't
Question 4
Darlene is 27 years old. Ten years ago, she ________ in high school.
A
wasn't
B
weren't
C
was
D
were
Question 5
Pablo Picasso ___________ a writer. He was a painter.
A
wasn't
B
was
C
weren't
D
were
Question 6
Barcelona is a beautiful city! We ______ there for a conference last month.
A
were
B
wasn't
C
weren't
D
was
Question 7
My friends __________ at school yesterday because they were sick.
A
weren't
B
was
C
wasn't
D
were
Question 8
Where _______ your grandfather born?
A
Weren't
B
Was
C
Wasn't
D
Were
Question 9
"Were your colleagues happy about the surprise party?"

"David ______, but Janet and Tim _______ - they hate surprises."

A
weren't / was
B
wasn't / were
C
was / weren't
D
were / wasn't
Question 10
"Where were you this morning? You __________ at the meeting."

"I _____ at the doctor's office."

A
weren't / was
B
wasn't / was
C
weren't / were
D
were / was
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There are 10 questions to complete.

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