Verbs
The verb To Be is essential in grammar. It is an auxiliary verb and is one of the irregular verbs.
To talk about situations that occurred in the past and have now concluded, we use the Past tense of the verb.
The verb To Be is one of the verbs with an Irregular past form. It is used as a linking word between the subject and a complement or adjective, to provide further information about the subject itself.
Affirmative
| SUBJECT | TO BE |
| I | was |
| You | were |
| He | was |
| She | was |
| It | was |
| We | were |
| You | were |
| They | were |
Negative
| SUBJECT | TO BE + NEGATION | SHORT FORM |
| I | was not | wasn’t |
| You | were not | weren’t |
| He | was not | wasn’t |
| She | was not | wasn’t |
| It | was not | wasn’t |
| We | were not | weren’t |
| You | were not | weren’t |
| They | were not | weren’t |
Interrogative
| TO BE | SUBJECT | QUESTION MARK |
| Was | I | …? |
| Were | you | …? |
| Was | he | …? |
| Was | she | …? |
| Was | it | …? |
| Were | we | …? |
| Were | you | …? |
| Were | they | …? |
Affirmative
- I was a good boss.
- He was here 2 minutes ago.
- We were in Portugal in 2012.
Negative
- I wasn’t a good boss.
- He wasn’t here 2 minutes ago.
- We weren’t in Portugal in 2012.
Interrogative
- Was I a good boss?
- Was he here 2 minutes ago?
- Were you in Portugal in 2012?
We use the Past Simple tense to talk about:
- Short finished actions and events that occurred;
- Long finished situations that occurred;
- Repeated events and habits that took place in the past;
- Past events and we use time expressions such as: Two weeks ago, last year, in 2010, yesterday, etc.
We use the Past Simple tense when we wish to talk about situations that occurred in the past and have now concluded. The verb To Be is one of the verbs with an irregular past form.
For example:
— Affirmative: “The sugar was enough for the cake.”
— Negative: “The sugar wasn’t enough for the cake.”
— Interrogative: “Was the sugar enough for the cake?”
Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section that shows its use within a context.