the past of be: statements, yes / no questions on the job 3
TRANSCRIPT
The Past of Be: Statements, Yes / No Questions
On the Job
3
At a RestaurantAt a Restaurant
Were you on vacation last week?
Were you on vacation last week?
Was the weather
nice?
Was the weather
nice?
Yes, it was. It was
sunny and hot.
Yes, it was. It was
sunny and hot.
Yes, I was.Yes, I was.My wife
and I were in Mexico.
My wife and I
were in Mexico.
At the Office 1At the Office 1
Were you at the
meeting?
Were you at the
meeting?
No, I wasn’t. I was late.
No, I wasn’t. I was late.
Were they at the
meeting?
Were they at the
meeting?
Yes, they were.
Yes, they were.
At the Office 2At the Office 2
Was the meeting
interesting?
Was the meeting
interesting?
No, it wasn’t. It was long and boring.
No, it wasn’t. It was long and boring.
I don’t know. I was
asleep.
I don’t know. I was
asleep.
Were our bosses angry?
Were our bosses angry?
The Past of BeThe Past of Be
We were in Mexico.
The meeting was boring.
The past of be has two forms: was and were.
Past FormsPast Forms
SubjectPresent Tense
bePast Tense
be
I
You
He
She
It
We
They
am
are
is
was
were
was
are were
Practice 1Practice 1
1. I ______ with my friends last night.
2. My children ______ in Greece last summer.
3.My classmates and I ______ nervous about the test.
4. My brother ______ at the post office this morning.
5. The weather ______ cold yesterday.
Example: You ______ alone at lunch.were
was
were
were
was
was
Complete each sentence with was or were.
NegativeNegative
It was not cold and windy.
We were not in Hawai’i.
Use was or were + not to make negative statements.
ContractionsContractions
It was not cold and windy.
We were not in Hawai’i.
wasn’t
weren’t
Use the contractions wasn’t and weren’t in speaking and informal writing.
Practice 2Practice 2
1. I was on the third floor.
I wasn’t on the third floor.
4. You were late to class.
3. My grandfather was at the bank.
2. The actors were funny.
The actors weren’t funny.
My grandfather wasn’t at the bank.
You weren’t late to class.
Make each sentence negative. Use wasn’t and weren’t.
Example: The meeting was interesting.
The meeting wasn’t interesting.
QuestionsQuestions
Were our bosses angry?
Was the weather good?
subjectsubject
subjectsubject
Put was or were before the subject to ask a yes / no question.
Short AnswersShort Answers
Were you on
vacation?
Were you on
vacation?
Yes, we were.
Yes, we were.
No, it wasn’t.No, it
wasn’t.
Was the meeting
interesting?
Was the meeting
interesting?
Use a pronoun and was, wasn’t, were, or weren’t in short answers.
Practice 3Practice 3
1. Was the weather good yesterday?
4. Were you a student last year?
3. Was your dinner good last night?
2. Were you in class last Wednesday?
Work with a partner. Take turns. Ask and answer the questions. Use short answers. Add information.
Example: Q: Were you at home last night?
A: No, I wasn’t. I was at my uncle’s house. He was sick. . .
5. Was the quiz difficult?