When in English we put was were. Use was and were

If you came to our blog to find out was, were in English As a rule, we got exactly where we needed to. We will look at how and when these forms of the verb “to be” are used and why our life is impossible without this knowledge.

First and most important:

was, were in English - past form of the verb “to be” !Past forms are used without the particle “to”, because are not infinitive forms of the verb!

The use of was, were in English, the rule:

1. To the singular subject we add “was”

I, He, She, It- singular persons who are friends only with “was”!

2. To the plural subject we add “were”

We, You, They- plural persons who are friends only with “were”! For example:

P.S. Do you know why “You” is plural? After all, at school we were taught that this translates as the pronoun “you”. Everything is wrong!

In fact, Americans are so well-mannered that they always address each other exclusively as “you.” This is precisely why this pronoun is considered plural.

But even in Russian, we always use the pronoun “You” only in plural, even addressing one person (but in a respectful manner). For example:

Second and also important rule:

The use of was, were in English does not cost Past Continuous. This time speaks of an extended activity (process) that occurred in the past. You will never confuse it with the usual past Past tense Simple because:

1. Continuous- it's always a process.

2. IN Past Continuous we see certain time indications of the process:

When you called I was making a cake for my brother.

As you can see, the exact time is not necessary here; there should be a hint at the moment at which the process lasted.

3. was, were in English they are always basic auxiliary verbs.

There are no differences in the use of our verbs was, were in comparison with the first paragraph. There is only a peculiarity: the predicate will be able to have the ending “ing” (Always only this ending and no other changes to the verb. You don’t need to learn the table of irregular verbs to express your thought in the Past Continuous. Just add the ending “ing” to the main verb.).

Also, one cannot help but say that was, were in English is used in passive voice and in a number of laws and rules of a foreign language, but we revealed the most striking functions of these verbs in our article.

If you have an addition to our story about was, were in English, the rules of their use and features, then feel free to write your thoughts in the comments and we will discuss your ideas.

English is a must-learn these days, because without knowing it you can hardly count on getting a well-paid, interesting and very promising job. In addition, it is with the help of the English language that you can communicate freely in any country in the world. Many, having begun to study this foreign language, do not complete the task because of the difficulties that arise on the way to such a cherished goal.

Learning English is not an easy task, because there are a lot of nuances. Now we will talk about how to correctly use the verbs was - were, and find out how they differ from each other.

Verbs was - were - past form of "to be"

Before starting a conversation about the use of the above verbs in English, it is recommended to find out what they are and where they come from. The verbs was - were formed from one irregular verb, which is "to be", and they are its past form. The verb to be itself is translated into our native language as “to be”, “to happen”, “to exist”. Thanks to William Shakespeare's signature phrase “To be or not to be,” this irregular English verb is known even to those who are just about to start learning a foreign language.

As mentioned above, to be is an irregular verb, so its past forms are not formed by adding the ending “ed” in the second form (Past Simple), as well as the auxiliary verb had/have and the same ending “ed” in the third form (Past Participle). Irregular verbs are called that way because there are no a certain rule, thanks to which they are formed. Their past forms simply need to be learned, which is not as difficult as it might initially seem.

What is the difference between was and were?

Now it’s time to talk about why the irregular verb to be in the past form, which is the Past Simple, has two variants at once and how they actually differ. The verb was is translated into Russian as “was”, “happened”, “existed”, while were is interpreted as “existed”, “were” or “happened”. From the translation it is clear that these verbs differ primarily in number. The verb was in English should be used with a singular noun, while were is used with a plural noun.

The verbs was and were in the Past Simple

Let us now consider the use of the verbs was - were in English. The first case when these verbs should be used is when constructing sentences in the Past Simple. This is the most understandable and common case, about which much should not be said. Sentences with the verb was or were will now be considered. For example, “I was at home last evening” is translated as “I was at home last evening,” and “They were at the college yesterday” should be translated as “Yesterday they were at college.”

Despite the fact that in Past Simple by and large there is nothing complicated, many beginners simply cannot understand when to use verb was, and in what cases should we use were. In fact, there is nothing complicated about this either. With nouns or pronouns in singular(I, it, he, she) should use the verb was, while for the plural (you, were, they) use verb were. With the pronoun you, which, depending on the situation, can be translated as “you”, “you” in the plural and the respectful address “You”, the verb were is always used.

There was/There were constructions

In English there are stable rpm There is/ There are, which essentially do not have a specific translation, but they are often used in sentences like “There are seven pupils in the classroom,” which should be interpreted as “There are seven students in the class.” Hence, past form of such phrases is There was/There were. The sentence “There were seven pupils in the classroom” should already be translated as “There were seven students in the class.” It is worth noting that in this case, the use of the above construction depends primarily on the number of the subject.

Verbs was and were in Past Continuous Tense (past continuous tense)

There is another interesting thing in English going design to, which translates as “getting ready to do something.” In the past tense it takes the form was. As an example, consider two sentences. The translation of the sentence “I am going to swim” will look like “I am going to swim,” while “I was going to swim yesterday” should be interpreted as “Yesterday I was going to swim.” As in previous cases, the use of the verbs discussed in this article depends entirely on the number of the subject.

The verbs was and were in Conditional Sentences

By and large, in this article we have already examined the main cases in which the verbs were-were should be used, but if you want to study such a beautiful English language more deeply, then you should know something else.

English also has special constructions conditional offers. To make it more clear, let's look at an example. The sentence “If I were you, I would buy this T-shirt” can be translated into Russian as: “If I were you, I would buy this T-shirt.” It should be said that such conditional sentences in most cases begin with the conjunction if, translated as “if”. For more detailed information about this design, please read the section English grammar“Conditional Sentences.”

Quite often in such cases, to be appears as auxiliary verb for the formation of more complex times. In turn, the verbs were and was are also auxiliary, and they should be used depending on the number of the subject. However, you should always keep in mind the construction If I were, which occurs in conditional sentences in the present tense and requires the presence of the verb were after the pronoun I. But in no case should it be confused with some similar constructions that are not conditional and contain the phrase I was. For example, “Sorry if I was late for this lesson,” which translates to “Sorry if I was late for this lesson.”

As you can see, mastering these subtle nuances of the English language is not as difficult as it initially seems. The use of verbs is limited to just a few simple rules that simply need to be remembered. The main thing is to understand when the correct form of the verb to be should be used in the past tense.

Believe me, knowledge of English will certainly be useful to you in the future. And if you don’t work abroad or are never able to get a well-paid and prestigious job in your country, you will still have to speak fluently in English while on vacation in some exotic and sunny country. Learn English, improve, and you will certainly succeed.

It is with this verb that you need to start learning English grammar. Verbs in English do not change for persons, but the verb to be is an exception. With the help of this verb we will learn to compose simple sentences, which in Russian do not contain a verb, for example, “I am a student”, “he is at home”, “this is interesting”, etc. In English it is unacceptable to form without a verb that performs the action, and to be serves as a linking verb. For example, to say “I am a student,” we must insert the desired form of the linking verb to be and, as a result, the sentence will take on the meaning “I am a student” - “I (am) a student.”

Forms of the verb to be in the present tense

In the present tense, the verb to be has three forms: AM, IS, ARE:

Remember: to be and AM, IS, ARE are not 4 different ones, but forms the same verb:

(We hope our dragon will help you remember this)

Let's look at how the verb to be changes in the present tense

Affirmative form

We are friends - we are friends
They are busy - they are busy
The book is thick - the book is thick
It is a cat
She is clever - she is smart

Negative form

To form negative form To conjugate this verb, you need to put the negative particle “not” after one of the required forms of the verb (am, is or are). Here are some examples of negative sentences:

I am not hungry – I am not hungry
He is not busy
The room is not big – the room is not big

Question form

To form an interrogative form, you need to put the appropriate form of the verb (am, is or are) at the beginning of the sentence:

Are you Peter? -Are you Pete?
Is this a room? – Is this a room?
Are you hungry? -Are you hungry?
Is he busy? – Is he busy?

To understand how verbs live in the English language, let’s first remember at least one Russian verb in its initial form, for example, the verb “to live”. As you know, Russian verbs in their initial form end in “-т”, and later, when conjugated, the ending changes. As for the English language, the verb in its initial form is used together with the particle to, for example, we say to be – would t, find t Xia, i.e. if the particle to precedes the verb, this means that the verb is in the initial form, and when further using the verb with persons, this particle is omitted. Let's give an example: “To be or not to be” - there are two verbs in the sentence - and both are in the initial form, and they must be used together with the particle to, and, accordingly, we will translate into English as “to be or not to be”. If we have before us the sentence “I (am) a student,” i.e. we have changed the verb to suit the person of the subject, then the particle to is omitted and the proper form of the verb is used, in this case am.
Unlike the verb to be, other verbs in English are not conjugated, for example, the verbs “live, sit, love” in the initial form are translated into English “to live, to sit, to love”, i.e. with a particle to, and when conjugated - without to, for example, “I live, sit, love” will be translated into English as “I live, sit, love,” i.e. initial form of a verb in English without a particletonot used, but when conjugatedtofalls. Initial form in English it is called Infinitive - Infinitive.

More about the particle to watch our video tutorial:

Verb conjugation tobe in the present tense

Now let's learn how the verb to be changes (conjugates) in the present tense. As mentioned above, in Russian, sentences like “I am a student, she is a doctor, we are workers” are formed without a predicate verb. But to translate these sentences into English, you need to put the appropriate form to be after the subject - “I am a pupil, she is a doctor, we are workers.”

Please note the translation of the following sentences in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms into English:

Verb conjugation tobe in past and future tense

In the past tense, the verb to be has two forms - was and were (was, was, were)

In the future tense, the verb to be is conjugated as follows

Note: In modern English the form shall is rarely used to form the future tense of verbs (although its use is not a grammatical error), the form is used for all persons will. Therefore, sometimes there are discrepancies in different textbooks.

To summarize, consider the following table:

Here are some commonly used verb expressions: to be which you should learn and conjugate yourself using the conjugation table:

To be happy/unhappy – to be happy/unhappy
To be glad - to be joyful
To be hungry/to be full up– to be hungry/full
To be fond of - to love, be carried away by something
To be busy - to be busy
To be late (for) - to be late (for)
To be in time for – to be on time
To be present at – to be present at (for example, in a lesson)
To be absent (from) – to be absent
To be married – to be married
To be single - to be single / not married
To be lucky - to be lucky
To be ready (for) - to be ready (for, for example, a lesson)
To be afraid (of) – to be afraid
To be interested (in) - to be interested in something
To be ill / well - to be sick / to feel good
To be angry (with) - to be angry, angry (at someone)

Let's conjugate together the expression to be married in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences. What did you get?

When it comes to learning any language and breaking down language barrier, polyglots always highlight their knowledge of verbs. And it’s true: knowing verbs and being able to use them in various forms, you just need to “string” other words on them and you will already have whole sentences. Given this situation, it is not surprising that most of the standard vocabulary A native speaker of Russian, English, Chinese, and another arbitrarily chosen language is precisely this part of speech. But wait, this doesn’t mean that you should immediately start chaotically memorizing any verbs that catch your eye. If this makes any sense, it will be very small. Instead, it is better to analyze in detail those English verbs, which are often and actively used in speech. This is exactly what we will do by studying the verb to be in English.

The verb to be, which is equivalent to the Russian “to be”, “to appear”, “to be”, is one of the most universal and most commonly used verbs in the English language. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that, unlike other representatives of this part, the verb to be is conjugated, changing in persons and numbers.

In addition, to be can be used as a semantic verb or assisted by another verb, acting as an auxiliary. But let's talk about everything in order.

The verb to be belongs to irregular verbs, therefore it has 3 forms. These forms are formed independently, without being explained by rules, so they simply need to be memorized:

The verb to be in the Past Simple or simple past tense in the number of its forms is reduced to two. Their use again depends on the person and number:

This, however, was not always the case. Previously, the future tense form shall be was used for first person pronouns (I / we). Now you can find it very rarely, so just knowing about its existence is enough. In all cases, use the form will.

Please note that other verbs in English are not conjugated. The fact is that there are no conjugations in this language at all, which greatly simplifies English grammar. The verb to be is an exception to the rule.

Above were the forms of this verb in Simple times. All tense forms of the verb to be can be expressed in the following table:

	Simple (Simple)	Continuous	Perfect (Perfect)
Past (Past)	was / were	was / were being	had been
Present (Present)	am/is/are	am / is / are being	have / has been
Future (Future)	will be	will be being	will have been

The verb to be may not be used in all tenses. So, in Perfect Continuous(perfect continuous) the verb to be is not used. It may also be noted that tenses continuous It is not very common to be friends with the verb to be. The use of verbs in continuous forms is possible only in certain situations.

Verb to be in English: sentence forms

Affirmative form

The affirmative form of a sentence with the verb to be is built according to the standard scheme: the subject comes first, followed by the verb to be in the required form as a predicate. Study the table:

Negative form

Negative forms of sentences with this verb are formed by adding negative particle not after to be. No auxiliary verbs are required to use the form:

In both affirmative and negative sentences, the verb to be can be shortened:

There are no shortened forms for the past tense in the statement.

I am not, unlike other verbs, is shortened as I’m not. I amn't is used only in Scotland and Ireland.

Question form

English interrogative form depends on the type of question:

In general question or alternative issues The verb be in the required conjugation is placed before the subject. Tables for clarity :

The answer uses only the verb to be:

The answer uses affirmative sentence:

If you want to use future form verb, then will must be brought forward, while be will remain in the same place:

In special questions, an English question word is added to the form above:

The answer is used in the affirmative form:

In your answer it is enough to use the verb to be:

As part of a nominal predicate, which consists of a linking verb (to be) and a nominal part, expressed by nouns or adjectives. In this case, the verb is translated into Russian as “is”.

Despite the fact that " There is” can be used, its presence will seem inappropriate, and the proposal will turn out somehow ugly. Judge for yourself:

The Russian language does not need this verb, so it is not usually used. The English language will not allow this, because English sentences is that they are strictly ordered. In simple terms, if you, for example, are composing a complete affirmative sentence, then it must consistently use the subject and verb, nothing else. In some way, a similar role to be can be associated with the obsolete “is”, which previously performed exactly the same function in the Russian language.

The verb to be in a nominal predicate can also be used to mean “be” in imperative sentences:

As an auxiliary verb in Continuous and Perfect Continuous. In this case, the auxiliary verb to be is used with semantic verbs. The verb to be itself is usually not translated in such sentences. Study the examples in the table:

The verb to be can also be used to use the passive voice:

Besides the functions mentioned, the verb to be is also used as component in designs:

to be going to (getting ready);

Lena is going to learn how to form verbs in Present Perfect tomorrow.	Tomorrow Lena is going to learn how to form verbs in the Present Perfect.
He is going to speak five languages.	He's going to speak five languages.
My family is going to London.	My family is going to London.
I was going to tell him but she didn’t allow me.	I was going to tell him, but she wouldn't let me.
George is going to make this operation in December.	George is going to have this operation in December.
We are going to buy some products.	We are going to buy groceries.
The students are going to do this whole list of exercises.	Students are going to do a whole list of exercises.

there is / are / (there is / exists);

The use of the verb is also possible as a modal verb in the meaning of “must”, “agreed”, “agreed”, when we're talking about about obligations, orders, schedules and plans, the inevitability of events. In this case, to verb the to particle is added:

And also when using the verb to be in English in the following constructions:

to be good at (good to understand)	We are good at this English grammar rule.	We are fluent in this rule of English grammar.
to be aware of (realize)	We’re aware of all possible risks.	We are aware of all possible risks.
to be late (be late)	My co-worker was late for work because of the traffic jam.	My colleague was late for work due to traffic jam.
to be fond of	I'm fond of nature.	I love nature.
to be interested in (to be interested)	They are interested in helping people.	They are interested in helping people.
to be sorry about (to regret something)	I'm sorry about what happened.	I'm sorry about what happened.
to be sorry for (to feel sorry for someone)	We are so sorry for your son.	We are very sorry for your son.
to be hungry (to be hungry)	I am so hungry! I haven’t eaten since morning.	I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten since morning.
to be thirsty (to feel thirsty)	After the marathon everyone was thirsty.	After the marathon, everyone was thirsty.
be about to (going to)	Boris is about to start learning German and French languages.	Boris is going to start learning German and French.

Frequent uses of the verb are also associated with idioms. Here are some of them:

be up to someone (depends on someone)	We can either win or lose. It's up to you!	We will either win or lose. Everything depends on you!
be a man (be a man)	Stop crying. Be a man!	Stop crying. Be a man!
be in love with (to be in love with)	I should admit that I’m in love with her! She is gorgeous!	I must admit that I am in love with her! She's great!
be as stubborn as a mule (analogue in Russian: stubborn as a donkey)	We can't work together because he doesn't want to listen to me. I say his approach is wrong but he is as stubborn as a mule.	We can't work together because he doesn't want to listen to me. I say his approach is wrong, but he is stubborn as a donkey.
be (a bit) on the expensive side (expensive / a bit expensive)	That service is a bit on the expensive side. Maybe, we try to fix it ourselves, huh?	This service is a bit expensive. Maybe we can try to fix it ourselves, huh?
be on cloud nine (to be very happy)	I'm on cloud nine! She said yes to me! Can you believe it?	I'm incredibly happy! She told me yes! Can you believe it?

As you can see, the verb to be is very popular and varied, so it can be used in any situation with almost any tense. Once you understand the conjugations of this verb and its role in a sentence, you should not have any difficulty using it. Devote some time English exercises on this topic to reinforce the material, make up your own examples and most importantly - practice the language with native speakers. Because you won't find as much benefit in any exercise as you can get from people who use the language on a daily basis and can help you with any language barriers.

WAS and WERE are forms of the irregular verb to be in the Past Simple, that is, in the past tense. Remembering the conjugation is quite easy. In the singular, WAS is used, and in the plural, WERE. With the pronoun YOU, which can be translated as you and as you, you should use WERE.

HE, SHE, IT - WAS

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

Of course, there is 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 tense Past Indefinite.

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

Beyonc - If I Were A Boy

Why is there a form here? were next to the first person singular pronoun? Blatant ignorance? African American slang?

No, the most strict rules of English grammar. We have before us conditional sentences of the 2nd type

which describe improbable or impossible assumptions relevant to the present time. Beyoncé sweat: If I were a guy, then... (I 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 grammatical number, and the second part should be followed by modal verb (should / would / could), in speech after pronouns often shortened to d, and only then the infinitive of the verb describing the action itself.

This is what happens in the song in question:

I would turn off my phone

Tell everyone its 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 bells and whistles - indicators of illiteracy, that is. And the ability to correctly construct conditional sentences of type 2 is one of them.

Fans of the detective series Inspector Morse may have heard in the episode

Virtual Ghost - Ghost in the Machine,

how Morse chastises Lewis for an error in constructing just such a sentence, at 16 minutes:

Chief Inspector Morse: You are 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 handled the matter here. By the way, they did not reflect the play on words in the original: mason and mason - mason.

Morse: You're not a mason, Lewis, are you?
Lewis: Bad luck - I would have already risen to Chief Inspector if I had been (that is, if he had been a member of the Masonic Lodge).
Morse: If only, Lewis, if only I were. You will never achieve promotion if you do not master (construction of) conditional sentences (conditional mood).

It's very simple. Was refers to the singular, were - to the plural. At the same time, with the pronoun you, no matter what number it is in, the verb to be is used in the plural, that is, were.

was-singular, were-plural, do not forget that in modern English there is no singular pronoun for the 2nd person.

It is very easy to remember that the past tense form of the verb to be varies depending on the number of the pronoun or noun to which the verb refers. The form WAS refers to the singular, WERE - to the plural. It is worth dwelling on 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 pronunciations. Regarding the words was and were, they are used in the following cases:

was - used in singular

were - used in plural
Was or Were

Here is a table of conjugations 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 in other tenses. And there are also test exercises that you can perform.

If with nouns:

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

If with pronouns:

With I, he, she, it, was is used.
C we, you, they are used.

Exercises can be done in grammar textbooks, good textbook Raymond Murphy has it, for beginners - red.

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

or this:

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

Was or Were are used from a pronoun. IF the pronoun is singular, then the form Was is used. If the pronoun is plural, then Were is written in the sentence. You just need to remember this.

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