| Present Past am / is was are were |
| THE VERB "TO BE" PRESENT FUTURE PAST I am happy now. I’m going to be happy in the future. I was happy in the past. It is hot today. It’s going to be hot tomorrow. It was hot yesterday. They are away this week. They’re going to be away next week. They were away last week. PAST FORM OF THE VERB TO BE (was / were) I am at school today. I was at home yesterday. The weather is fine this week. It was cold and rainy last week. We are in Paris now. We were in Rome two days ago. |
| Expressions of Time in the Past Simple In the past – once upon a time – then – at that time Yesterday – yesterday morning / yesterday afternoon / yesterday evening Last night / week / weekend / month / year / summer / Saturday An hour ago – ten minutes ago – two days ago – four years ago |
| Positive form: I/he/she/it was ... We/you/they were ... |
| Yesterday I was at a concert. All of my friends were there. He was a university students six years ago. We were at the seaside last weekend. But the weather was windy and a bit cold. |
| Negative form: I/he/she/it was not (wasn’t) ... We/you/they were not (weren’t) ... |
| I wasn’t at home last night. And Bob wasn’t with me. Men and women weren’t equal in the past. There weren’t many people at the party last night. And it wasn’t so good. |
| Yes/no questions: Was I/he/she/it ...? Were we/you/they ...? |
| Were you at home last night? Was there a clown at the party? Was Jack ill yesterday? Were there many people at the party? |
| Short answers: Yes, I/he/she/it was. No, I/he/she/it wasn’t. Yes, there was / were. Yes, we/you/they were. No, we/you/they weren’t. No, there wasn’t / weren’t. |
| "Were you at the cinema last night?" "Yes, I was." "Was the film good?" "No, it wasn’t." "Were the children in the library all yesterday afternoon?" "Yes, they were." "Were they bored?" "No, they weren’t." |
| Wh- Questions Question words + was / were + Subject...? |
| Where were you last night? I was at home. What was the weather like yesterday? It was hot. Who were you with last weekend? I was with Kate. Why were the shops closed yesterday? Because it was a public holiday. How many people were there at Sarah’s birthday party? There weren’t many. |
| Where were you last night at 9.30? I was at home all night. Was Big Bob with you? No, he wasn’t. I was alone. |
| Hi, Marsha. How was your summer holiday? It was great. Where were you and Ron all summer? We were in Rome. It was wonderful. |
| It was Betty’s birthday party last week, wasn’t it? Yes, it was. She’s eighteen now. Were you at her party? Yes, I was. She was very happy. |
| How was Diane’s party? It was great! Who was there? Everyone was there, except for you? |
| What was on TV last night? There was a comedy film. Was it good? Yes, it was very funny. |
| Hi, Robert. Were you at school yesterday? No, I wasn’t. I was at the doctor’s. Were you ill? Yes, I was. |
| Where were you? I was at lunch. How was the food? Not bad. |
| You weren’t at the concert last weekend, were you? You’re right. I wasn’t. Where were you? I was at my uncle’s house in Atlanta. |
| Where were you and Susan last night? We were out. Were you at that new restaurant? No, we weren’t. Susan was at night school and I was at the office. |
| Where are you from, Bill? I’m from New Jersey. Were you born there? No, I wasn’t. I was born in Manhattan. |
| Where were you last night? We were at a restaurant. Was the food good? No, it wasn’t. It was terrible |
| Were you at Sally’s party? Yes, I was. Cindy and Tom were there, too. Why weren’t you there? I wasn’t well. I was in bed. |
| Who was your English teacher last year? Mrs Amanda. Was she a good teacher? Yes, she was good and very nice. |
| STUDY THE DIALOGUES BELOW |
| USED TO We use “used to” to talk about past habbits and past situations. They are no longer true now. Formula: Subject + used to + verb1... I used to have long hair when I was a university student. (Now I have short hair.) Larry used to smoke in the past. (Now, he is not a smoker.) They used to live in Istanbul. (Now they live in another city.) Mary used to be very fat. (Now she is quite slim.) There used to be a lunapark opposite the school. (Now there’s a hospital.) Negative Form: Subject + didn’t use to + verb1... I didn’t use to drink much coffee last year. (Now I do.) She didn’t use to have a car last year. (Now, she does.) James didn’t used to be so fat as he is now. Question Form : Did + subject + use to + verb1..? Did you use to like chocolate much when you were a child? What did you use to do on your summer holidays? |
| POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS Posessive adjectives (my, your...) are used with a noun. Possessive pronouns (mine, yours...) are used without a noun. *A friend of mine / a student of hers / some neighbours of Nasreddin’s A friend of mine means one of my friends. A student of hers – one of her students Some neighbours of Nasreddin’s – some of Nasreddin’s neighbours I’m going to meet a friend of mine at the cinema this evening. Some friends of yours came to see you this morning. A student of hers always tries to cheat during the exams. Some neighbours of Nasreddin wanted to play a trick on him. Whose...? We use “Whose” with or without a noun. Whose camera is this? / Whose is this? It’s mine. Whose books are these? / Whose are these? They’re Tom’s. |
| It’s my car. It’s mine. It’s your car. It’s yours. It’s his car. It’s his. It’s her car. It’s hers. It’s our car. It’s ours. It’s their car. It’s theirs. |
| This is my house. This house is mine. This is your house. This house is yours. This is his house. This house is his. This is her house. This house is hers. This is our house. This house is ours. This is their house. This house is theirs. |
| I my mine you your yours he his his she her hers we our ours they their theirs |