Past Simple of Be – was/were

Equivalencies of Be in Spanish
was/were
I was estaba estuve era fui
You were estabas estuviste eras fuiste
He was estaba estuvo era fue
She was estaba estuvo era fue
It was estaba estuvo era fue
We were estábamos estuvimos éramos fuimos
You were estabais estuvisteis erais fuisteis
They were estaban estuvieron eran fueron

Examples of the uses of Be in the past

I’m hot. I was hot.

It’s hot. It was hot yesterday.
The class is quiet. The class was quiet.
I’m at home right now. I was at home yesterday.
You are intelligent. You were intelligent.
You are my beloved one. You were my beloved one.
He is very well. He was very well.
We aren’t at home now. We weren’t at home
yesterday morning
Be born (ser cargado = nacer)
I was born in 1990.
I was born in Huancayo.

Questions
Are you hot? Were you hot?
Yes, I was.
No, I wasn’t. I was cold.

Am I hot? Was I hot?

Yes, I was.
No, I wasn’t.

Is it hot? Was it hot yesterday?

Yes, it was.
No, it wasn’t. It was chilly.

Is the class quiet? Was the class quiet?

Yes, it was.
No, it wasn’t. It was noisy.

Are you at home right now? Were you at home

yesterday?
Yes, I was.
No, I wasn’t. I was at
university.

Are you intelligent? Were you intelligent?

Are you my beloved one? Were you my beloved one?

Is he very well? Was he very well?

Yes, he was.
No, he wasn’t. He was sick.

When were you the best student in your class?

I was the best student in my class when I was a child.
fui

(I went to my house yesterday afternoon.)

fui

It was cold yesterday but I was hot.

What was the weather like yesterday?

Teacher Luis’s class was noisy yesterday night but my

class was quiet.
What was Teacher Luis’s class like yesterday night?
What was your class like yesterday night?

I was happy last weekend because my boyfriend was with

me.
Why were you happy last weekend?

I wasn’t happy last weekend because my boyfriend

wasn’t with me.

You were the best musician when you were younger.

When was I the best musician? / When were you the best
musician?

You weren’t the best musician when you were younger.

But now you are.

He was a wonderful actor at the age of 12.

He wasn’t a wonderful actor at the age of 12.
He was a wonderful actor when he was 12.

She was with me last Sunday night.

Who was she with last Sunday night?
With whom was she last Sunday night?

She wasn’t with me last Sunday night.

My dog was wonderful but it was also terrible, playful,

mischievous.
My dog wasn’t wonderful and it was also terrible, playful,
mischievous.

We were at Jennifer’s birthday party last Friday night.

Where were you last Friday night?

We weren’t at Jennifer’s birthday party last Friday night.

You were at our last meeting on Monday.

When were we at the last meeting?

You weren’t at our last meeting on Monday.

They were happy forever after.
They weren’t happy forever after.
More examples
I was at my Gran's house yesterday.
You were late for school this morning.
She was with her friends last Saturday.
We were tired yesterday.

Remember
For negatives add 'n't' or ‘not’.
I wasn’t late for school this morning.
I was not late for school this morning.
She wasn’t with her friends last Saturday.
She was not with her friends last Saturday.
We weren’t tired yesterday.
We were not tired yesterday.

Question form
Affirmative Negative Question
I was I wasn’t Was I a good student?
Yes, I was.
No, I wasnt’t.

Were you a good student?

Yes, I was.
No I wasn’t.

Yes, you were.

No, you weren’t.
You were You weren’t Were you a good student?
Yes, I was.
No I wasn’t.

Was I a good student?

Yes, you were.
No, you weren’t.
He was He wasn’t Was he a good student?
Yes, he was.
No, he wasn’t.
She was She wasn’t Was she a good student?
Yes, she was.
 No, she wasn’t.
It was It wasn’t Was it a good dog?
Yes, it was.
No, it wasn’t.
We were Were weren’t Were we good students?
Yes, we were.
No, we weren’t.
You were You weren’t Were you good students?
Yes, you were.
No, you weren’t.
They were They weren’t Were they good students?
Yes, they were.
No, they weren’t.

Be careful! – We say... We don’t say...

Were you late for school today? Yes, I was. (NOT You
were late for school today? Yes I was.)
Was she with her friends last Saturday? No, she wasn’t.
(NOT She was with her friends last Saturday? No, she
wasn’t.)
Was he tired yesterday? Yes, he was. (NOT He was tired
yesterday? Yes, he was.)
(For a normal question we use was + pronoun. To show
surprise you can use pronoun + was.)
My bitch had 5 puppies last night.