Send us a text

In episode #16 we practiced using the verb "to be" in present tense. Today we are practicing  using "to be" in the past. Here is a quick review of the forms of "to be" in the present:
      I am (I'm- contraction)    you are (you're        they are (they're)     we are (we're)
      she is (she's)                           he is (he's)                   it is (it's)
Here are the forms (conjugation) of "to be" in the past:
      I was                                           he was                            it was
      you were                                  we were                         they were   
Notice:
    for all single subjects we use "was" (except "you" that can be single or plural)
     for all plural subjects we use "were" (including  "you" that can be single or plural)
What about contractions?
     There are no contractions for positive past tense "to be" forms 
Here are some practice sentences:
       I was busy last night.
     You were at work yesterday.
      We were hungry last night.
     They were sick last week.
      She was in class last Wednesday.
      He was tired yesterday.
     It was a nice day last Monday.
How will we make each of these sentences negative?
     We add a “not” after the “be verb”: Notice that we can use contractions with the “be” verb and not.
            I was not (wasn’t) busy last night.
           You were not (weren’t) at work yesterday.
            We were not (weren’t) hungry this morning.
           They were not (weren’t) sick last week.
           She was not (wasn’t) in class last Wednesday.
            He was not (wasn’t) tired yesterday.
            It was not (wasn’t) a nice day last Monday.
And how do we make questions?
      Just like we always do, we put the verb before the subject.
What's the subject? The person or thing performing the action:
       I was busy last night. The subject is “I”
Here are the practice sentences in question form:
        Was I busy last night?
        Were you at work yesterday?
        Were we hungry this morning?
        Were they sick last week?
        Was she in class last Wednesday?
        Was he tired yesterday?
        Was it a nice day last Monday?
Remember when you are writing a question, put a question mark (?) at the end of the question! We put question words first in the question.
Listen for the past tense forms of "to be" in our conversation. 

Tacomaliteracy.org