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 started to study this foreign language, do not complete the task due to 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 we start talking 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 very verb to be is our native language translated as “to be”, “to happen”, “to exist”. Thanks to William Shakespeare's signature phrase "To be or not to be" this incorrect English verb known even to those who are just about to start studying foreign language.
As stated 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 noun singular, while were is used together with a noun in plural.
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 there is nothing complicated in the Past Simple, many beginners simply cannot understand when to use the verb was and in what cases they should use were. In fact, there is nothing complicated about this either. With nouns or pronouns in singular(I, it, he, she) the verb was should be used, while for plural(you, were, they) the verb were is used. 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 phrases 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” . Therefore, the 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.
The verbs was and were in the Past Continuous Tense (past continuous tense)
In English there is another interesting construction going 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 For information about this construction, you should familiarize yourself with the section of English grammar “Conditional Sentences”.
Quite often in such cases, to be acts as an auxiliary verb to form more complex tenses. 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.
The day before yesterday, after a lesson, one student (by the way, upper-intermediate level) came up to me and said literally the following: “I don’t understand when in the past tense you need to say did, and sometimes was. Often this melts the brain and causes dry mouth. "
Vividly imagining the girl’s melted brain and dried out mouth, I decided that she needed help. Let's figure out these did and was.
Rule 1.
If we need to say in the past tenseaffirmative sentence, then we say the second form of the verb.
For example: I wrote a love letter to the president. I asked him to marry me. - I wrote love letter to the president. I asked so that he would marry me.
Rule 2.
If we need to say in the past tense interrogative or negative sentence then we say did(or didn't)+ 1 verb form.
For example: Why did you drink my beer ? - I didn't drink your beer. It's evaporated. - Why did you drink my beer? - I didn't drink it. It evaporated.
In this case the verb did - past tense marker. That is, he doesn't not translated, but serves the sole purpose of showing the past tense.
The verb do is the same as all other verbs. That is, if we want to put it in the past tense, we will say it the second form is did (according to rule 1).
For example: I did yoga, ate a banana and went to Yvonne. - I did yoga, ate a banana and went to Yvonne.
What if we want to say this very verb do in a question or negation? Look at rule 2. In accordance with it you need to speak did you do or didn't do.
For example: When did you do the Cosmopolitain test? - I didn't do it. I'm up to the magazine. - When you did test from Cosmopolitan magazine? - I didn't his. I tore the magazine to shreds.
At the same time in the phrase "did you do" the first did is marker, which does not not translated, but the second do is full verb, which translated as "did".
There is one verb that behaves ugly, spits on all the rules and selfishly ignores various stupid markers. Its name is Verb To Be.
Look again at Rule 2 and say in English: “I didn’t buy,” “I didn’t eat,” “I didn’t wash,” and “I didn’t tear.”
What happened? I didn't buy, I didn't eat, I didn't wash and I didn't tear up.
And it turns out that by analogy “I wasn’t” there will be I didn’t be, right?
But we have to talk I wasn't. Because the verb to be is egoist.
And in the question, you also need to say not “did he be”, but "was he".
For example:
Was John at home when the police came? - No wasn't at home. He was in the garage. - John was home when the police arrived? - He wasn't Houses. He was in the garage.
Here the verb was translated into Russian.
And sometimes there was not translated, but only shows that we are in time Past Continuous . This is the past tense, which answers the question “what did” (not “what did”).
For example: Last evening I was eating crayfish pate and reading Walter Scott. - Last night I ate(what did) crayfish pate and read(what did) Walter Scott.
So, let's summarize.
1) Did can mean "did". Then the interrogative form will be - "Did you do?" - “Did you do it?”, and denial - “I didn’t do” - “I didn’t do it.”
2) “Did” can be a Past Simple marker (past tense answering the question “what did you do?”). In this case, did does not translate in any way: “Did you buy?” - “Did you buy it?”; "I didn"t forget" - "I didn't forget."
3) Sometimes “was” (were)* means “was(and)”. In this case, the question is “Were you / was he?”*, and the negation is “I wasn”t / you weren’t”*.
4) Sometimes “was” is a Past Continuous marker (past tense answering the question “what did you do?”). In this case, was is not translated in any way.
* I was
You were
He/she/it was
We were
They were
And now - an exercise. Translate into English.
1. Did you go to the dwarf theater yesterday? - No.
2. Yesterday I did a lot of good deeds.
3. Podger was sleeping while the doctor was eating crayfish pate.
4. When did Louise arrive from Montenegro? - She didn't come.
5. Why did you do your homework?
6. Yesterday I was picking mushrooms, but I didn’t forget to congratulate Pedro on his birthday.
7. I was at the fitness club, but didn’t do anything there.
Keys to the exercise -
Hello friends. Many people make the mistake of not using auxiliary verbs AM, IS, ARE in the present tense when they are needed. In our lesson we will dwell in detail on am, is, are, and analyze situations when these three words must be inserted into a sentence. At the end of the lesson you can take a test and test yourself. As I already said, AM, IS, ARE are needed in the present tense. These three words are verb forms TO BE, which translates as “to be.” AM, IS, ARE can be translated as “there is,” but almost always in Russian these verbs are completely omitted from speech. This is where difficulties arise.
A little theory
As you probably know, in English we are required to use both a subject and a predicate in a sentence. In other words, in any sentence there is always an author of the action (who?) - this is the subject. And there is an action it produces (what does it do?) - this is the predicate. This is very important for understanding the English grammar system as a whole.
But now we will focus on the present tense.
In Russian, when an action is not specified, we understand that the situation takes place in the present tense.
For example: It's cold. Rain. I'm under an umbrella.
In each of these sentences there is no verb, no explicit action. But reading them, we understand that all this is happening in the present.
Now let's look at how an English-speaking person sees this situation:
[This state exists] cold. [This state exists] rainy. I [There is] under the umbrella.
“This state” - “it” is the subject. By the way, it is also called “formal subject”. Because it is needed solely for grammatical construction, and does not make any sense.
In the third sentence from our example, the subject is the word “I”, the author of the action.
As you might have guessed, the action that is present in each of the examples is the verb “is” - a variant of the verb “to be”, “to be in a state”.
Do you know that in the Old Russian language the word “is” was used, but it sounded like “is”? Remember one of catch phrases from the wonderful film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession,” when Tsar Ivan the Terrible says: “I am the Tsar, Ivan Vasilyevich.” “Az” is “I”, and “am” is “there is”. Over time, this form fell out of use.
Let's remember the rule:
Where in Russian there is no visible action, in English there is action.
Usually this applies to the present tense.
In Russian we call action for past and future tense.
Example in past tense: Was Cold. Was rain. I was under the umbrella. Example in the future tense: Will Cold. Will rain. I will under the umbrella.
Here the action is expressed by the verb “was/was/was” in the past and “will/will be” in the future. You just need to add a formal subject to translate such a sentence into English.
Verb “to be” in the present tense has 3 forms in English tense: am / is / are. Please note that to be itself is not translated into any tense, but depending on whether we are talking about the present, past or future, to be begins to change. As well as Russian word"to be" changes to "was", "is" or "will be" depending on the time.
The following act as the subject: pronouns, How
I - I
You, you - You
He, she, it - He, she, it
We - We
They - They
And words that can be replaced with these pronouns.
For example, children - they - they
The form of the predicate depends on the subject:
I am
You are
He, she, it is
We are
They are
So am can only be used with I, not in any other case.
We put Are if the subject is you, we, they and words that can be replaced with these pronouns (people, eggs, “you and I”, etc.)
Is appears only after he, she, it and the words they replace (Kate, a boy, an apple, a cow, etc.)
Carefully study the table and examples:
Am, is, are very often are being reduced in speech and writing. An apostrophe is used instead of the first letter.
Negative particle not
If we want to make a negation, then we need to put the negative particle “not” immediately after am, is, are. Not can also be shortened for ease of speech. There are 3 negation options used at the same time:
You are not - You aren't - You're not
But for I am there are only 2 options:
I am not - I’m not. There is no abbreviation for I amn't.
- 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 advance 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 refers 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 conjugating the verb to be in other tenses. And there are also test exercises that you can perform.
- 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...
- With I, he, she, it, was is used.
- C we, you, they are used.
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 best there is strict rules 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.
If with nouns:
If with pronouns:
Exercises can be done in grammar textbooks, Raymond Murphy has a good textbook, 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 is, the faster a person will remember it.
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 in detail about this verb and other rules of the English language here.
