lesson 4

UNIVERSIDAD JOSE CARLOS MARIATEGUI R.M.C.

UNIT IILESSON 4BE IN THE PAST SIMPLE

A. The past Simple of be is like this:

Singular

Positive Negative Question1 was

You were,

He/she/it was

I was not (wasn't)

You were not(weren't)

He/she/it was not (wasn't)

Was I....?

Were you ...

Was he/she/it ...?

Plural

We were

You were

They were

We were not (weren't)

You weren't not (weren't)

They were not (weren't)

Were we ...?

Were you ...?

Were they...?

We usually use the short forms (wasn't/weren’t) when we are speaking or writing a friendly

letter:

She wasn't at the dance yesterday, so her boyfriend wasn't happy.

B. We use was and were to talk about the past:I was a student from 1986 to 1991. Kyoto was the capital of Japan.(not now)

It was very hot last August. They were at club until midnight.

- 46 – Ms. Carcasi


C. We use there was.../there were ... to talk about something in the past:There was a panty in the school last Saturday.

There were steam trains in England in 1950.

We use there was with a singular noun: There was a football match in the car

park last week.

with an uncountable noun: There was some* bread in the cupboard

yesterday.

We use there were with a plural noun: There were two hundred people at the

wedding.

D. Questions and short answers are like this:Was there a football match yesterday?

Yes, there was. Or No, there wasn't.

Were there any* good programmes on TV last week?

Yes, there were. Or No, there weren't.

EXERCISES

1. Look at the conversation from The History Quiz, a TV show, and underline

all the past forms of be.

"Are you ready? Now, Miss Jones; this is your first question. Who was William

Shakespeare?"

"Was he a famous general?"

"No, he wasn't a general, he was a dramatist. Bad luck! Now, Mr. Smith, here's your

question. Who was Napoleon7

"Was he a famous footballer?"

"No, he wasn't a footballer, he was a general. Now, Miss Jones, who was Leonardo da

Vinci?"

2. Now continuo the conversation in exercise 1 and fill the gaps. Use one word

for each gap.

"(1) was (2) he a famous actor?".

"No, (3) (4) a famous actor, (5) (6) an artist.

Now, Mr. Smith, who (7)

Romulus and Remus?.

“(8)………………………….. (9)………………….. circus clowns?

"No, they(10) ……………………….. clowns, they (11) ………………… the founders of

Rome. Well, Miss Jones and Mr. Smith, you have zero points. I’m sorry.



3. Your friend was at a party last weekend at the house of a millionaire. Use

items from the list to make sentences.

delicious luxurious heart-shaped by Picasso old and ugly

interesting young and beautiful full of roses very expensive

very polite famous antique

a. The millionaire was old and ugly . b. The millionaire’s wife ……………….

c. The other guests …………………….. d. The servants ………………………….

e. The house ……………………………. f. The swimming pool ………………….

g. The furniture ……………………….. h. The paintings ………………………..

i. The gardens ………………………….. j. The food ………………………………

k. The wine ……………………………. l The conversation ……………………..

4. Here are some items from the news. For each news item, write a sentences

with There was or There were or There is or There are.

a. A car accident (yesterday) There was a car accident.

b. A plane crash (yesterday) ………………………………..

c. A party at the White House (this evening, now) ………………………………..

d. An earthquake on Pacific island (yesterday) ………………………………..

e. No economic problems in Peru (last month) ………………………………..

f. Two bomb explosions (last night) ………………………………..

g. A music festival in Hyde Park (today, now) ………………………………..

h. A meeting between the Presidents of the USA ………………………………..

and Russia (last week).

i. An important football match at Wembley (today, now).

………………………………..

j. No rain in Chiclayo (last month) ………………………………..

k. A royal wedding (last month) ………………………………..

1. Three firework displays in London (tonight, now) ………………………………..



5. Look at these pictures of Bob and Sue and complete the sentences below.

Here are some useful words:

babies dark energetic friendly generous happy

healthy pretty smooth thin very intelligent

1962 now

1. Bob and Sue are old now but then they were young.

2. Bob and Sue are sad now but then ………………………………..

3. Sue is fat now but then ………………………………..

4. They are often ill now but then ………………………………..

5. Their skin is wrinkled ( = with lines ) now but then it ………………………………..

6. They are often angry now but then ………………………………..

7. Their hair is grey now but then it ………………………………..

8. They are often tired now but then ………………………………..

9. Sue is forgetful now but then ………………………………..

10. Bob and Sue are rich now but then ………………………………..

11. They are mean ( = not generous ) now but then ………………………………..

12. Their children are adults now but then ………………………………..

13. Sue is ugly now but then ………………………………..

6. Look at this. As you read, put was or were or wasn’t or weren’t in the gaps.

Jim and Barbara: We were at the zoo yesterday.

Sarah: Was it good?

Jim: No, it was terrible. There (1) weren’t any lions.

Barbara: And there(2) …………………… any tigers,

Jim: There (3)…………….. any kangaroos.

Barbara: And there(4) …………….. any elephants.

Sarah: (5) …………….. there any snakes?

Barbara: Yes, there(6) …………….. one. It was only five centimeters long.

Jim: There (7) …………….. a monkey but he was very old and fat.



Barbara: And there(8) …………….. a camel with only one eye.

Jim: There (9) …………….. two crocodiles with no teeth.

Barbara: And there(10) …………….. a parrot with no feathers.

Jim: There(11) …………….. any penguins.

Barbara: And there(12) …………….. enough food for the animals.

Jim: There(13) …………….. only one zoo keeper. He was old and folish.

7. Now make questions about the zoo. Give short answers.

1. Lions ? Were there any lions at. the zoo? No, there weren't

2. Crocodiles? ……………………………………………………...

3. Parrots? ……………………………………………………...

4. Largo snakes? ……………………………………………………...

5. Enough food the animals? ……………………………………………………...

6. A young zoo keeper? ……………………………………………………...

OPEN EXERCISES

8. Where were you last weekend? Look at this table:

Place Friday Saturday Sunday

BeachDisco

ShoppingCentre

RestaurantCinema

Zoo

2 p.m. - 5 p.m.9 a.m. - 11 a.m.11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Write more times (e.g. 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.) in the empty spaces in the table. Then write the

story of your weekend. Use was and were.

For example: Last Friday, the weather was fine. I was at the shops from nine o’clock to eleven

o’clock. From eleven o’clock to two o’clock, I was at restaurant. The food was

delicious but the waiters weren’t very polite.

9. Invent similar questions about the places below. Do you remember the

questions about the zoo in exercise 7 ?

a. The beach: Were there any lifeguards at the beach?

b. The museum

c. The circus

d. The disco

e. The park

f. The hotel



PAST PROGRESSIVE

GRAMMAR:

ANNE WAS STUDYING IN THE LIBRARY

The past progressive is used to show that an action took

place over period of time.

I

Mark

Mark and Al

Was studying

Was studying

Were studying

Last night

What were you doing last night?

I was studying in the library.

I WAS THINKING ABOUT MY VACATION

Read your part and learn it well enough to say it without looking at your book

Jan: Why were you smiling a minute ago?

Tom: I was thinking.

Jan: What were you thinking about?

Tom: My vacation next week.



Rita: What were you doing last night?

Jane: I was studying at the library.

Rita: What were you studying?

Jane: French. I was reviewing for today’s test.

Steve: I don’t understand this exercise.

Larry: Were you listening to the teacher?

Steve: No. What was he saving?

Larry: He was explaining this exercise.

SUBSTITUTION DRILL

Oral cue

Oral response

Individual

1. Jane was watching a movie night. (TV)

2. Studying math

3. Mark an Al

4. this morning

5. playing soccer

6. baseball

7. I

8. Yesterday

9. washing the car

10. My brother and I.

WHO WAS READING A BOOK LAST NIGTH?Your instructor will read a sentence and then give you a word or phrase to substitute. Make a

new sentence with that word or phrase. Look at the pattern.

PATTERN: I: Helen was reading a book last night

I: Jane

S1: Jane was reading a book last night.

I: watching a movie

S2: Jane was watching a movie last night.



WHAT WAS LAURA DOING YESTERDAY?

SHE WAS WAITING FOR THE BUS

Ask and answer the question about the pictures. Remember to use the past progressive.

EXAMPLE:

What was Laura doing at 6:30?

She was eating breakfast.

1. Where was Laura standing at 7:00?

(She was standing at the bus stop.)

2. Who was Laura talking to at 9:00?

(She was talking to a student.)

1. When was Laura running?

(She was running at noon.)

2. What was Laura buying at 4:30?

(She was talking to a student.)



1. When was Laura cooking dinner?

(She was cooking dinner at 4:30.)

2. Who was Laura talking to at 8:00?

(She was talking to her mother at 8:00.)


lesson 4

Entertainment & Humor

past forms

miss jones

famous footballer

famous actor

boyfriend wasnt happy

car park

football match

car accident yesterdaythere