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GRAMMAR WORKSHEET
Level: Teens Starter
Grammar: Simple Past BE
1 Look at the text. Then complete the rules.
It wasn't a nice day yesterday. I was very sleepy in the morning because my friends and I were
out late the evening before. The weather was terrible cold and rainy and the bus was late, so
my teachers weren't happy with me at all. Was I happy? Not at all! Our big Chemistry test was at
ten o'clock, and I wasn't ready. But I was totally ready to start the day over again!
Subject

affirmative

negative

questions

I / he / she / it

+ ______

+_____

_____ + I / he / she / it ...?

you / we / they

+ ______

+_____

_____ + you / we / they ...?

Check the rule in Grammar Brief

2 Fill in the correct answers in the simple past.
Julie: (1) _____ at Ken's party last night? (you / be)
Mike: Yes, (2) _____(I / be).
Julie: How (3) ______(it / be)?
Mike: Well, (4) _____( a lot of our friends / be) there. But (5) _____ (it / not be) much fun.
Julie: Why? (6) _____ (what / be) wrong?
Mike: Well, (7) _____ (Ken / not be) very happy, and (8) _____ (the music / be) terrible. Also, (9)
______ (there / not be) enough to eat. Maybe (10) ______ (I / not be) in the mood for a party,
that's all.

3 You went to a movie last night and you want to write a review. Look at the checklist and
write about the movie. V means yes, X means no.

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Name of movie: Revenge of the Vampires

movie good? X
story exciting? X
actors good? V
special effects amazing? V
music enjoyable? X
tickets expensive? X
we disappointed? V

We saw The Revenge of the Vampires last night. The movie wasn't good.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
___________ When we left the movie theater ____________________________________
4 Answer the personal questions.
1 Where were you last night?
2 Who were you with?
3 Were you moody/tired/sick yesterday?
4 How many people were there at your last birthday party?
5 Which was your happiest New Year celebration?
6 Who was your best friend when you were a kid?
7 Who was your idol?
8 Which was your favorite TV show a couple of years ago?
9 Which was your favorite bedtime story?
9 Which was the most recurrent dream you had as a kid?

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5 Correct the mistakes.

1 Was you in my class last year?
2 The concert not was very good.
3 The hotel wasnot as comfortable as I thought.
4 My aunt Rosie were in a very bad mood yesterday.
5 How many parents was there at the meeting yesterday?
6 My sisters hair was blond now.

6 Quiz- Make the sentences.

scientist naturalist singer inventors writer pirate politician painter
French British American Spanish
1 Charles Darwin was a British naturalist.
2 Marie and Pierre Curie _______________
3 Michael Jackson _________________
4 Captain Kidd _______________
5 Winston Churchill __________________
6 Salvador Dali ______________________
7 Alexandre Dumas ___________________
8 Orville and Wilbur Wright ______________
Check the answers and see your Score: _____________

7a GRAMMAR BRIEF
Subject

affirmative

negative

I / he / she / it

WAS

WASNT

you / we / they

WERE

WERENT

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questions
WAS+ I / he / she / it ...?
(Where) WERE you / we / they ...?

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Look
There was a nice show at Susans party last Saturday.
There were more than fifty guests at her party.
Time indicators: yesterday, .ago, last week/month/year, when I was.., earlier today, at ....
o'clock last night/this morning, etc.
7b You can use BE in the past to talk about
USE

Examples

1 People

My grandma Elena was a

teacher.

Nationalities

T. Edison was an American

inventor.

Age

My brother was 25 when he

graduated from college.

Occupation

O. Wilde wasnt an inventor. He

was a writer.

Personality

He was creative

2 Feelings /states

I was exhausted yesterday.

3 Describing things

My first cell phone was heavy

and with a small screen.

Your example

The movie was a bore.

4 Describing places

There was only one bedroom in

our first house.
Italy was beautiful, but the
weather was cold.

Scroll down to see the answer key

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Grammar worksheet Starter Level BE affirmative

Answer KEY
1
Subject

affirmative

negative

questions

I / he / she / it

+ was

+wasnt

Was + I / he / she / it ...?

you / we / they

+ were

+werent

Were + you / we / they ...?

2
1 Were you..?
2 I was
3 was it
4 there were
5 it wasnt
6 what was
7 Ken wasnt
8 the music was
9 there wasnt
10 I wasnt

3
The story wasnt exciting but the actors were good and the special effects were amazing. The
music wasnt enjoyable, and the tickets were really expensive. We were all disappointed.
4 Per student
5
1 Was you in my class last year? Were

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2 The concert not was very good. wasnt

3 The hotel wasnot as comfortable as I thought. wasnt / was not
4 My aunt Rosie were in a very bad mood yesterday. was
5 How many parents was there at the meeting yesterday? were
6 My sisters hair was blond now. is
6
2 were French scientists.
3 was an American singer.
4 was a British pirate.
5 was a British politician.
6 was a Spanish painter.
7 was a French writer.
8 were American inventors.

7b examples per student

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