Was / Were (A1)

I, he, she, it 用 was。

I / he / she / it: was

I was at home.
He was tired.
It was cold.
Not "I were at home." — say "I was at home.". 用 I 的时候，过去式是 was，不是 were。
试一试: Last weekend the market ___ very busy. (was / were / is) 答案: was — The market = it，因此要用 was，不是 were。（"Is" 是现在时，"last weekend" 告诉你这是过去。）所以是：the market was busy.

you, we, 和 they 用 were。

You were late.
We were happy.
They were at school.
Not "They was at school." — say "They were at school.". 用 they 的时候用 were，was 只用于 I、he、she、it。
试一试: Last weekend, Amina and Hiroshi ___ at Magaff Library. (were / was / are) 答案: were — Amina and Hiroshi = they，所以要用 were，不是 was：They were at Magaff Library.

每次用之前先问一句：主语是谁？ I/he/she/it → was。you/we/they → were。

He was here. / They were here.
I was tired. / We were tired.
Not "He were here. / They was here." — say "He was here. / They were here.". 由说的是谁决定：I/he/she/it 用 was，you/we/they 用 were。
试一试: Mei: Was everyone at the park on Saturday? Lars: No. I ___ there, but my friends ___ at the gym! 补全 Lars 说的话。 (was … were / were … was / was … was) 答案: was … were — Lars 说 I → was。His friends = they → were。每一个都由“说的是谁”来决定。

在 was 或 were 后面加 not：wasn't（I/he/she/it），weren't（you/we/they）。

I wasn't hungry.
He wasn't there.
They weren't happy.
Not "I not was hungry." — say "I wasn't hungry.". not 要放在 was 后面，不是前面。
试一试: She ___ at home last night. (wasn't / weren't / not was) 答案: wasn't — She 用 was，所以否定式是 wasn't（不是 weren't），not 放在后面：She wasn't at home.

要提问，就把 Was 或 Were 放在人的前面。

Was she at home?
Were you late?
Was it cold?
Not "You were late? (asking)" — say "Were you late?". 疑问句里，were 在前，人在后。
试一试: Camila: The children are inside now, and they look very cold. Hiroshi: ___ outside all morning? 补全 Hiroshi 的问题。 (Were they / They were / They was) 答案: Were they — 提问时，Were 放在前面，人放在它后面。有一个选项把人放在前面，那是在“告诉”别人一件事，不是在提问。另一个用了 was，那是用于 I、he、she、it 的，不能用于 they。
试一试: Remember: who is it? Mei ___ at the cooking class. (was / were / are) 答案: was — Mei = she → was。（这是核心判断：I/he/she/it → was，you/we/they → were。）

错误	正确	原因
I were at home.	I was at home.	用 I 的时候，过去式是 was，不是 were。
They was at school.	They were at school.	用 they 的时候用 were，was 只用于 I、he、she、it。
He were here. / They was here.	He was here. / They were here.	由说的是谁决定：I/he/she/it 用 was，you/we/they 用 were。
I not was hungry.	I wasn't hungry.	not 要放在 was 后面，不是前面。
You were late? (asking)	Were you late?	疑问句里，were 在前，人在后。