Use of Was and Were || Difference Between was and were

Basic Rules for using ' was' or 'were ' in a sentence

  • ‘Was’ and ‘were’ are past tenses of the verb ‘to be’.
  • Generally, ‘was’ is used with singular pronouns, and ‘were’ is used with plural pronouns, but the pronoun ‘you’ is an exception!
  • ‘Was’ is usually used with the pronouns ‘I’, ‘she’, ‘he’, and ‘it’.
  • ‘Were’ is usually used with pronouns ‘you’, ‘we’, and ‘they’.

Use of ‘Was’

Example:

1. She was present yesterday.

2. Ravi was at home.

3. He was a rich man.

4. It was very cold yesterday.

5. Monday was a holiday.

Use of ‘Were’

Example:

1. You were late last night.

2. They were playing.

3. We were late.

4. There are many trees in the field.

5. Tina and Mina were ill.

Practice Exercise

Q1) Put ‘was’, or ‘were’ in the following sentences.

1. Ayush ________ absent yesterday.

2. Tina and Rina ________ not there.

3. His shoes ________ dirty.

4. It ________ hot yesterday.

5. I ________ not well yesterday.

6. Dia ________ not at home.

7. There ________ a snake in the garden.

8. Those boys ________ making a noise in the class.

9. She ________ crying.

10. They ________ playing.

11. It ________ raining.

12. She ________ working.

13. I ________ sleeping.


 Q2) Put ‘was’, or ‘were’ in the following sentences.

1. You ________ sleeping.

2. She ________ painting a picture.

3. He ________ jumping on the bed.

4. The boys ________ swimming.

5. Little baby ________ crying.

6. I ________ reading.

7. Tia ________ working hard.

8. What ________ you doing?

9. He ________ eating his lunch.

10. They ________ eating dinner.

11. It ________ my birthday last week.

12. The school bus ________ late.

13. The kids ________ playing outside.