English is a must-have today, because without knowing it, you can hardly count on getting a highly paid, interesting and very promising job. In addition, it is with the help of English that you can freely express yourself in any country in the world. Many, having begun to study this foreign language, do not finish the job because of the difficulties that arise on the way to such a cherished goal.
Learning English is not easy, because there are many nuances. Now we will talk about how to use the verbs was - were correctly, and find out how they still differ from each other.
Verbs was - were - past form "to be"
Before starting a conversation 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 are formed from one irregular verb, which is "to be", and they are its past form. The very same verb to be on ournative language is translated as "to be", "to happen", "to exist". Thanks to William Shakespeare's trademark phrase "To be or not to be", this irregular English verb is known even to those who are just about to start learning a foreign language.
As mentioned 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 all the same endings " ed" in the third form (Past Participle). Irregular verbs are called that because there is no specific rule by 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, after all, the irregular verb to be in the past form, which is Past Simple, has two options 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”. The translation shows that these verbs differ primarily in number. The verb was in English should be used with a singular noun, while were is used with a plural noun.
The verbs was and were in Past Simple
Now consider the use of the verbs was - were in English. The first time to usethese verbs are when constructing sentences in the past tense 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" would translate to "I was at home last night" and "They were at the college yesterday" would translate to "They were at college yesterday."
Despite the fact that in the Past Simple, by and large, there is nothing complicated, many beginners simply cannot understand when to use the verb was, and when to use were. In fact, this is also not difficult. With nouns or pronouns in the singular (I, it, he, she) you should use the verb was, while for the plural (you, were, they) you use the verb were. With the pronoun you, which depending on the situation can be translated as "you", "you" in the plural and respectful treatment "You", the verb were is always used.
Designs There was/There were
In English, there are stable turns There is / There are, which in fact have no definite 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 turnovers 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." Costsnote that in this case, the use of the above construction depends primarily on the number of the subject.
The verbs was and were in Past Continuous Tense
In English, there is another interesting construction going to, which translates as "to get ready to do something." In the past tense, it takes the form was going to / were going to. As an example, consider two sentences. The translation of the sentence "I am going to swim" will look like "I'm 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 (conditional sentences)
For the most part, we've already covered the main uses for was-were verbs in this article, but there's a few more things you should be aware of if you want to delve deeper into this beautiful English.
There are also special constructions of conditional sentences in English. To make it clearer, 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 union if, translated as "if". For more information about this designyou should read 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 "I'm 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 seems at first. The use of the verbs was or were is limited to just a few simple rules that you just need to remember. The main thing is to understand when the right form of the verb to be should be used in the past tense.
Believe me, in the future, knowledge of English will certainly come in handy. And if you don’t work abroad or you still can’t get a highly paid and prestigious job in your country, then you still have to speak fluently in English while on vacation in some exotic and sunny country. Learn English, improve, and you will certainly have everythingsucceed.
