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TO BE - Past & Present Tense - Affirmative Sentences | WAS and WERE in English
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TO BE - Past & Present Tense - Affirmative Sentences | WAS and WERE in English

Understanding Present and Past Tenses

Introduction to Tenses

  • The present tense "is" indicates the current state, e.g., John is 70 years old now.
  • The past tense "was" reflects a previous state; for instance, John was 10 years old 60 years ago.

Subject and Verb Agreement

  • In the present tense, "they are" signifies their current state; in the past, it changes to "they were."
  • Examples of present tense: I am happy, he is rich. Past tense examples include: I was sad, he was poor.

Converting Sentences from Present to Past

  • Practice converting sentences into past tense:
  • He is hungry → He was hungry.
  • It is cold → It was cold.

More Examples of Tense Conversion

  • Additional conversions:
  • They are musicians → They were musicians.
  • She is sick → She was sick.

Time Expressions with Tenses

  • Present tense can use expressions like "now," while past tense uses terms such as "yesterday" or "last week."
  • Example: I am happy at the moment vs. I was sad yesterday.

Contrasting Present and Past States

  • Sentences can combine present and past tenses using conjunctions like "but" to show contrast.
Video description

TO BE in the Past Tense and Present Tense in English. All examples are in affirmative sentences (no negatives or questions) as this is a first introduction to using To Be (was and were) in the past tense. We quickly look at simple time expressions such as: Present: now, right now, and at the moment Past: yesterday, last night, last week, last month, last year We also look at joining sentences in the Past with sentences in the Present tense with the conjunction BUT. BUT is used to contrast or show a difference or change in what has already been mentioned. e.g. They were noisy last night, but they are quiet now. There are many examples sentences using WAS and WERE. See this lesson about the past tense of TO BE: https://www.grammar.cl/Past/To_Be.htm #WasWere #ToBe #PastTense 💚💚💚 How to support WOODWARD ENGLISH 💚💚💚 📗 ENGLISH LANGUAGE RESOURCES 📗 🌿 https://www.woodwardenglish.com/shop/ English Resources for Teachers and Parents. (PDF and PPT - Ideal for ESOL students or homeschool). These PDFs are also great for those studying English alone. 🎥 JOIN Woodward English on YouTube 🎥 🌿 https://www.youtube.com/@WoodwardEnglish/join - Exclusive videos only for members. - Exclusive members only posts in our YT community tab - Loyalty badges next to your name in comments and live chat - Custom emoji to use in live chat ☕ BUY US A COFFEE ☕ If you like these English lessons and you would like to support what we do, you can buy us a coffee here: 🌿 https://ko-fi.com/woodward 📗 BOOKS I RECOMMEND 📗 🌿 Practical English Usage – Michael Swan - https://amzn.to/3lG2AMU 🌿 English Grammar in Use – Raymond Murphy - https://amzn.to/2YOrjoX 🌿 Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS - https://amzn.to/3lG489i 🌿 The Practice of English Language Teaching – Jeremy Harmer - https://amzn.to/2YSsYub 🌿 Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary - https://amzn.to/3mOKN5f As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Each purchase of the above helps me to continue creating more free English language resources on YouTube and the Woodward English websites. 💚💚💚 Do you like WOODWARD ENGLISH and want to learn more? 💚💚💚 Here are the next steps to improving your English: 1) SUBSCRIBE to the WOODWARD ENGLISH channel so you know when I create new videos to help you improve your English. 🌿 https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=WoodwardEnglish Make sure you click the notification bell so you know immediately when I upload a new English lesson. 2) See our ENGLISH LESSONS and language learning articles: 🌿 https://www.grammar.cl (Grammar lessons) 🌿 https://www.vocabulary.cl (Vocabulary lessons) 🌿 https://www.woodwardenglish.com (English courses) 🌿 https://www.woodwardeducation.com (Language courses) 3) LET'S CONNECT! 🌿 https://twitter.com/WoodwardEnglish 🌿 https://www.instagram.com/woodwardenglish/ ✉️ Send us a postcard or something typical from your country ✉️ Rob Woodward P.O. Box 38438 Howick Auckland 2145 New Zealand NOTE: Our English lessons and English language resources are for people over the age of 13. Have an awesome day! - Rob Woodward