Compilation of Was and Were exercises with answers

Today, PREP will compile multiple Was and Were exercises with answers for you to practice. Let's dive in!

I. What are Was and Were? How to use Was and Were

Before tackling the Was and Were exercises, let's recap what Was and Were mean and how they are used in English!

1. Definition

Was and Were function as the past tense forms of the verb "to be" in both simple past and past continuous tenses. They are used to express actions or states of the subject. For example:

• Anna was at the violin lessons yesterday. 
• The kids were playing football last night. 

2. Usage of Was and Were

Let's summarize the usage of Was and Were below!

II. Was and Were exercises 

Let's conquer different types of Was and Were exercises with PREP below!

1. Verb Conjugation

1.1. Wishes

Was and Were exercises in wishes are quite common. However, note that any subject in a type 2 wish, regardless of whether it is first person, second person, third person, singular, or plural, can only be paired with Were.

Structure:

Subject 1 + wish(es) + subject 2 + were/V2-ed

Exercise:

1. I wish I _______ a bird, then I could fly freely in the sky.
2. I wish I _______ the richest man in the world.
3. I wish I _______ a boy.
4. Anna wishes she _______ the best student. 
5. Richard wishes he _______ a millionaire.

Answer:

1. were
2. were
3. were
4. were
5. were

1.2. Conditional sentences

Similarly, in type 2 conditional sentences, any subject will always be paired with the verb Were.

Structure:

If + subject + were/V2-ed…, subject + would/could…

Exercise:

1. If Lisa _______ at home, she could meet her grandparents.
2. If Jack _______ younger, he would walk more.
3. If Lenny _______ you, she would pass this exam.
4. If Robert _______ rich, he would buy this house.
5. If I _______ you, I wouldn’t buy this laptop.

Answer:

1. were
2. were
3. were
4. were
5. were

1.3. Past Tense

Was and Were are the two forms of the verb "to be" in the simple past tense. Let's practice some Was and Were exercises on verb conjugation in the simple past and past continuous tenses!

1.3.1. Simple Past Tense

Exercise:

1. When I ________ young, I wanted to be a doctor.
2. Last night, you ________ sad but now you look better.
3. We ________ in Singapore on summer vacation last month.
4. They ________ happy at Jack’s birthday party.
5. Robert ________ here five minutes ago.

Answer:

1. was
2. were
3. were
4. were
5. Was

1.3.2. Past continuous tense

Exercise:

1. John _________ (study) at the library at 4pm yesterday.
2. At nine o’clock yesterday, I _________ (cook) with my sister.
3. Jackson _________ (not study) when his mom came home yesterday.
4. They _________ (not work)when their boss came in at 11 a.m yesterday.
5. They _________ (play) video games at 9p.m yesterday.

Answer:

1. was studying
2. was cooking
3. wasn’t studying
4. weren’t working
5. were playing

2. Sentence Transformation: Active - Passive

The structure of active-passive sentences in the past tense is as follows:

Exercise:

1. My mother sang a Japanese song.
2. A passerby hit my dog.
3. My father watered the flowers in the garden.
4. A thief stole my mother's money.
5. Linh didn't do her homework.

Answer:

1. A Japanese song was sung by my mother
2. My dog was hit by a passerby
3. The flowers in the garden were watered by my father 
4. My mother's money was stolen by a thief 
5. Sacred‘s homework wasn’t done

III. Take the First Step Towards IELTS Success 

Through this article, PREP hopes that you have gained a better understanding of how to use Was and Were and the compilation of Was and Were exercises with answers. If you want to learn smart, not hard, discover our strategic IELTS prep solutions below:

• IELTS preparation course: Unlock Your IELTS Success Story.