Past Simple Was & Were ESL Games, Activities & Worksheets

ESL Was Were Game - Grammar and Speaking: Forming Sentences and Questions from Prompts, Freer Practice - Group Work In this engaging was and were game, students practice making affirmative and negative sentences and yes/no questions with 'was' and 'were' by combining subject, 'be', and complement cards. The first player looks at their subject cards, 'be' cards, and complement cards and tries to make a three-card grammatically correct sentence or question, e.g. 'They were busy' or 'Were they busy?' As the player creates a sentence or question, they lay the corresponding cards out on the table for everyone to see. If the other group members agree that the sentence or question is grammatically correct and makes sense, the player scores a point. The player then takes one card from each pile, so they always have three subject cards, three 'be' cards, and three complement cards until a pile runs out. It is then the next student's turn to play. If a player cannot make a sentence or question, they may swap one card. Then the turn ends. The game continues until players cannot make any more sentences or questions, or the cards run out. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Was or Were Game - Grammar: Matching, Forming Sentences In this enjoyable was or were game, students race to choose the correct past form of 'be' (was, were, wasn't, weren't) in affirmative and negative sentences. When you say 'go', pairs race to line up sentence frame cards in order and place the correct ‘be' card to fill in the blank at the end of each sentence. If a sentence has a plus sign, students use was or were. If it has a negative sign, students use wasn't or weren't. The first pair to complete all the sentences correctly wins. show less

ESL Was or Were Worksheet - Grammar Exercises: Gap-fill, Binary Choice, Error Correction This useful was or were worksheet helps students practice the past simple of the verb 'to be'. Students begin with a gap-fill exercise where they complete sentences with 'was' or 'were'. Students then complete sentences by choosing either 'was' or 'were'. Finally, students rewrite sentences changing the verb 'to be' into the past simple (was or were). show less

ESL Were You Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice In this free 'Were you...?' questions activity, students practice 'Were you…?' questions and short answers by writing their own responses and then mingling to find classmates who responded in the same way. First, go through the items on the worksheet and elicit the 'Were you...?' questions the students need to ask, e.g. 'Were you asleep at 6 o'clock this morning?' Next, students answer the questions and write short answers (Yes, I was. / No, I wasn't.) in the column marked 'You'. Students then go around the class asking and answering the 'Were you...?' questions to find classmates with the same answers. When a student finds someone with the same answer, the two students write each other's names in the last column. When the students have finished, get feedback from the class by asking the students questions with 'Who...?', e.g. 'Who was asleep at 6 o'clock this morning?' show less

ESL Was Were Board Game - Grammar and Speaking: Forming Sentences from Prompts, Freer Practice - Group Work In this fun was and were board game, students practice was, wasn't, were, and weren't by making believable past simple affirmative or negative sentences from subject prompts. Players take turns rolling the dice and moving their counters along the board. When a player lands on a square, they take a was and wasn't or were and weren't subject card from the corresponding pile. If a player picks up a 'choose a subject' card, the player can choose any subject they like for their sentence. The player then reads out the subject and tries to make a believable affirmative or negative sentence with the past simple of the verb 'to be' shown on the square, e.g. 'Tom wasn't in class yesterday.' If the sentence is grammatically correct and makes sense, the player stays on the square. If not, the other students challenge the player to justify or correct their sentence. If the player is unable to do this, they go back two squares. The first player to reach the finish wins the game. show less

ESL Was Were Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Writing Sentences from Prompts, Guided Discussion, Communicative Practice - Group Work In this inventive past simple was and were activity, students practice the past simple of the verb 'to be' by writing short descriptions of a holiday in a collaborative fold-and-pass writing activity. To begin, students read the first question on the worksheet (How was the journey there?) and write a sentence describing the journey, e.g. 'The journey was quick.' Students then fold the paper so the sentence they wrote is hidden and hand the worksheet to the person on their right. The student on their right reads the next question (What was the weather like?) and writes a complete sentence, describing the weather with the verb 'to be' in the past simple. The student then folds the paper so the sentence is hidden and passes it to the person on their right, and so on. When the last question has been answered, students pass the paper one more time, and the next student unfolds the worksheet. Students then take turns reading the holiday to the people in their group, who discuss the good and bad points of each holiday and decide whose holiday was the best and worst. show less

ESL Was and Were Activity - Speaking: Information Gap - Pair Work - Grammar Exercises: True or False, Error Correction, Writing Sentences from Prompts In this productive was and were activity, students communicate about where people were at different times in the past, using was, wasn't, were, and weren't to ask questions, give short answers, and check and correct information. First, in pairs, students ask and answer questions with 'was' and 'were' in order to complete a chart with information about four people who went sightseeing. Next, students decide if 'was' and 'were' sentences about the four people are true or false. If a sentence is false, students change was, wasn't, were, or weren't to make it true. Finally, students use prompts to write true sentences about the four people with was, wasn't, were or weren't. show less

ESL Was Were Board Game - Grammar and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, True or False, Guessing - Group Work In this free was and were board game, students review the verb 'to be' in the past simple by playing a game where they give true or false answers to questions. Players take turns rolling the dice and moving their counter along the board. When a player lands on a square, they pick up a true or false card and look at it. The player then answers the question on the square using 'was' or 'were' by giving either true or false information as indicated on the card. Next, the other students ask follow-up questions to determine if the player is lying or telling the truth. After a few questions have been answered, the other students guess whether the player's answer is true or false. The player then reveals the answer. Students who guessed correctly each score one point. When a player reaches the finish, the game ends. The student with the most points wins the game. show less

ESL Was Were Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice - Group and Pair Work In this interesting was and were speaking activity, students complete, ask and answer conversation questions with 'was' and 'were' about past feelings, places, and experiences. First, in two groups, students complete each conversation question with was or were. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group and take turns asking and answering the conversation questions with their partner. Afterwards, students share what they found out about their partner with the class. show less

ESL Was Were Activity - Speaking: Asking Questions from Prompts, Answering Questions, Writing Sentences - Pair Work In this insightful was and were speaking activity, students interview each other about their whereabouts at certain times in the past using past simple Wh questions with the verb 'to be'. In pairs, students take turns to interviewing each other about where they were at certain times in the past by asking 'Where were you...?' questions from their worksheet, e.g. 'Where were you last night?' Students note down their partner's answers and ask past simple follow-up questions to gain as much information as possible. Afterwards, students write past simple sentences about their partner's whereabouts at the listed times. When the students have finished, they tell the class what they found out. show less

ESL Was Were Game - Grammar and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice, Guessing - Group Work In this entertaining was and were game, each student takes on the role of an unnamed famous person in history and tries to establish the identities of other famous people by asking and answering questions with was and were. In groups, students begin by reading the information about their mystery famous person in the 'You were...' section of the worksheet. Students then find out information about the other famous people in their group by asking and answering questions with was and were, e.g. 'Were you born in 1869?' When a group member replies 'Yes, I was', the student writes their letter (e.g. Student B) next to the question in the 'Who was...?' section of the worksheet. Students continue asking and answering questions until all the worksheets are complete. Students then discuss their findings about each student and try to guess the names of the four famous people. Afterwards, each group tells the class their four guesses and the correct answers are revealed. Groups score one point for each correct answer. The group with the most points wins. show less