The primary auxiliaries was and were are used to talk about past states and relationships.

She was crying.
They were playing.
It was raining.
Susie was knitting.

As you can see, in all of these sentences the auxiliaries was and were are used to talk about past states.

Was and were can also be used to make continuous and passive verb forms in the past tense.

She was working. (Past continuous)
The boy was punished. (Simple past tense – passive)
It was raining.

Notes

Use was with singular nouns and pronouns (he, she, it). Was is also used with the first person singular pronoun I.

Use were with plural nouns and pronouns (you, they, we)

Complete the following sentences with was or were.

1. I ……………………………………….. sleeping.

2. They …………………………………………. preparing for the test.

3. Krishna ……………………………………….. excited about the project.

4. Rama and Krishna …………………………………….. going through the jungle.

5. The boys ……………………………………. waiting for their results.

6. You ……………………………………. sleeping.

7. We …………………………………… waiting for them.

8. That ……………………………….. a disaster.

9. Mother ……………………………………… cooking dinner.

10. Karan ………………………………………. painting a picture.

Answers

1. I was sleeping.

2. They were preparing for the test.

3. Krishna was excited about the project.

4. Rama and Krishna were going through the jungle.

5. The boys were waiting for their results.

6. You were sleeping.

7. We were waiting for them.

8. That was a disaster.

9. Mother was cooking dinner.

10. Karan was painting a picture.