Simple past tense digunakan untuk fakta-fakta dan peristiwa-peristiwa yang terjadi di masa lampau. Contoh:
- I was with my grandmother yesterday.
- They were at home last week.
Kata kerja “to be” untuk simple past tense adalah bentuk lampau dari “to be” am, is, are, yakni sebagai berikut.
Tunggal
I was
You were
He was
She was
Itwas
|
Jamak
We were
You were
They were
|
Beberapa contoh kalimat simple past tense dengan kata kerja “to be”:
- I was happy yesterday
- We were teachers for 20 years
- There was a lot of rain yesterday
Kalimat-kalimat simple past tense selalu terkait dengan waktu tertentu yang dinyatakan atau tidak dinyatakan. Contoh:
- I was really busy yesterday. (Waktu dalam kalimat ini dinyatakan)
- I was really busy. (Waktu dalam kalimat ini tidak dinyatakan, tetapi dalam sebuah percakapan waktu yang dimaksud dapat dimengerti).
“To be” negatif
Kalimat negatif simple past tense dibuat dengan menambahkan notsetelah kata kerja “to be”. Contoh:
- It was not sunny yesterday
- They were not in the library
Kita sering menyingkat “to be” negatif khususnya dalam bahasa lisan:
- She was not hungry -> She wasn’t hungry
- They were not abroad last year -> They weren’t abroad last year.
“To be” bertanya
Pertanyaan dibuat dengan menukar posisi subjek dan kata kerja “to be”. Contoh:
- He was a teacher
- Was he a teacher?
- We were happy to see your family.
- Were you happy to see my family?
