Fiche à imprimer : Was, were, there was, there were : le prétérit de be

Was ou were ?

Sujet	Affirmative	Négative	Question
I	I was	I wasn't	Was I?
you	you were	you weren't	Were you?
he / she / it	he was	she wasn't	Was it?
we / you / they	they were	we weren't	Were they?

Comme au présent, be n'utilise jamais did : on dit Were you tired? et non ~~Did you be tired?~~

Réponses courtes : Was it good? — Yes, it was. / No, it wasn't.

There was / there were : il y avait

There was a cat in the garden. / There were lots of people at the party.

Il y avait un chat dans le jardin. / Il y avait beaucoup de monde à la fête.

There was + singulier ou indénombrable, there were + pluriel. Question : Was there any milk? Were there many people? Négative : There wasn't any bread. There weren't any buses.

Was / were + born

« Je suis né » se dit au prétérit : I was born in 2011. Where were you born?

Mise en situation : le lendemain d'une fête

Ava : Were you at Lily's party last night?

Tu étais à la fête de Lily hier soir ?

Leo : Yes, I was! There were so many people.

Oui ! Il y avait tellement de monde.

Ava : Was the music good?

La musique était bien ?

Leo : Yes, it was. But there wasn't any food left when I arrived! I was so hungry.

Oui. Mais il ne restait plus rien à manger quand je suis arrivé ! J'avais tellement faim.

À retenir

I / he / she / it was ; you / we / they were.
Négative : wasn't / weren't ; question : Was he...? Were you...? (jamais did).
There was + singulier ; there were + pluriel.
I was born in... ; Where were you born?

Exercice 1 : Was, were, there was : exercice 1 (QCM)

I ___ tired yesterday.
1. was
2. did
3. were
They ___ at school.
1. was
2. did be
3. were
« Tu étais malade ? »
1. Were you ill?
2. Did you be ill?
3. Was you ill?
« Il y avait un chat dans le jardin. »
1. There were a cat in the garden.
2. There was a cat in the garden.
3. It was a cat in the garden.
« Il y avait beaucoup de monde. »
1. There was a lot of people.
2. There were a lot of people.
3. It had a lot of people.
« Je suis né en 2011. »
1. I was born in 2011.
2. I born in 2011.
3. I am born in 2011.
« Où es-tu né ? »
1. Where were you born?
2. Where did you born?
3. Where are you born?
Was it good? — Yes, ___.
1. it did
2. it were
3. it was
« Il n'y avait pas de pain. »
1. It wasn't bread.
2. There weren't any bread.
3. There wasn't any bread.
She ___ at home last night. (négatif)
1. didn't
2. weren't
3. wasn't

Exercice 2 : Was, were, there was : exercice 2 (à compléter)

I .......................... at the cinema yesterday.
They .......................... very tired.
.......................... you at home last night?
She .......................... happy. (n'était pas)
There .......................... a big tree in the garden.
There .......................... twenty students in the class.
I was .......................... in 2012. (né)
Where .......................... you born?
Was it fun? — Yes, it .......................... .
There .......................... any chairs. (n'y avait pas)

Exercice 3 : Was, were, there was : mise en situation

Tu demandes à ton ami s'il était à la fête.
1. Were you at the party?
2. Did you be at the party?
3. Was you at the party?
Tu dis qu'il y avait beaucoup de monde.
1. There were a lot of people.
2. There was a lot of people.
3. It had many people.
Tu dis que tu étais fatigué hier.
1. I did tired yesterday.
2. I were tired yesterday.
3. I was tired yesterday.
Tu dis où tu es né.
1. I am born in Lyon.
2. I born in Lyon.
3. I was born in Lyon.
Tu demandes si le film était bien.
1. Did the film be good?
2. Was the film good?
3. Were the film good?
Tu réponds que oui.
1. Yes, it were.
2. Yes, it was.
3. Yes, it did.
Tu racontes qu'il n'y avait plus rien à manger.
1. There wasn't any food left.
2. It wasn't food left.
3. There weren't any food left.
Tu dis que tes parents n'étaient pas à la maison.
1. My parents weren't at home.
2. My parents didn't be at home.
3. My parents wasn't at home.
Tu demandes à ta correspondante où elle est née.
1. Where were you born?
2. Where are you born?
3. Where did you born?
Tu racontes qu'il y avait un chien dans le parc.
1. It was a dog in the park.
2. There was a dog in the park.
3. There were a dog in the park.

Corrigé

Exercice 1

1. a) was · 2. c) were · 3. a) Were you ill? · 4. b) There was a cat in the garden. · 5. b) There were a lot of people. · 6. a) I was born in 2011. · 7. a) Where were you born? · 8. c) it was · 9. c) There wasn't any bread. · 10. c) wasn't

Exercice 2

1. was · 2. were · 3. Were · 4. wasn't · 5. was · 6. were · 7. born · 8. were · 9. was · 10. weren't

Exercice 3

1. a) Were you at the party? · 2. a) There were a lot of people. · 3. c) I was tired yesterday. · 4. c) I was born in Lyon. · 5. b) Was the film good? · 6. b) Yes, it was. · 7. a) There wasn't any food left. · 8. a) My parents weren't at home. · 9. a) Where were you born? · 10. b) There was a dog in the park.