Relations with Simple Present Tense

Simple past tense is also similar to the simple present tense because it has different rules for the verb 'be', which becomes 'was' or 'were':

The Simple Past Tense with 'be'

Positive with 'be'

I was cold

you were tired

he was in the gardens

he was late

It was sunny

we were on holiday

they were hungry

To make the negative with 'be', just add 'not':

Negative with 'be'

Bold - original form
Italic - short form

I was not sleepy
I wasn't sleepy

you were not on the bus
you weren't on the bus

he was not at school
he wasn't at school

she was not beautiful
she wasn't beautiful

It was not cold
It wasn't cold

we were not at work
we weren't at work

they were not tired
they weren't tired