Be: Closed Questions & Short Answers in the Past Simple Tense

Grammar - Be (Past Simple): Closed Questions ➤ Yes/No

With closed questions (for the responses: yes and no), we use the verb be for short answers.

• BE + SUBJECT ... ?
• Yes, + SUBJECT + BE
• BE + SUBJECT ... ?
• No, + SUBJECT + NEG. BE
• BE → was/were
• Yes, + I/he/she/it + was.
• Were you busy yesterday?
• Yes, I was.
• No, + I/he/she/it + wasn't.
• Was he here yesterday?
• No, he wasn't.
• Yes, + you/we/they + were.
• Were you in Paris last week?
• Yes, we were.
• No, + you/we/they + weren't.
• Were they at work?
• No, they weren't.