1   O past tense do verbo be (ser/estar) tem as seguintes formas:     na afirmativa:

Full Form		Significado
I was		eu fui / estive (1)
you were		tu foste / estiveste (1)
he she it	was	ele ela ele(a)	foi / esteve (1)
we were		nós fomos / estivemos (1)
you were		vós fostes / estivestes (1)
they were		eles(as) foram / estiveram (1)

(1) A tradução (para a língua portuguesa) da conjugação do past tense do verbo be é apenas um exemplo entre várias outras possibilidades, estando este tempo verbal dependente do contexto de uma frase.     na negativa:

Full Form		Short Form
I was not		I wasn't
you were not		you weren't
he she it	was not	he she it	wasn't
we were not		we weren't
you were not		you weren't
they were not		they weren't

na interrogativa:	na interrogativa negativa:

Full Form was I? were you? was he? she? it? were we? were you? were they?

Full Form Short Form was I not? wasn't I? were you not? weren't you? was he she it not? wasn't he? she? it? were we not? weren't we? were you not? weren't you? were they not? weren't they?

 

2   Emprega-se o past tense do verbo be para:     (a) identificar pessoas ou algo:

Example	Significado
Who was it?  It was John.	Quem foi? Foi o João. / Quem era? Era o João.
What was that?  It was the dog. It was trying to jump over the fence.	O que foi aquilo? Foi o cão. Estava a tentar saltar por cima da vedação.

(b) descrever o estado físico ou mental:

Example	Significado
I was tired.	Eu estive / estava cansado(a).
They were tall.	Eles(as) eram altos(as).
She was happy.	Ela esteve / estava feliz.
He was angry.	Ele esteve / estava zangado.

(c) falar sobre profissões:

Example	Significado
He was a doctor.	Ele foi / era médico.
She was an architect.	Ela foi / era arquitecta.
They were (2) mechanics.	Eles foram / eram mecânicos.
John and I were (2) teachers.	Eu e o João fomos / éramos professores.

(2) Não se utiliza o artigo indefinido a(n) no plural.

(d) falar sobre a idade:

Example	Significado
Mary was (3) ten (years old) (4).	A Maria tinha dez anos.
The house was (3) ten years old.	A casa tinha dez anos.

(3) É bastante frequente os estudantes portugueses da língua inglesa empregarem o verbo to have (que é incorrecto) em vez do verbo be para fazer referência à idade de pessoas ou algo.   (4) years old pode ser omitido quando se refere à idade de pessoas.

(e) falar sobre o tempo, horas, preços, etc.:

Example	Significado
It was cold yesterday.	Ontem esteve / estava frio.
It was three o'clock.	Eram três horas.
It was £10.	Foram 10 libras.

(f) falar sobre posses:

Example	Significado
That was my book.	Aquele era o meu livro.
This was mine.	Este era meu. / Esta era minha.
This was John's.	Este era do João.

(g) falar sobre a localização:

Example	Significado
She was in the bedroom.	Ela esteve / estava no quarto de dormir.
Salisbury was the capital of Zimbabwe.	Salisbúria foi / era a capital de Zimbabwe.