Presentation

Moriarty, D. (2017). Tocadisco [photo]. Taken from https://goo.gl/xzX0Ua

Aust, H. (2016). Ipod [photo]. Taken from https://goo.gl/crHAf8

Do you know the name of this object?
Was there one in your parents’ house when they were young?
Do you think nowadays we have better gadgets to listen to music?
Is today’s music better than music in the past?

In this section, we will learn to describe people and objects in the past using the Verb to Be in past form. We will study the necessary information about it.
Think for a moment about the answers to the following questions.

How old were you last year?
Where were you yesterday evening?
What was the weather like yesterday?

To answer this type of questions, we need to use the verb to Be in the past.

In this section, you will become familiar with the use of the verb to Be in the past (Was/Were). In the first part, you will read about a Mexican idol and identify specific information in a multiple choice exercise. To understand verb to Be in the past in context, you will enjoy a video about an extremely famous rock band and answer a “True/False” exercise.

Next, you will take a look at a music festival program to describe where your favourite singers were. This will help you write sentences describing their location in the past using WAS or WERE. Finally, you will remember a memorable concert describing that specific day in the past. Enjoy this trip to the past using Was and Were.

Objective

By the end of this topic, you will:
Use verb to Be in the past (Was/Were) in affirmative, negative and interrogative form to describe conditions and situations that were true at a specific time in the past. You will achieve these using people and places in the world of music.

Content

Are you familiar with this song?

Each time I cling to your kiss
I hear music divine, so ……
Love me forever and say
you will always be mine

It is the English version of the famous song “Bésame Mucho.”

Do you know who these people are?

But, what is the relationship among all these people?
Let’s find out!!

Notice in the paragraph above, we are describing a person, her nationality, her origin, her age when she wrote the song, her profession and additional information about her using was. This is the past tense of the verb to Be.
As mentioned above, we sometimes use were, others we use was, it all depends on the subject. In the following explanation, you will learn how to use each one

Using the verb to Be in the past, we can make affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences to ask for or give information. Now, we are going to explore the general characteristics of the three forms:

Affirmative

Subjet	+	Was / Were	+	Complement
I		was
You		were
He		was
She		was		Mexican
It		was
We		were
You		were
They		were

Negative

Subjet	+	Was / Were not Wasn´t / Weren´t	+	Complement
I		wasn´t
You		weren´t
He		wasn´t
She		wasn´t		at the concert yesterday
It		wasn´t
We		weren´t
You		weren´t
They		weren´t

Interrogative (yes/no questions)

Was / Were	+	Subjet	+	Complement
Was		I		chubby when I was a kid?
Yes, you were
Where		you		at home last night?
No, I wasn´t
Was		he		at school this morning?
Yes, he was
Was		it		hot last summer?
Yes, it was
Were		we		at a party last sunday?
Yes, we were
Were		you		hungry?
No, they weren’t

Interrogative (questions word)

Question word	+	Was / Were	+	Subjet	+	Complement	+	?
Where		was		she		born		?
How old		was		he		when he died		?
Were		were		you		last night		?
What		was		her		most famous song		?

We do not use WAS/WERE to describe actions in the past!

Notice, Was and Were are used to express the same concepts as the verb to Be in the present. That is they are used to talk about someone's past information: Origin, Name, Profession, Age, Description, Location, Birthplace, Birthdate, and Possession.

We need to recycle some vocabulary in order to express conditions in the past. Study this chart:

Vocabulary	Example
Place	Michael Jackson was at school in 1960.
Adjective	John Lennon and Paul MC Cartney were shorter when they were 5 years old.
Origin	Elvis Presley was from the USA.
Nationality	Consuelo Velázquez was Mexican.
Profession	Jorge Negrete was an actor and an opera singer.

What vocabulary do we need?

Nationalities Countries Numbers

Adjectives Location Professions

And time expressions in the past such as:

Now it’s time for you to do the following activities.
If you have any questions you can go back to the previous section to check any aspect explained there.

Reading

Activity 1

An International Mexican Idol

In the musical history of every country, there are always representative characters who are significant in time and place. Similarly to The Beatles who left an important legacy for their and future generations, there have been people such as Pedro Infante who were significant in our country. Who hasn’t seen any of his movies? Who hasn’t sung any of his songs?
In this activity, we will explore a bit about his life. After reading “Pedro Infante’s life,” based on the text click on the correct option. When you finish, check your score.

Click on the Activity 1 button to answer the questions.

Read the text

Listening

Activity 2

The Best Rock Band

For sure you know who The Beatles are!
Let’s watch a video describing their lives.

Writing

Activity 3

Where were my favourite singers yesterday?

Music plays a significant role in our lives. Yesterday, Juan and his friends were at a music festival, where a lot of his favourite singers participated.
After checking the location and time for each presentation on the concert calendar, write 10 sentences using Was/Were.
You can ask Wh (for example Where) or Yes/No questions. You will also have to answer some questions too.

Trillet, T. (2016). Concert [photo]. Taken from https://goo.gl/rZ63Je

Remember to study the rubrics before doing this exercise and make sure your sentences have the necessary elements.

Music band or singer	5:00 pm	8:00 pm
Katy Perry	At the Golden stage	At the VIP marquee
Bruno Mars	At the Main stage	At the Silver stage
Coldplay	At the VIP marquee	At the Red marquee
Maroon 5	At the Silver stage	At the Blue marquee
Taylor Swiff	At the Blue marquee	At the Green stage
Christina Perri	At the Movable marquee	At the Golden stage
Rihanna	At the Green stage	At the Main stage
Passenger	At the Red marquee	At the Movable marquee

Speaking

Activity 4

The most memorable
concert I have ever been to.

PEXEL. (s.f.). Concert [photo]. Taken from https://goo.gl/wBJlOR

How much do you like music?
What kind of music do you like?
Have you ever been to a concert?
Which is the most memorable concert you have been to?
Where was it?
What was the weather like?
How was the atmosphere?
Was the music good?
Were the people excited?

Think about where the concert took place such as the weather, the atmosphere, the singers, your feelings and sensations that special day. Do not think about actions, just think about describing it using Was/Were.

Tell us about your experience, by answering the following questions. You will record the questions and the answers. Try to use as many adjectives as you can.

1. When was the concert?
2. Where was it?
3. Who were you with?
4. Describe the stage.
5. What was the weather like that day or night?

6. Describe the atmosphere.
7. Was the concert expensive?
8. How did you feel during the concert? Were you happy, excited, sad, satisfied, angry, bored?
9. How did you feel when the concert finished?

Before recording make sure that your questions and answers have the characteristics described in the rubrics.

Example

Self-assessment

Can you use WAS/WERE?

Helen spent last weekend in Mexico. To ask her about her trip, write questions using WAS or WERE.

Can you use WAS/WERE? (Part 2)

Helen and John remember their first house when they got married. John remembers something, but Helen remembers it in more detail. Read what John said, then use a word from the ones provided to write what Helen said.

The verb to be in the past:
Was/Were.

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