Past tense of “be”: was / were, been
The verb “be” is irregular: its past simple is “was / were” and its past participle is “been”.
Base form (V1)
be
/biː/
Past simple (V2)
was / were
/wɒz/
Past participle (V3)
been
/biːn/
Meaning
to exist, or to have a certain quality
Example
They were happy at the party.
Pattern
ABC — all three forms are different
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