EnglishGrade 5ages 10–11
🕰️ was / were
Hebrew has no separate word standing in for "is" or "are" in the present tense, so English's past-tense pair — was and were — has nothing to anchor onto, and the two get swapped.
Try this lesson freeNo card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreWhat your child learns
- I was, she was, he was — one person.
- we were, they were — more than one.
- you were — for one you and for more.
- Hebrew has no such word in the present at all, so it is easy to forget English demands one in the past.
The mistake most kids make here
I were, they was.
Try one question
I ___ at the table.
I ___
- were
- was
- is
Answer
was — That's it. I was — one person, past time.
How Maya teaches it
Your child tells Maya what they did in class. She teaches this topic at her desk, asks questions with tappable answers, and when the answer is wrong she explains why that answer was tempting instead of saying “try again”. She remembers what did not land and comes back to it.
Your child has it when they can: Say I was and they were.
How to help at home
"Was" goes with one person — I was, she was, he was. "Were" goes with more than one — we were, they were — and, oddly, with "you" whether you mean one person or several.
Practice by counting on your fingers: hold up one finger and say "I was," hold up several and say "we were." Tying the word to a visible count helps it stick.
If your child says "they was" or "I were," ask: "how many people are we talking about — one, or more than one?" Let them pick the matching word themselves.
A good sign of mastery: they say "I was" and "they were" correctly without needing to stop and think about the count first.
Questions parents ask
- Why does my child mix up was and were?
- Hebrew has no separate word for "is" or "are" in the present, so there's nothing in the child's first language to map "was" and "were" onto — the pair has to be learned as its own new rule.
- Is "you were" always correct?
- Yes — "you" always takes "were," whether it means one person or several, which is one of the few exceptions worth calling out directly.
- What's a quick way to check understanding?
- Ask your child to say one sentence about themselves with "was" and one about a group with "were," out loud, without writing it down first.
- How does Maya teach this differently from flashcards?
- Maya asks how many people the sentence is about before asking which word fits, so the child anchors the choice to a count rather than guessing.
No card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreMore English lessons
- yesterday + edGrade 5
- going toGrade 5
- many / muchGrade 5
- bigger / smallerGrade 5
- There is a chairGrade 4
- A room sentenceGrade 4
- I am eatingGrade 4
- a big catGrade 4
Sources: English Curriculum 2020 for elementary school – Israeli Ministry of Education