2. Luis is talking about a situation that happened in his job yesterday. Read it
carefully and pay attention to the words in BLUE.
Yesterday I was in my office when my boss called me. He was very serious
and I did not know why. He talked to me and told me that I had to go to a
meeting at 3:00pm. It was mandatory. When I asked him why, he said: “you
just need to go there”. I was very nervous. My partners were serious too.
They were not in the office all day, so I thought something bad was
happening. I wasn´t sure, but I knew something was about to happen. At
3:00pm, I went to the meeting. It was dark. When I opened the door,
everyone yelled: “Happy Birthday”. I was shocked, so I did not say anything!
Then everyone hugged me. They weren’t in the office because they were
planning a surpise party for me. At the end, I was very happy, and I enjoyed
it a lot.

3. Read the following dialogue.
Ana: Hi Fred! How are you?
Fred: Hello Ana! I am great, what about you?
Ana: I am ok thank you. One question, were you in your house
yesterday?
Fred: No, I was not. I was in the university. And you?
Ana: Oh, I was at work until 8:00pm. Then, my friends and I decided to
go to a resturant. We were in the restaurant until 11:00pm.
Fred: Woww. Was Melissa in the restaurant too?
Ana: Yes, she was. Jose was in the restaurant too.
Fred: Were Carlos and Juan at work?
Ana: No, they weren’t. They were in the supermarket.

4. Talking about the Past
When we talk about the past, we need to use express our
ideas using the language in the past. For example:
I am in the office.
This idea is telling us that I am in the office now, in this
moment.
I was in the office.
This idea is telling us that I was in the office yesterday, two
weeks ago, a moment in the past.

5. Language Examples
Ana is telling Fred some details about the office.
Pay attention to the words in blue.
 I was in the office. I was not at home.
 My boss was in the cafeteria. He was not late.
 George and Charlie were in the laboratory. They were
inside the building. They were not in the office.
 Cristina was in the doctor’s office. She was sick. She
was not happy.
 The window was dirty. It was not clean.

6. Asking Questions
Read the following examples. Can you identify how to ask
questions about past events?
 Were you in the office?
 Yes, I was.
 Were you at home?
 No, I wasn’t.
 Was she at the mall?
 Yes, she was.
 Was she sad?
 No, she wasn’t.

7. Common Expressions
When we talk about the past, most of the time we use some
expressions such as:
 Yesterday…
 I was in the office yesterday.
 Last week…
 Last week, they were in the park.
 Last month…
 I was not at home last month.
 Two days ago…
 Two days ago, she was at home.
 Two weeks ago…
 We were in the hospital two weeks ago.