English Grammar for IAS – Use of Was and Were part 2.

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1 week ago

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Certainly! Here’s Part 2 of the Use of “Was” and “Were” in English Grammar for IAS Preparation, explained in a simple and exam-relevant way — with Hindi support to aid understanding.

Contents

1 Use of “Was” and “Were” – Part 2 (IAS Grammar Level)
2 IAS Level Tips for Grammar Questions:
3 Practice Sentences:

Use of “Was” and “Were” – Part 2 (IAS Grammar Level)

1. Basic Use Recap

Subject	Helping Verb (Past)
I, He, She, It, Singular Noun	was
You, We, They, Plural Noun	were

2. Subjunctive Mood – Unreal or Imaginary Situations

This is where “were” is used even with singular subjects to express hypothetical (kalpnik) situations or things contrary to fact.

Examples:

If I were the Prime Minister, I would reform education.

(यह कल्पना है, इसलिए “were” लगेगा)
I wish she were here.

(वह यहाँ नहीं है, लेकिन इच्छा है)

Rule: Use “were” (not was) for unreal wishes, conditions, or doubts with I, he, she, it.

3. Passive Voice – Past Tense

“Was/Were” is also used in passive voice sentences in the past tense.

Examples:

The letter was written by Nehru.
The books were distributed among the students.

4. Interrogative Sentences (प्रश्नवाचक वाक्य)

Examples:

Was she present in the meeting?
Were they informed earlier?

Helping verb comes first in the question.

5. Negative Sentences (नकारात्मक वाक्य)

Use was not / were not to form negatives.

Examples:

He was not ready for the exam.
They were not interested in politics.

IAS Level Tips for Grammar Questions:

Look out for unreal/imaginary sentences – they often use “were.”
Identify passive constructions – “was/were + past participle.”
Know the subject – singular/plural – to choose between was/were.
Read previous year grammar questions – UPSC likes conceptual traps.

Practice Sentences:

Fill in the blanks with was or were:

If he ___ a king, he would help the poor.
They ___ playing cricket yesterday.
She ___ not at home when I called.
The chairs ___ broken.
It ___ raining all day.

Answers:

were
were
was
were
was

Would you like a PDF of notes, MCQs for practice, or a grammar crash course for UPSC? Let me know!

English Grammar for IAS – Use of Was and Were part 2.