LANGUAGE FOCUS was, were, there was, the
I can talk about the past with was and were.
there
4
co
was, were
1 Complete the sentences from the text on
page 106. Then read rules 1–3.
The engine_too heavy for wooden tracks.
They?__very comfortable.
It? _very successful.
Steam engines heavy.
O RULES
1 We use was/ were to talk about the past.
2 Was / were are the past forms of be.
3 We form the negative with was / were +
not.​

Once upon a time there was a doctor; and his name was Dolittle – John Dolittle, M.D. “M.D.” means that he was a good doctor. He lived in a little town. The name of the town was Puddleby. And when he walked down the street, everyone notoced him and said that he was  a clever man.
 The house where he lived was quite small; but his garden was very large.  He loved animals and kept many kinds of pets. Besides the gold-fish in the pond, he had rabbits, white mice, a squirrel and a hedgehog. He had a cow with a calf too, and an old horse, and chickens, and pigeons, and many other animals. But his favorite pets werethe duck,  the dog, the baby pig, the parrot, and the owl  His sister often said that they made the house untidy. So she came to her brother and said that sick people couldn't come to him because his  all these animals were in the house.She also supposed that nobody would come to him soon.  But the Doctor replied that he loved animals more than people. The Doctor got more and more animals; and at last he had no patients at all. He got even more pets; and of course it cost a lot to feed them. He sold many things from his house but he went on becoming poorer and poorer. And now, when he walked down the street, people said that he had been the best known doctor in the West Country, but he had become very poor. But the animals from all over the city followed him. 

1. My friend (is) at home now. 2. We (have) English classes twice a week. 3. Wealth (is) nothing, happiness (is) all. 4. She (is) an economist. 5. A good teacher (has) some of the gifts of a good actor. 6. Nothing (is) so rare as complete honesty. 7. A triangle (has) three sides and three angles. 8. Education (is) not just learning facts. 9. Everything children study at school (has) some practical use in their daily life. 10. School (is) an institution for educating children. 11. This book (is) interesting. 12. John (has) a problem.