The Verb To Be in the Simple Past Tense: Was / Were

The past forms of the verb to be are was and were, and the conjugation of the verb is as follows:

I / he / she / it	was
You / we / they	were

The forms was and were are used to describe a situation or situations in the past that no longer exist, e.g.

There were two men on that corner, but they are gone now. 

Terry was thin when he was young. 

The concert last night was fabulous!