In simple past tense, “was” is used for first-person singular (I) and third-person singular (he, she, it) subjects, while “were” is used with you (second-person singular) and all plural subjects (we, they).

The correct phrase is "people were." In English, the verb "to be" should be conjugated as "were" when referring to plural subjects like "people." Using "people was" is incorrect and should be avoided. Last updated: March 19, 2024 • 2939 views people was This phrase is incorrect in English.

Using was and were correctly takes practice. Even native speakers sometimes use them incorrectly (according to standard English). Just try keeping these key points in mind: When writing in the past tense, use I was, she/he was, and it was. Use you were, we were, and they were. In the subjunctive mood, always use were.

In this case, both was and were are in the past tense. A main difference is that one (was) is singular, and the other (were) is often plural. If was is past-tense singular, then it refers to one person or object being in a previous moment or time.