Lesson 6: Past Simple Tense, section A, explains: "In the text, 'was' and 'were' are used to refer to a past state... The sentences are all in the past simple tense. This is how states and actions are expressed in the past simple tense."
Class 6 › English Grammar and Composition › Chapter 2: The Tenses › Topic: The Present Tense
Aligned to the NCTB national curriculum.