Я был в туалете дважды.

I was in the restroom twice.

Breakdown of Я был в туалете дважды.

• я: I
• в: in
• быть: to be
• туалет: the toilet; restroom

Questions & Answers about Я был в туалете дважды.

Why is it был and not есть?

Был is the past tense of быть (to be).

• Я был = I was
• Я есть is generally not used in normal modern Russian to mean I am

So Я был в туалете дважды means I was in the toilet/bathroom twice.

In present tense, Russian usually just omits to be:

• Я дома = I am at home
• not normally Я есть дома

Why is it был? Could it be была?

Yes — it depends on the speaker’s gender.

In the past tense, Russian verbs agree with gender in the singular:

• Я был = I was (said by a man)
• Я была = I was (said by a woman)

So this sentence as written suggests the speaker is male. A female speaker would say:

• Я была в туалете дважды.

Why is it в туалете and not в туалет?