THERE WAS THERE WERE

There was…/There were… Rules

Affirmative Sentences:
(1) Use There was… with singular nouns in affirmative sentences
in the past tense.
Examples:

(a) There was a big garden sale at Metro last weekend.

(b) There was a lot of noise at the party last Friday.

(c) There was an elephant at the zoo last year.

There was…/There were… Rules

(2) Use There were… with plural nouns in affirmative

sentences in the past tense.

Examples:

(a) There were many ants in the yard after the party.

(b) There were three letters for you in the mail yesterday.

(c) There were beautiful women at the Bingo on Friday night.

 There wasn’t…/There weren’t… Rules

Negative Sentences:
(1) Use There wasn’t…with singular nouns in the negative form
and in the past tense.
Examples:
(a) There wasn’t any water in the fridge last weekend.

(b) There wasn’t a lot of noise at the party last Friday.

There wasn’t…/There weren’t… Rules

2. Use There weren’t… with plural nouns in the negative form

and in the past tense.
Examples:
(a) There weren’t many ants in the yard after the party.

(b) There weren’t three letters for you in the mail yesterday.

(c) There weren’t a lot of pretty women at the Bingo on Friday night.
Was there…?/Were there…? Rules

Direct Questions and Yes/No Answers:

The question forms of there was… and there were… are formed by
placing the verb before there (inverting the word order), and using a
question mark (?) at the end.

Example #1:
Sentence: There was a big sale at Metro last weekend.
Question: Was there a big sale at Metro last weekend ?
Answers: Yes, there was. / No, there wasn’t.
Was there…?/Were there…? Rules

Example #2:

Sentence: There were many ants in the yard after the party.
Question: Were there many ants in the yard after the party?
Answers: Yes, there were. / No, there weren’t.
Wh- was there…?/ Wh- were there…?
Rules

Wh-Questions and Answers:

When we use Wh-questions, we ask for information. We

always use wh-question words to begin the question. Observe
the following rules and remember: What-Qué, When-Cuándo,
Where-Dónde, How-Cómo, Why-Por qué…
Wh-was there…?/ Wh-were there…?
Rules

Pattern #1:
What
When + was there + singular noun… ?
Where
Why
How many
Example:
Sentence→ There were a lot of people at the party last weekend.
Question → How many people were there at the party last weekend ?
Answer → There were a lot of people at the party last weekend.
Short Answer→ A lot.
Past Tense Time Expressions
Past Tense Time Expressions are words or phrases in
sentences that indicate when the action occurred.

Examples:
yesterday last month
yesterday morning last semester
yesterday afternoon last year
yesterday evening last summer
last night last Thanksgiving
last Monday… 10 minutes ago
last week 5 days ago
last weekend 3 weeks ago
Past Tense Time Expressions
More Examples:

2 Saturdays ago
4 months ago
7 years ago
2 semesters ago
3 summers ago
in 1912
in the 70’s
in the 90’s
in the year 1994
on December 25th, 2000 etc…
Test (Affirmative Sentences)

Select the best answer.

__ 1. ___ an excellent jazz concert on TV last night.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 2. ___ a lot of students in the cafeteria this morning.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 3. ___ seven hurricane warnings for Puerto Rico last year.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 4. ___someone at the door when I was taking a shower.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 5. ___ many policemen on the roads during the past holiday.
(A) There was (B) There were
Test (Negative Sentences)

__ 6. ___ many homeless people on the streets 20 years ago.

(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 7. ___ any water in my neighborhood yesterday night.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 8. ___ a lot of television sets in Puerto Rican homes years ago.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 9. ___ a quiet place to study at the library yesterday morning.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__10. ___ enough chairs for everyone at the seminar last Monday.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
Test (Direct Questions)

__ 11. ___ a security guard at the entrance of the university ?

(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 12. ___ any messages for me yesterday ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 13. ___ some interesting action movies at the Video Store?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 14. ___ a variety of snack machines at the hospital lobby ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 15. ___ a delay in flight TM254 from Florida to Puerto Rico ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
Test (Wh-Questions)

__ 16. When ___ a fund raising activity for the hurricane victims ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 17. Why ___ many children crying at the dentist’s office ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 18. Where ___ summer jobs available for the teenagers ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 19. What ___ inside the enormous box ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 20. Why ___ an emergency meeting at the club last night ?
(A) was there (B) were there
Test Answer Key

1. A 11. A
2. B 12. B
3. B 13. B
4. A 14. B
5. B 15. A
6. B 16. A
7. A 17. B
8. B 18. B
9. A 19. A
10. B 20. A
Test Evaluation
Total Correct Answers

20 Excellent: Go to the Post-Test

19 - 18 Very Good: Review the incorrect answer and go
to the Post-Test.
17-15 Good: Review the incorrect answers, study the rules
presented in this module, do the practice exercises
and then go to the Post-Test.
14 or You Need More Practice: Study the module,
less review the rules carefully and do the practice
exercises. When you improve your score, you
may go to the Post-Test.
There was…/There were Practice
Exercise

Select the best answer.

__ 1. ___ many “parrandas” in my neighborhood last Christmas.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 2. ___ an urgent weather broadcast on the radio this morning.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 3. ___ much traffic to Old San Juan last Saturday.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 4. ___ 25 children at the birthday party last Sunday.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 5. ___ some nurse job positions in the newspaper last week.
(A) There was (B) There were
There wasn’t…/There weren’t...
Practice Exercise

__ 6. ___ any interesting programs on TV last night.

(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 7. ___ a variety of fresh fruit at the supermarket two days ago.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 8. ___ enough beds for the patients at the hospital last month.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 9. ___ a life guard at the swimming pool last night.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__10. ___ many tourists at the expensive Resort last summer.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
Was there…?/ Were there…? Practice
Exercise

__ 11. ___ many graduates at the graduation in May, 2005 ?

(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 12. ___ a car accident on Kennedy Expressway yesterday ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 13. ___ an ambulance at your house last night ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 14. ___ good sales at JC Penny last spring ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 15. ___ different typical foods at “The Puerto Rican Food
Festival” in New York City last year ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
Wh- was there…?/ Wh- were there…?
Practice Exercise

__ 16. What ___ inside the mysterious package ?

(A) was there (B) were there
__ 17. When ___ a Surprise Party for your parents ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 18. Where ___ some strange noises last night ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 19. Why ___ a disagreement in class yesterday ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 20. Why ___ many papers on the floor at the office yesterday
morning ?
(A) was there (B) were there
There was…/ There were… Practice
Exercise Answer Key

1. B 11. B
2. A 12. A
3. A 13. A
4. B 14. B
5. B 15. B
6. B 16. A
7. A 17. A
8. B 18. B
9. A 19. A
10. B 20. B
Practice Exercise Evaluation

Total Correct Answers

20 Excellent: Go to the Post-Test.

19 Very Good: Review the incorrect answer and
go to the Post-Test.
18-12 Good: Review the incorrect answers, consult the
module again and then go to the Post-Test.
11 or You Need More Practice: Study the module,
less review the rules carefully and do the practice
exercises again. When you understand and
improve your score, you may go to the Post-Test.
Post-Test

Select the best answer.

__ 1. ___ an excellent jazz concert on TV last night.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 2. ___ a lot of students in the cafeteria this morning.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 3. ___ seven hurricane warnings for Puerto Rico last year.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 4. ___someone at the door when I was taking a shower.
(A) There was (B) There were
__ 5. ___ many policemen on the roads during the past holiday.
(A) There was (B) There were
Post-Test

__ 6. ___ many homeless people on the streets 20 years ago.

(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 7. ___ any water in my neighborhood yesterday night.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 8. ___ a lot of television sets in Puerto Rican homes years ago.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 9. ___ a quiet place to study at the library yesterday morning.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__10. ___ enough chairs for everyone at the seminar last Monday.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
Post-Test

__ 11. ___ a security guard at the entrance of the university ?

(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 12. ___ any messages for me yesterday ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 13. ___ some interesting action movies at the Video Store?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 14. ___ a variety of snack machines at the hospital lobby ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
__ 15. ___ a delay in flight TM254 from Florida to Puerto Rico ?
(A) Was there (B) Were there
Post-Test

__ 16. When ___ a fund raising activity for the hurricane victims ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 17. Why ___ many children crying at the dentist’s office ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 18. Where ___ summer jobs available for the teenagers ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 19. What ___ inside the enormous box ?
(A) was there (B) were there
__ 20. Why ___ an emergency meeting at the club last night ?
(A) was there (B) were there
Post-Test Answer Key

1. A 11. A
2. B 12. B
3. B 13. B
4. A 14. B
5. B 15. A
6. B 16. A
7. A 17. B
8. B 18. B
9. A 19. A
10. B 20. A
Test Evaluation
Total Correct Answers

20 Excellent: Go to the Post-Test

19 - 18 Very Good: Review the incorrect answer and go
to the Post-Test.
17-15 Good: Review the incorrect answers, study the rules
presented in this module, do the practice exercises
14 or You Need More Practice: Study the module,
less review the rules carefully and do the practice
exercises. When you improve your score, you
may go to the Post-Test.