Learning how to use there was and there were isn’t that difficult if you already know how to use there is and there are.
We use there was for a singular object and there were for plural objects.
These are a few examples of sentences with there was and there were
- There was a party last night
- There was an attack
- There was an accident
- There were some problems with the delivery
- There were three new guys
- There were three incidents
Now let’s check all that you need to make sentences with there was and there were correctly
Table of Contents
- There was and There Were Examples
- Positive Statements with There Was and There Were
- Negative Statements with There Was and There Were
- Questions with There Was and There Were
- Questions and Answers
- There was and There were: How Many?
- There was and There were: How Much?
- There Was and There Were: Questions Tags:
- There was and There Were Exercise
There was and There Were Examples
These are some examples of sentences using there was and there were
| Plural | There were | There were 3 strangers outside the office |
| Singular | There was | There was a stranger outside the house |
| Plural | Were there? | Were there 3 strangers outside the house? |
| Singular | Was there? | Was there a stranger outside the house? |
Positive Statements with There Was and There Were
This is the way to make affirmative sentences with there was and there were
| There | + | Verb to be | Complement |
| There | + | was | a book. |
| There | + | were | two people |
Check these examples of sentences using there was and there were.
- There was a cat in the house.
- There was money in the safe.
- There was a dog barking at us.
- There was a grocery store right there.
- There was a dog in the street.
- There were two police officers waiting for you outside.
- There were three friends of mine who wanted to do that.
- There were a lot of people outside the house
- There were many stores around here.
- There were 7 fish in the fish tank
Negative Statements with There Was and There Were
This is the way to make affirmative sentences with there was and there were
| There | + | Verb to be | Complement |
| There | + | wasn’t | a book. |
| There | + | weren’t | two people |
Check these examples of negative sentences using there was and there were.
- There wasn’t any money in the bank.
- There wasn’t any information in the file.
- There wasn’t a christmas tree in the living room
- There wasn’t a black chair in the store
- There weren’t many options available to us.
- There weren’t many movies to watch online.
- There weren’t any fans in the store.
- There weren’t any white chairs in the restaurant
- There weren’t any improvements in 2019.
- There weren’t any attempts to fix the problem.
Questions with There Was and There Were
This is the way to make questions with there was and there were
| Verb to be | + | There | Complement ? |
| Was | + | there | a book.? |
| Were | + | there | two people? |
Check these examples of questions using there was and there were.
- Was there a man standing here?
- Was there a soccer player in the hotel?
- Was there a museum in that old town?
- Was there a lot of food at the party?
- Were there many police officers around here?
- Were there many people working in the bank?
- Were there two police officers at the station?
- Were there other factory workers on the construction site?
- Were there many things to do?
- Was there a great depression 100 years ago?
Questions and Answers
These are some questions and answers with there was and there were
- Were there a lot of people at the party?
- No, there weren’t.
- Was there a lot of food at the party?
- Yes, there was.
- Was there any water left?
- No, There wasn’t
- Were there many officers available?
- There were only three of them
There was and There were: How Many?
These are some examples of questions using there was and there were
- How many dogs were there in the park?
- How many students were there in your class?
- How many drinks were there in the restaurant?
- How many people were there in the concert?
- How many films were there?
- How many soldiers were there in the field?
- How many patients were there in the Emergency room?
There was and There were: How Much?
These are some examples of questions using there was and there were
- How much money was there in your bank account?
- How much crime was there in New York City?
- How much pollution was there in China?
- How much sugar was there in the refrigerator?
- How much traffic was there on the way to work?
There Was and There Were: Questions Tags:
A tag question is a grammatical structure in which a declarative or imperative statement is turned into an interrogative fragment
- There was a good film on Netflix last night, wasn’t there?
- There wasn’t any time to go to the beach, was there?
- There wasn’t any food, was there?
- There were a lot of people here today, weren’t there?
- There weren’t any options for me, were there?
- There were many people at the concert, weren’t there?
Remember that if the sentence is affirmative, the question tag will then be negative and if the sentence is negative, the question tag will be affirmative.
There was and There Were Exercise
Test what you have learned so far by completing the following exercise
[h5p id=”26″]
