U3 – NA2 Grammar

1. Past Simple verbo to Be: was/were (era / estaba)

+ - (not) ?
I was wasn't Was I ….?
You were weren't Were you …?
He was wasn't Was he …?
She was wasn't Was she …?
It was wasn't Was it …?
We were weren't Were we …?
You were weren't Were you …?
They were weren't Were they …?

Short answers (respuestas cortas)

+ (Positive) - (Negative)
I was. I wasn't.
Yes, he/she, it was. No, he, she, it wasn't.
you, we, they were. you, we, they weren't.

2. There was / were … - Había …

Son las formas de pasado de There is y There are y, por lo tanto, significan "había" o "hubo". En inglés
hay una forma para el singular y otra para el plural.

There was + nombres en singular y de nombres no contables.

There was a fantastic concert on Friday (Hubo un concierto fantástico el viernes.)
There was live music at the pub. (Había música en vivo en el pub.)

There were + nombres en plural.

There were flutes in the band. (Habia flautas traveseras en la banda.)

En negativa se añade la partícula not o la contracción n't (wasn't I weren't).

There weren't unusual instruments in the orchestra. (No había instrumentos inusuales en la orquesta.)

En interrogativa se pone Was I Were delante de there.

Were there famous drum players at the party? ¿Había baterías famosos en la fiesta?

En las respuestas breves se vuelve al orden normal y, si son negativas, se usan las
formas contraídas.
Yes, there were. I No, there weren't. Si. I No.

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 U3 – NA2 Grammar

Tabla Resumen There was / There were

+ (Había ...) - (No había ...) ? (¿Había … ?)
Singular Singular Singular
There was (a) ... There wasn't (any) ... Was there (any)... ?
Había sólo una cosa (Singular) No había una cosa. Preguntar si había una cosa
Plural Plural Plural
There were (3, some, many, ...) There weren't (any) ... Were there (any) … ?
Había más de una cosa (Plural) No había más de una cosa. Preguntar si había varias cosas

1 Complete the sentences with was, wasn’t , were or weren’t.

1. My teacher …………………… (not) angry with me.
2. The football players …………………… excited before the game.
3. It …………………… (not) very cold in December last year.
4. I …………………… in front of the post office at 10.30.
5. We …………………… (not) at the cinema last night.
6. You …………………… late for the bus today.
3. Choose the correct answer.
1. There was / There were / Was there six messages for you.

2. There weren’t / There was / Were there any people in the church?

3. There weren't / There wasn’t / Was there any meat sauce on the spaghetti.

4. There were / There was / Was there an apple on the table an hour ago.

5. Was there / Were there / There wasn’t any rice in the cupboard?

4. Complete the dialogue with the correct form of was , were , there was or there were .
Eneko: Where 1.…………………… you this morning? You 2.…………………… at home.

Isabela: I 3.…………………… at Rosa’s Bakery this morning.

Eneko: I love Rosa’s cakes! 4.…………………… any cakes with fruit?

Isabela: 5.…………………… any apple cakes, but 6.…………………… a cake with strawberries.

Eneko: 7.…………………… it a chocolate cake with strawberries?

Isabela: Yes, it 8.…………………… – and I’ve got it right here. Would you like some?

Eneko: Of course!