There Was There Were Practice Tests with A1 Grammar Rules & Examples

There Was / There Were

We use there was and there were to talk about people, animals, and things that existed in the past. We use them to say that something existed or did not exist at a time in the past.

Look at these simple examples:

Yesterday, there was a cat in the garden.
Last year, there were ten students in my class.

In this lesson, you will learn when to use there was and when to use there were, how to make questions and negatives, and how to avoid common mistakes.

A Quick Note: Singular and Plural

Before we start, let us explain two important words:

• Singular = one thing. For example: one book, one cat, one person.
• Plural = more than one thing. For example: two books, three cats, many people.

This is very important because we choose there was or there were depending on whether the noun (the person, animal, or thing) is singular or plural.

There Was – For One Thing (Singular)

We use there was when we talk about one person, animal, or thing in the past.

Pattern:
There was + one person / animal / thing

Look at this mini-situation:

Tom walked into the kitchen. He looked at the table. There was a cup on the table. There was one apple too. There was a small cat under the chair.

Here are more examples with there was:

• There was a dog in the park.
• There was a big tree in the garden.
• There was a boy in the classroom.
• There was a problem with the car.
• There was an old church in the village.

There Were – For More Than One Thing (Plural)

We use there were when we talk about more than one person, animal, or thing in the past.

Pattern:
There were + two or more people / animals / things

Look at this mini-situation:

Anna went to the market. There were many people there. There were fresh vegetables and fruit. There were three stalls selling flowers. It was a lovely morning.

Here are more examples with there were:

• There were five chairs in the room.
• There were two children in the playground.
• There were many cars on the road.
• There were some books on the shelf.
• There were a lot of people at the party.

There Was / There Were: Full Forms Table

Form	Use	Example
There was	One thing (singular)	There was a clock on the wall.
There were	More than one thing (plural)	There were clocks on the wall.
There was not / wasn't	Negative – one thing	There was not a clock on the wall.
There were not / weren't	Negative – more than one thing	There were not any clocks on the wall.
Was there?	Question – one thing	Was there a clock on the wall?
Were there?	Question – more than one thing	Were there any clocks on the wall?

Negative Sentences with There Was / There Were

To make a negative sentence (to say something did NOT exist), we add not after was or were.

Pattern:
There was not / There were not + noun

Examples:

• There was not a school in the village.
• There were not any chairs in the room.
• There was not a hospital near our house.
• There were not many people at the bus stop.

Contractions: Wasn't and Weren't

A contraction is a short form of two words joined together. We use an apostrophe ( ' ) to show where letters are missing. In everyday English, we often use contractions in negative sentences.

was not → wasn't
were not → weren't

These short forms mean exactly the same thing. They are just more informal and natural in conversation.

Examples with contractions:

• There wasn't a supermarket in our town. (= There was not a supermarket in our town.)
• There weren't any flowers in the garden. (= There were not any flowers in the garden.)
• There wasn't a teacher in the classroom.
• There weren't many buses yesterday.

Questions with There Was / There Were

To make a question, we move was or were to the beginning of the sentence, before there.

Pattern for questions:
Was there + noun? (one thing)
Were there + noun? (more than one thing)

Examples:

• Was there a swimming pool at the hotel? – Yes, there was. / No, there wasn't.
• Were there any children at the party? – Yes, there were. / No, there weren't.
• Was there a problem at school? – Yes, there was.
• Were there many shops in the village? – No, there weren't.

Short Answers to Questions

In English, we often answer questions with short answers. Here is how:

Question	Positive Short Answer	Negative Short Answer
Was there a cat?	Yes, there was.	No, there wasn't.
Were there any dogs?	Yes, there were.	No, there weren't.

Using Some and Any with There Was / There Were

We often use some and any with there was / there were. Here is a simple guide:

• Use some in positive sentences: There were some books on the table.
• Use any in negative sentences: There weren't any books on the table.
• Use any in questions: Were there any books on the table?

Note: Some and any are used with plural nouns and uncountable nouns. For singular nouns, we use a or an.

• There was a cat. (singular – one cat)
• There were some cats. (plural – more than one cat)

There Was / There Were in Context: A Short Story

Read this short story. Notice how there was and there were are used.

Last summer, I visited a small town. There was a beautiful lake near the town. There were many trees around the lake. There was a small café by the water. There were tables and chairs outside the café. There wasn't a cinema in the town, but there were two parks. There were lots of birds in the parks. It was a very peaceful place.

Important Differences and Special Cases

There Was vs. It Was

Students sometimes confuse there was with it was. They are different!

• There was introduces something new. We use it to say something existed.
  There was a dog in the garden. (We are telling you about the dog for the first time.)
• It was describes something we already know about.
  It was a big dog. (We already know about the dog. Now we describe it.)

More examples:

• There was a film on TV last night. It was very funny.
• There was a girl in my class. She was very friendly.

There Was / There Were vs. There Is / There Are

There is / There are are used for the present (now).
There was / There were are used for the past (before now).

Present (now)	Past (before)
There is a dog in the park.	There was a dog in the park.
There are five chairs here.	There were five chairs here.
There isn't a bank here.	There wasn't a bank here.
Are there any cups?	Were there any cups?

Common Mistakes

Here are the most common mistakes students make with there was and there were. Study them carefully!

❌ There were a dog in the garden.
✅ There was a dog in the garden. (Dog is singular – one dog – so we use was.)

❌ There was many people at the party.
✅ There were many people at the party. (People is plural – more than one – so we use were.)

❌ Was there any chairs in the room?
✅ Were there any chairs in the room? (Chairs is plural, so we use were.)

❌ There were not a school in our village.
✅ There was not a school in our village. (School is singular, so we use was.)

❌ There was some children in the park.
✅ There were some children in the park. (Children is plural, so we use were.)

❌ It was a cat in the garden.
✅ There was a cat in the garden. (Use there was to introduce something for the first time.)

There Was / There Were: Quick Summary

Here are the key rules to remember:

• Use there was for one person, animal, or thing in the past (singular).
• Use there were for more than one person, animal, or thing in the past (plural).
• For negatives, add not: there was not / there were not.
• Short negative forms (contractions): wasn't and weren't.
• For questions, put was or were first: Was there…? / Were there…?
• Use some in positive sentences and any in negatives and questions.
• There was / there were are the past forms. Use there is / there are for the present.

	Singular (one)	Plural (more than one)
Positive	There was a chair.	There were some chairs.
Negative	There wasn't a chair.	There weren't any chairs.
Question	Was there a chair?	Were there any chairs?
Short Answer (+)	Yes, there was.	Yes, there were.
Short Answer (–)	No, there wasn't.	No, there weren't.

Now practise there was / there were in the exercises below.