there was / there were

Rules

• Rule 1: One or uncountable → there was

  Use there was for one thing, or for things we can't count (water, snow, milk, noise).

  Pattern: There was + a / an / some + singular or uncountable noun

  Example: There was a dog in the garden this morning.

  Example: There was some water on the floor.

• Rule 2: Plural → there were

  Use there were for more than one thing. A plural noun follows.

  Pattern: There were + plural noun

  Example: There were five apples in the bag.

  Example: There were a lot of birds on the roof.

• Rule 3: “There wasn't / there weren't”

  For negatives we add not: there wasn't (singular), there weren't (plural). We use any or no for “none”: There were no … = There weren't any …

  Pattern: There wasn't a / any … · There weren't any … · There was / were no …

  Example: There wasn't any sugar in my tea.

  Example: There weren't any clouds in the sky.

• Rule 4: Questions → Was there / Were there

  For questions was / were goes first. Short answers: Yes, there was. / No, there weren't. For numbers and amounts: How many … were there? How much … was there?

  Pattern: Was there a …? · Were there any …? · How many … were there?

  Example: Was there a cat at the farm? — Yes, there was.

  Example: Were there any kids at the beach? — No, there weren't.

Common mistakes

• There had a big tree in our garden. → There was a big tree in our garden.

  For “there existed” we use there was, not had. (Owning is different: We had a big tree.)

• There was many people at the zoo. → There were many people at the zoo.

  many people is plural → were.

• Did there any milk? → Was there any milk?

  Questions use Was / Were, not did.