Primary Longman Elect 4A Chapter 5 There was/were … Was/Were there …?

Simple Past Tense We use this tense to talk about things that happened in the past. People got water from wells many years ago.

Simple Past Tense We use this tense to talk about things that happened in the past. Singing cont Now (2009) 2007 Tina and I won a singing contest two years ago.

Simple Past Tense If there is no action in the sentence, we use was or were as the verb. is  was There was an airport in Hong Kong twenty years ago.

Simple Past Tense If there is no action in the sentence, we use was or were as the verb. isn’t  wasn’t There wasn’t a theme park in Hong Kong a hundred years ago.

Simple Past Tense If there is no action in the sentence, we use was or were as the verb. are  were There were tall buildings in Hong Kong twenty years ago.

Simple Past Tense If there is no action in the sentence, we use was or were as the verb. aren’t  weren’t Use any to emphasise there was not one. There weren’t any supermarkets in Hong Kong a hundred years ago.

Use any to emphasise there was not one. Key structure There was an airport 20 years ago. were tall buildings wasn’t a theme park 100 weren’t any supermarkets Use any to emphasise there was not one.

Practice In my neighbourhood … There ________ (wasn’t/weren’t) any supermarkets thirty years ago. There ______ (was/were) a post office two years ago. 3 There ________ (wasn’t/weren’t) a library three years ago. 4 There ______ (was/were) banks five years ago. 5 There ______ (was/were) a shopping centre eight years ago. weren’t was wasn’t were was

Asking questions We can also ask questions using was and were. Was there an airport in Hong Kong twenty years ago? Yes, there was.

Asking questions We can also ask questions using was and were. Was there a theme park in Hong Kong a hundred years ago? No, there wasn’t.

Asking questions We can also ask questions using was and were. Were there tall buildings in Hong Kong twenty years ago? Yes, there were.

Use any to ask plural questions. Asking questions We can also ask questions using was and were. Use any to ask plural questions. Were there any supermarkets in Hong Kong a hundred years ago? No, there weren’t.

Use any to ask plural questions. Key structure Was there an airport 80 years ago? Were any supermarkets Use any to ask plural questions. Yes, there was. were. No, wasn’t. weren’t.

Practice Debbie is asking her dad about his school when he was young. Finish what they say. canteen  Was there a canteen? No, there wasn’t.

Practice Debbie is asking her dad about his school when he was young. Finish what they say.  computers Were there any computers? No, there weren’t.

Practice Debbie is asking her dad about his school when he was young. Finish what they say.  art room Was there an art room? Yes, there was.

Practice Debbie is asking her dad about his school when he was young. Finish what they say.  lift Was there a lift? No, there wasn’t.

Practice Debbie is asking her dad about his school when he was young. Finish what they say.  toilets Were there any toilets? Yes, there were.

Practice Debbie is asking her dad about his school when he was young. Finish what they say.  school hall Was there a school hall? Yes, there was.

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