Inter American University of Puerto Rico Guayama Campus Title V Cooperative Project There was…/There were… Module Prof. Marisol Piazza Aguirre April 24, 2006

Instructions Use the following buttons to navigate through this module: Use this button to move to the next slide. Use this button to move to the previous slide. Use this button to return to the last viewed slide or the beginning of the module. Use this button to view the answer to the exercise.

Purpose This module proposes to expand the basic teaching-learning activities of English included in the Title V Cooperative Project: “Improving Academic Outcomes Through a Technology-Based Consortium Program for the Core Curriculum”. The project is integrated by the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce from where it is directed, the Arecibo, Mayagüez and Guayama Campuses, the School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico and Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Guayama Campus.

Introduction Important grammatical structures an ESL student should master to communicate effectively in English orally as well as in written form are the structures There was… and There were…in the past tense. This module has been designed for all college students but specially for you students who are registered in the basic English as a Second Language I, GEEN 1101 course. In this module, you will study and review the rules of how to use There was…with singular nouns and There were…with plural nouns in the past tense.

Objectives General Objective: By the end of this module, the student will develop confidence and demonstrate knowledge using There was… with singular nouns and There were… with plural nouns in the past tense correctly. Specific Objective: At the end of this module, the student will use affirmative and negative sentences, direct questions, short yes/no answers, wh-questions (information questions) and answers giving pertinent information.

Pre-Test (Affirmative Sentences) Select the best answer. __ 1. ___ an excellent jazz concert on TV last night. (A) There was (B) There were __ 2. ___ a lot of students in the cafeteria this morning. __ 3. ___ seven hurricane warnings for Puerto Rico last year. __ 4. ___someone at the door when I was taking a shower. __ 5. ___ many policemen on the roads during the past holiday.

Pre-Test (Negative Sentences) __ 6. ___ many homeless people on the streets 20 years ago. (A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t __ 7. ___ any water in my neighborhood yesterday night. __ 8. ___ a lot of television sets in Puerto Rican homes years ago. __ 9. ___ a quiet place to study at the library yesterday morning. __10. ___ enough chairs for everyone at the seminar last Monday.

Pre-Test (Direct Questions) __ 11. ___ a security guard at the entrance of the university ? (A) Was there (B) Were there __ 12. ___ any messages for me yesterday ? __ 13. ___ some interesting action movies at the Video Store? __ 14. ___ a variety of snack machines at the hospital lobby ? __ 15. ___ a delay in flight TM254 from Florida to Puerto Rico ?

Pre-Test (Wh-Questions) __ 16. When ___ a fund raising activity for the hurricane victims ? (A) was there (B) were there __ 17. Why ___ many children crying at the dentist’s office ? __ 18. Where ___ summer jobs available for the teenagers ? __ 19. What ___ inside the enormous box ? __ 20. Why ___ an emergency meeting at the club last night ?

Pre-Test Answer Key 1. A 11. A 2. B 12. B 3. B 13. B 4. A 14. B

Pre-Test Evaluation Total Correct Answers 20 Excellent: Go to the Post-Test 19 Very Good: Review the incorrect answer and go to the Post-Test. 18-12 Good: Review the incorrect answers, study the rules presented in this module, do the practice exercises and then go to the Post-Test. 11 or You Need More Practice: Study the module, less review the rules carefully and do the practice exercises. When you improve your score, you may go to the Post-Test.

Past Tense Time Expressions Past Tense Time Expressions are words or phrases in sentences that indicate when the action occurred. Examples: yesterday last month yesterday morning last semester yesterday afternoon last year yesterday evening last summer last night last Thanksgiving last Monday… 10 minutes ago last week 5 days ago last weekend 3 weeks ago

Past Tense Time Expressions More Examples: 2 Saturdays ago 4 months ago 7 years ago 2 semesters ago 3 summers ago in 1912 in the 70’s in the 90’s in the year 1994 on December 25th, 2000 etc…

There was…/There were… Rules Affirmative Sentences: Use There was… with singular nouns in affirmative sentences in the past tense. Examples: (a) There was a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend. (b) There was a lot of noise at the party last Friday. (c) There was an educational documentary on channel 6 last night. (d) There was one empty apartment in the building last month. (e) There was a strange-looking man at the bank yesterday.

There was…/There were… Rules (2) Use There were… with plural nouns in affirmative sentences in the past tense. Examples: (a) There were many ants in the yard after the pool party. (b) There were three letters for you in the mail yesterday. (c) There were a few pieces of chicken in the oven 20 minutes ago. (d) There were less cars in Puerto Rico in the 70’s than there are today. (e) There were many women at the Bingo on Friday night.

There wasn’t…/There weren’t… Rules Negative Sentences: Use There wasn’t…with singular nouns in the negative form and in the past tense. Examples: (a) There wasn’t a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend. (b) There wasn’t a lot of noise at the party last Friday. (c) There wasn’t an educational documentary on channel 6 last night. (d) There wasn’t one empty apartment in the building last month. (e) There wasn’t a strange-looking man at the bank yesterday.

There wasn’t…/There weren’t… Rules 2. Use There weren’t… with plural nouns in the negative form and in the past tense. Examples: (a) There weren’t many ants in the yard after the pool party. (b) There weren’t three letters for you in the mail yesterday. (c) There weren’t a few pieces of chicken in the oven 20 minutes ago. (d) There weren’t many women at the Bingo on Friday night.

Was there…?/Were there…? Rules Direct Questions and Yes/No Answers: The question forms of there was… and there were… are formed by placing the verb before there (inverting the word order), and using a question mark (?) at the end. Example #1: Sentence: There was a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend. Question: Was there a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend ? Answers: Yes, there was. / No, there wasn’t.

Was there…?/Were there…? Rules Example #2: Sentence: There were many ants in the yard after the pool party. Question: Were there many ants in the yard after the pool party? Answers: Yes, there were. / No, there weren’t.

Wh- was there…?/ Wh- were there…? Rules Wh-Questions and Answers: When we use Wh-questions, we ask for information. We always use wh-question words to begin the question. Observe the following rules and remember: What-Qué, When-Cuándo, Where-Dónde, How-Cómo, Why-Por qué…

Wh-was there…?/ Wh-were there…? Rules Pattern #1: What When + was there + singular noun… ? Where Why Example: Sentence→ There was a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend. Question → Where was there a big garden sale last weekend ? Answer → There was a big garden sale at K-Mart. Short Answer→ At K-Mart.

Wh- was there…?/Wh- were there…? Rules Pattern #2: What When + were there + plural noun… ? Where Why Example: Sentence→ There were many ants in the yard after the pool party. Question → When were there many ants in the yard ? Answer → There were many ants in the yard after the pool party. Short Answer→ After the pool party.

There was…/There were Practice Exercise Select the best answer. __ 1. ___ many “parrandas” in my neighborhood last Christmas. (A) There was (B) There were __ 2. ___ an urgent weather broadcast on the radio this morning. __ 3. ___ much traffic to Old San Juan last Saturday. __ 4. ___ 25 children at the birthday party last Sunday. __ 5. ___ some nurse job positions in the newspaper last week.

There wasn’t…/There weren’t... Practice Exercise __ 6. ___ any interesting programs on TV last night. (A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t __ 7. ___ a variety of fresh fruit at the supermarket two days ago. __ 8. ___ enough beds for the patients at the hospital last month. __ 9. ___ a life guard at the swimming pool last night. __10. ___ many tourists at the expensive Resort last summer.

Was there…?/ Were there…? Practice Exercise __ 11. ___ many graduates at the graduation in May, 2005 ? (A) Was there (B) Were there __ 12. ___ a car accident on Kennedy Expressway yesterday ? __ 13. ___ an ambulance at your house last night ? __ 14. ___ good sales at JC Penny last spring ? __ 15. ___ different typical foods at “The Puerto Rican Food Festival” in New York City last year ?

Wh- was there…?/ Wh- were there…? Practice Exercise __ 16. What ___ inside the mysterious package ? (A) was there (B) were there __ 17. When ___ a Surprise Party for your parents ? __ 18. Where ___ some strange noises last night ? __ 19. Why ___ a disagreement in class yesterday ? __ 20. Why ___ many papers on the floor at the office yesterday morning ?

There was…/ There were… Practice Exercise Answer Key 1. B 11. B 2. A 12. A 3. A 13. A 4. B 14. B 5. B 15. B 6. B 16. A 7. A 17. A 8. B 18. B 9. A 19. A 10. B 20. B

Practice Exercise Evaluation Total Correct Answers 20 Excellent: Go to the Post-Test. 19 Very Good: Review the incorrect answer and go to the Post-Test. 18-12 Good: Review the incorrect answers, consult the module again and then go to the Post-Test. 11 or You Need More Practice: Study the module, less review the rules carefully and do the practice exercises again. When you understand and improve your score, you may go to the Post-Test.

Post-Test Select the best answer. __ 1. ___ an excellent jazz concert on TV last night. (A) There was (B) There were __ 2. ___ a lot of students in the cafeteria this morning. __ 3. ___ seven hurricane warnings for Puerto Rico last year. __ 4. ___someone at the door when I was taking a shower. __ 5. ___ many policemen on the roads during the past holiday.

Post-Test __ 6. ___ many homeless people on the streets 20 years ago. (A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t __ 7. ___ any water in my neighborhood yesterday night. __ 8. ___ a lot of television sets in Puerto Rican homes years ago. __ 9. ___ a quiet place to study at the library yesterday morning. __10. ___ enough chairs for everyone at the seminar last Monday.

Post-Test __ 11. ___ a security guard at the entrance of the university ? (A) Was there (B) Were there __ 12. ___ any messages for me yesterday ? __ 13. ___ some interesting action movies at the Video Store? __ 14. ___ a variety of snack machines at the hospital lobby ? __ 15. ___ a delay in flight TM254 from Florida to Puerto Rico ?

Post-Test __ 16. When ___ a fund raising activity for the hurricane victims ? (A) was there (B) were there __ 17. Why ___ many children crying at the dentist’s office ? __ 18. Where ___ summer jobs available for the teenagers ? __ 19. What ___ inside the enormous box ? __ 20. Why ___ an emergency meeting at the club last night ?

Post-Test Answer Key 1. A 11. A 2. B 12. B 3. B 13. B 4. A 14. B

Post-Test Evaluation Total Correct Answers 20 Excellent: Congratulations! You have successfully completed this module. You may work with a different module if necessary. 19 Very Good: Review the incorrect answer. You may work on a different module if necessary. 18-12 Good: Review the incorrect answers, review the areas of difficulty and take the Post-Test again. 11 or You Need More Practice: I recommend that you review less the complete module and take the Post-Test again.

Letter to the Student Congratulations! You have completed this module with the skills There was… and There were… If you really understand all of the rules and examples presented, you can work with a different module depending on your needs. However, if you still have some questions concerning the rules, I advise you to review this module again before studying a different module. Remember you learn by practicing, therefore use the skills There was… and There were… in your daily conversations and written work.