There + Other Tenses Exercises PDFSet 1: There was & There were: Past Simple
20 questions·12 min·Answers included·Explanations included
Preview: Questions
Fill in the blank with the correct option.
1.There ___ a big tree in our garden when I was a child.
a) wasb) isc) wered) are
2.There ___ many shops on this street twenty years ago.
a) wasb) isc) wered) are
3.There ___ any milk in the fridge yesterday.
a) wasn'tb) isn'tc) weren'td) aren't
4.___ there a park near your old school?
a) Wereb) Isc) Ared) Was
5.There ___ three cats in the garden last night.
a) wasb) werec) isd) aren't
... and 15 more questions in the PDF
Preview: Answers
1.was
2.were
3.wasn't
4.Was
5.were
... and 15 more answers in the PDF
Preview: Explanations
1."was"(a)
'A big tree' is singular, and 'when I was a child' tells us this is past tense, so we use 'was'. There was a big tree in our garden when I was a child.
2."were"(c)
'Many shops' is plural, and 'twenty years ago' is past, so we use 'were'. There were many shops on this street twenty years ago.
3."wasn't"(a)
'Milk' is uncountable (treated as singular), and 'yesterday' is past, so we use 'wasn't'. There wasn't any milk in the fridge yesterday.
4."Was"(d)
'A park' is singular. We use 'Was there...?' to ask about something in the past. Was there a park near your old school?
5."were"(b)
'Three cats' is plural, and 'last night' is past, so we use 'were'. There were three cats in the garden last night.
... and 15 more explanations in the PDF
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