입문 · Unit 33
There was / There were 부정문과 의문문
There was / There were의 부정문은 be 동사 뒤에 not을 붙여 만들고, 의문문은 be 동사를 there 앞으로 이동시켜 만듭니다. 부정문·의문문 모두 현재형(There is / are)과 완전히 같은 규칙을 따르며, 시제만 과거로 바뀝니다.
개념 설명
There was / There were의 부정문은 be 동사 뒤에 not을 붙여 만들고, 의문문은 be 동사를 there 앞으로 이동시켜 만듭니다. 부정문·의문문 모두 현재형(There is / are)과 완전히 같은 규칙을 따르며, 시제만 과거로 바뀝니다.
A. 부정문 — There wasn't / There weren't
부정문은 was / were 바로 뒤에 not을 붙이고, 회화에서는 축약형 wasn't / weren't가 훨씬 자주 쓰입니다. 부정문에서는 뒤 명사를 any와 함께 쓰는 것이 자연스럽습니다.
| 구문 | 축약 | 예시 |
|---|---|---|
| There was not | There wasn't | There wasn't a bank there. |
| There was not | There wasn't any | There wasn't any milk. |
| There were not | There weren't | There weren't many people. |
| There were not | There weren't any | There weren't any tickets left. |
- There wasn't enough time to finish. (마칠 시간이 충분하지 않았어요.)
- There wasn't any water in the bottle. (병에 물이 전혀 없었어요.)
- There weren't any seats available. (구할 수 있는 자리가 전혀 없었어요.)
- There weren't many students in the class. (그 반에 학생이 많지 않았어요.)
B. 의문문 — Was there / Were there
의문문은 was 또는 were를 there 앞으로 이동시키는 것이 유일한 규칙이며, 대답에도 반드시 there를 다시 넣습니다. Was there + 단수 / Were there + 복수 + ? 라는 어순을 세트로 익혀 두세요.
| 질문 | 긍정 대답 | 부정 대답 |
|---|---|---|
| Was there a party? | Yes, there was. | No, there wasn't. |
| Was there any milk? | Yes, there was. | No, there wasn't. |
| Were there many people? | Yes, there were. | No, there weren't. |
| Were there any messages? | Yes, there were. | No, there weren't. |
- Was there a problem with your car? — Yes, there was. (당신 차에 문제가 있었어요? 네, 있었어요.)
- Was there any coffee left? — No, there wasn't. (남은 커피가 있었어요? 아니요, 없었어요.)
- Were there many tourists at the museum? — Yes, there were. (박물관에 관광객이 많았어요? 네, 많았어요.)
- Were there any changes in the plan? — No, there weren't. (그 계획에 어떤 변경이 있었어요? 아니요, 없었어요.)
C. How many / How much — 과거의 수량 묻기
과거의 수·양을 물을 때는 How many + 복수 + were there ~? / How much + 셀 수 없는 명사 + was there ~? 형태를 씁니다. 이 패턴은 과거 상황을 회고할 때 매우 자주 쓰입니다.
| 질문 | 예시 | 의미 |
|---|---|---|
| How many + 복수 | How many people were there at the party? | 파티에 사람이 몇 명 있었어요? |
| How many + 복수 | How many students were there in your class? | 당신 반에 학생이 몇 명 있었어요? |
| How much + 셀 수 없는 | How much money was there in the wallet? | 지갑에 돈이 얼마나 있었어요? |
| How much + 셀 수 없는 | How much time was there before the flight? | 비행기까지 시간이 얼마나 있었어요? |
- How many people were there at the concert last night? (어젯밤 콘서트에 사람이 몇 명 있었어요?)
- How many rooms were there in the old house? (그 옛집에 방이 몇 개 있었어요?)
- How much water was there in the pool? (수영장에 물이 얼마나 있었어요?)
- How much snow was there yesterday morning? (어제 아침 눈이 얼마나 있었어요?)
핵심 포인트
- 1There was / were의 부정문은 be 동사 뒤에 not을 붙이고, 의문문은 be 동사를 there 앞으로 이동시킨다는 규칙은 현재형과 완전히 동일합니다.
- 2회화에서는 wasn't / weren't 축약형이 훨씬 자연스럽고, 대답 축약(No, there wasn't)도 자주 쓰인다는 점을 알아두세요.
- 3부정문에서는 뒤 명사를 any와 함께 쓰는 것이 자연스럽다는 관용을 익혀 두세요. (예: There wasn't any milk.)
- 4수량을 물을 때는 How many + 복수 + were there / How much + 셀 수 없는 명사 + was there 어순을 지킨다는 규칙을 익혀 두세요.
- 5대답에는 반드시 there를 다시 넣어야 하고, 절대 생략하지 않는다는 규칙을 지키세요. (X: Yes, was. / O: Yes, there was.)
예문
There wasn't a bank on that street.
그 거리에는 은행이 없었어요.
There wasn't any milk in the fridge.
냉장고에 우유가 전혀 없었어요.
There wasn't much traffic yesterday.
어제는 차가 많이 막히지 않았어요.
There wasn't enough time to prepare.
준비할 시간이 충분하지 않았어요.
There weren't many people at the store.
가게에 사람이 많지 않았어요.
이 유닛에는 예문이 더 있습니다. 가입하면 전체를 듣고 볼 수 있어요.
이렇게 틀리기 쉬워요
There wasn't a party.
There weren't many people.
Was there a good movie?
Yes, there was.
How many people were there?