There was / There were: forma negativa e interrogativa
A negativa de There was / There were se faz acrescentando not depois do verbo be, e a interrogativa se faz movendo o verbo be para antes de there.
Explicação
A negativa de There was / There were se faz acrescentando not depois do verbo be, e a interrogativa se faz movendo o verbo be para antes de there. Negativa e interrogativa seguem exatamente as mesmas regras do presente (There is / are); só o tempo passa para o passado.
A. Negativa — There wasn't / There weren't
A negativa se faz pondo not logo depois de was / were, e na fala as contrações wasn't / weren't são bem mais frequentes. Na negativa é natural usar o substantivo seguinte junto com any.
| Estrutura | Contração | Exemplo |
|---|---|---|
| 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. (Não tinha tempo suficiente para terminar.)
- There wasn't any water in the bottle. (Não tinha água nenhuma na garrafa.)
- There weren't any seats available. (Não tinha lugar nenhum disponível.)
- There weren't many students in the class. (Não tinha muitos alunos naquela turma.)
B. Interrogativa — Was there / Were there
A única regra da interrogativa é mover was ou were para antes de there, e na resposta também é obrigatório repor there. Guarde como conjunto a ordem Was there + singular / Were there + plural + ?.
| Pergunta | Resposta afirmativa | Resposta negativa |
|---|---|---|
| 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. (Tinha algum problema no seu carro? Sim, tinha.)
- Was there any coffee left? — No, there wasn't. (Tinha sobrado café? Não, não tinha.)
- Were there many tourists at the museum? — Yes, there were. (Tinha muitos turistas no museu? Sim, tinha.)
- Were there any changes in the plan? — No, there weren't. (Teve alguma mudança nesse plano? Não, não teve.)
C. How many·How much — quantidade no passado
Para perguntar número ou quantidade no passado usam-se as formas How many + plural + were there ~? / How much + substantivo incontável + was there ~?. Esse padrão aparece muito ao relembrar uma situação passada.
| Pergunta | Exemplo | Sentido |
|---|---|---|
| How many + plural | How many people were there at the party? | Quantas pessoas tinha na festa? |
| How many + plural | How many students were there in your class? | Quantos alunos tinha na sua turma? |
| How much + incontável | How much money was there in the wallet? | Quanto dinheiro tinha na carteira? |
| How much + incontável | How much time was there before the flight? | Quanto tempo tinha antes do voo? |
- How many people were there at the concert last night? (Quantas pessoas tinha no show de ontem à noite?)
- How many rooms were there in the old house? (Quantos quartos tinha naquela casa velha?)
- How much water was there in the pool? (Quanta água tinha na piscina?)
- How much snow was there yesterday morning? (Quanta neve tinha ontem de manhã?)
Pontos principais
- 1A negativa de There was / were põe not depois do verbo be e a interrogativa move o verbo be para antes de there: as regras são exatamente as mesmas do presente.
- 2Na fala as contrações wasn't / weren't são bem mais naturais, e a contração na resposta (No, there wasn't) também aparece muito: fique sabendo disso.
- 3Na negativa é natural usar o substantivo seguinte junto com any: aprenda esse uso corrente. (Ex.: There wasn't any milk.)
- 4Para perguntar quantidade, respeite a ordem How many + plural + were there e How much + substantivo incontável + was there: guarde essa regra.
- 5Na resposta é obrigatório repor there, que nunca se omite: siga essa regra. (X: Yes, was. / O: Yes, there was.)