入門 · Unit 32
There was / There were
There was / There were 是 There is / are 的過去式，表示「(過去)曾經有」這種過去的存在。後面的名詞是單數或不可數名詞就用 There was，是複數就用 There were。
概念說明
There was / There were 是 There is / are 的過去式，表示「(過去)曾經有~」這種過去的存在。後面的名詞是單數或不可數名詞就用 There was，是複數就用 There were。
A. There was vs There were — 配合後面的名詞
There was 後面接單數名詞或不可數名詞，There were 後面接複數名詞。be 動詞要配合後面的名詞 這條規則和現在式完全相同。
| 句型 | 後面的名詞 | 例子 |
|---|---|---|
| There was | 單數 | There was a good movie last night. |
| There was | 不可數 | There was water on the floor. |
| There were | 複數 | There were five people in the room. |
| There were | 複數 | There were many mistakes in the report. |
- There was an accident on the highway. (高速公路上發生了一場事故。)
- There was snow everywhere yesterday. (昨天到處都是雪。)
- There were lots of tourists at the museum. (博物館裡有很多觀光客。)
- There were several problems with the plan. (那個計畫有好幾個問題。)
B. 和過去的時間說法一起用
There was / were 常常和表示特定過去時間點的時間副詞結合，用來表達當時有什麼東西存在。yesterday, last night, last week, ~ ago, in + 年份 等都是代表性的說法。
| 時間說法 | 例子 |
|---|---|
| yesterday | There was a fire yesterday. |
| last night | There were many guests last night. |
| last week | There was a big storm last week. |
| ~ ago | There was a war fifty years ago. |
| in + 年份 | There were big changes in 2000. |
- There was a beautiful sunset yesterday evening. (昨天傍晚有很美的夕陽。)
- There were lots of people at the market last Saturday. (上個星期六市場裡有很多人。)
- There was an earthquake two days ago. (兩天前發生了地震。)
- There were big changes in the city in 1990. (1990 年那座城市有很大的變化。)
C. 常用來回憶與描寫
There was / were 在描寫或回憶過去場景與情況的故事裡特別常用，後面再加上地點與時間的說法，就能做出完整的描寫。這是在故事開頭或說明背景時非常好用的句型。
| 語序 | 例子 |
|---|---|
| There was + 單數 + 地點、時間 | There was a big tree in front of my house. |
| There were + 複數 + 地點、時間 | There were many toys in her room. |
| Once upon a time, there was ~ | Once upon a time, there was a king. |
- There was a cozy little cafe on the corner. (轉角有一家溫馨的小咖啡廳。)
- There were photos of us all over the wall. (整面牆上都是我們的照片。)
- Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in a castle. (很久很久以前，有一位住在城堡裡的公主。)
- There was a strange sound coming from the basement. (地下室傳來奇怪的聲音。)
重點整理
- 1There was / There were 是 There is / are 的過去式，be 動詞要配合後面名詞的規則和現在式相同，這是最基本的一點。
- 2不可數名詞前面永遠用 There was，請把這條規則學起來。(例: There was water on the floor.)
- 3常常和 yesterday, last night, ~ ago 這類過去的時間副詞一起用，請記住這個訊號詞規則。
- 4故事的開頭或描寫過去場景的時候，非常常用 There was ~ / There were ~ 這個句型，請培養這種運用的語感。
- 5Once upon a time, there was ~ 是老故事開頭的慣用說法，這一點也請記起來。
例句
There was a party at Anna's house last night.
昨天晚上安娜家有一場派對。
There was a big storm yesterday.
昨天有一場大風暴。
There was a lot of traffic this morning.
今天早上塞了很多車。
There was some coffee on the table.
桌上有一些咖啡。
There was an accident near my house.
我家附近發生了一場事故。
這個單元還有更多例句。註冊後可以看完整內容並聆聽發音。
容易犯的錯誤
There was a party last night.
There were three cats.
There were many people.
There was a big storm yesterday.
There was some water on the floor.