Why use there was?
To say that something existed in a particular place or situation in the past, English often begins the sentence with there. Here, there does not mean in that place: it introduces the sentence as a grammatical subject before the verb. The actual thing being discussed follows the verb.
This often introduces an item into the conversation or reports its presence in a past situation. The listener need not be hearing about it for the first time ever. Add a place or time when these are not already clear from context.
There + was + noun phrase (+ place or time)
- NP / noun phrase —
- A noun phrase: a noun with its dependent words, such as the new student; the pattern treats it as one group of words.
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
There was a red postbox at the corner.
There was a red postbox at the corner.
In this statement, there was introduces the postbox into the description of the place.
There was thick mud on the path after the rain.
There was thick mud on the path after the rain.
Mud is not counted as individual items here, so it has no article and the verb remains singular.
Singular: there was + a/an + noun
In the basic pattern for one item, person, or place, use a singular noun after the verb with a or an. An adjective does not remove the article: the article goes at the beginning of the whole noun phrase.
Choose an when the next word begins with a vowel sound. The numeral one can replace the article when you want to emphasise that there was only one item.
There was + a/an + (adjective) + singular noun
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
- adjective —
- A word describing what someone or something is like: happy, tired, interesting.
There was a tall fence around the school.
There was a tall fence around the school.
One singular item with the article a requires was.
There was an empty bookshop near the bridge.
There was an empty bookshop near the bridge.
Empty begins with a vowel sound, so use an.
Uncountable nouns: no a/an
Water, milk, bread, snow, sand, and similar words often refer to a substance or an overall quantity. In these uncountable meanings, do not add a/an or plural -s. Some words also have countable meanings: a noise is an individual sound, and two times means twice.
Some indicates an unspecified quantity, a little a small amount, a lot of a large amount, enough a sufficient amount, and plenty of enough or more than is needed. With an uncountable noun, these expressions retain was: there was some water.
There was + (quantity expression) + uncountable noun
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
There was fresh honey on the shelf.
There was fresh honey on the shelf.
Honey refers to the substance here, so it has neither a nor a plural ending.
There was plenty of sand near the water.
There was plenty of sand near the water.
Plenty of indicates an ample amount of sand; sand remains uncountable here.
Negatives: wasn't any and no
There are two equivalent ways to express that something was absent in the past. The first uses a negative verb: There wasn't a bench there. Before an uncountable noun, any is natural after the negative.
The other way uses no before the noun with an affirmative verb. For the ordinary meaning of absence in standard English, choose wasn't any or was no, rather than combining wasn't no.
There wasn't a/any + noun · There was no + noun
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
There wasn’t any wind that evening.
There wasn’t any wind that evening.
The verb is negative, and any emphasises the complete absence of the uncountable quantity.
There was no answer for two days.
There was no answer for two days.
No denies the presence of an answer, while the verb remains affirmative in form.
The noun determines the verb form, not there
There does not express a number. To choose the verb form in this pattern, look at the noun phrase following the verb: a singular item or uncountable quantity requires was.
Several separate items after the verb would require a different form, covered by a related rule. Here, recognise that boundary so you do not use was with a noun that identifies several things.
there → was + [singular or uncountable noun]
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
There was a strange sound under the floor.
There was a strange sound under the floor.
The phrase a strange sound determines the verb form; it is singular.
There was enough light for a photo.
There was enough light for a photo.
Light is uncountable, so the verb has the same form as with a singular noun.
There was or The … was?
There was often introduces information about something's presence. When discussing a particular, identifiable thing, you can put its name at the beginning: The wall was cold.
The thing can be identifiable from earlier words, the situation, or shared knowledge. You do not have to introduce it with there was first; that is simply one useful way to organise a description.
new item → There was a … · identifiable item → The … was …
There was a stone wall behind the garage.
There was a stone wall behind the garage.
The listener hears about this wall for the first time in the description, so it is introduced with there.
The stone wall was cold and wet.
The stone wall was cold and wet.
The wall has already been mentioned, so it becomes an ordinary subject without there.
Scope and self-check
This rule builds only statements about one item or an uncountable quantity in the past, both affirmative and negative. Questions and agreement with several items belong to related rules. They appear here only as another speaker's words or as an incorrect option.
Before writing a sentence, take three steps: identify the noun after the verb, decide whether it is countable, and decide whether you are asserting or denying its presence. Watch for nouns that look plural: news ends in -s but remains uncountable.
There was warm soup on the stove.
There was warm soup on the stove.
Soup is uncountable here, so no article is needed and the verb is singular.
There was no news from him all week.
There was no news from him all week.
News ends in -s but is an uncountable noun, so it takes a singular verb.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:There were a narrow path between the houses.
Correct:There was a narrow path between the houses.
A narrow path is singular, so use was. Were does not agree with the singular noun phrase here.
Incorrect:There was a milk in the bottle.
Correct:There was milk in the bottle.
This refers to milk as a substance in the bottle, so use milk without a. In a different situation, a milk can refer to a serving of the drink; that is a different meaning.
Incorrect:There were a lot of snow last winter.
Correct:There was a lot of snow last winter.
A lot of does not make uncountable snow plural, so the verb remains singular.
Incorrect:There didn’t be any bread in the shop.
Correct:There wasn’t any bread in the shop.
Form negatives of be without did: was becomes wasn't.
Incorrect:There wasn’t no space in the car.
Correct:There wasn’t any space in the car.
For an ordinary statement that there was no space in standard English, choose wasn't any or was no. This is not a ban on every possible combination of negatives.
Incorrect:There was a lot of noises in the street.
Correct:There was a lot of noise in the street.
When referring to noise in general, noise is not plural, so the uncountable form is used with a lot of.
Incorrect:Yesterday was a long delay at the airport.
Correct:Yesterday there was a long delay at the airport.
Yesterday sets the time. To say that a delay occurred yesterday, follow it with there was. Yesterday was… would instead make yesterday the subject and give a different meaning that does not fit here.