Was There or Were There? What’s the difference?

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  • We use “was there” for the singular interrogative form of there is/are.
  • We use “were there” for the plural interrogative form of there is/are.

Was there 

We use “ was there” for questions with singular subjects. 

Was there a man at the bus stop?

Was there one car there or two?

Was there a plate of food on the table?

The sentence is always in the past because of the verb “to be“ in the past form(was).

Were there

We use “ were there” for questions with plural subjects. 

Were there two men at the bus stop?

Were there three cars there or two?

Were there several plates of food on the table?

The sentence is always in the past because of the verb “to be“ in the past form(were).

Conor
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