Transcript Inter American University of Puerto Rico Guayama Campus

Inter American University of Puerto Rico
Guayama Campus
Title V Cooperative Project
There was…/There were… Module
Prof. Marisol Piazza Aguirre
April 24, 2006
Instructions
Use the following buttons to navigate through
this module:
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Use this button to return to the last viewed
slide or the beginning of the module.
Use this button to view the answer to the
exercise.
Purpose
This module proposes to expand the basic
teaching-learning activities of English included in the
Title V Cooperative Project: “Improving Academic
Outcomes Through a Technology-Based Consortium
Program for the Core Curriculum”. The project is
integrated by the Pontifical Catholic University of
Puerto Rico in Ponce from where it is directed, the
Arecibo, Mayagüez and Guayama Campuses, the
School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico and Inter
American University of Puerto Rico, Guayama
Campus.
Introduction
Important grammatical structures an ESL student
should master to communicate effectively in English
orally as well as in written form are the structures
There was… and There were…in the past tense.
This module has been designed for all college
students but specially for you students who are
registered in the basic English as a Second
Language I, GEEN 1101 course. In this module, you
will study and review the rules of how to use There
was…with singular nouns and There were…with
plural nouns in the past tense.
Objectives
General Objective:
By the end of this module, the student will develop
confidence and demonstrate knowledge using There
was… with singular nouns and There were… with
plural nouns in the past tense correctly.
Specific Objective:
At the end of this module, the student will use
affirmative and negative sentences, direct questions,
short yes/no answers, wh-questions (information
questions) and answers giving pertinent information.
Pre-Test (Affirmative Sentences)
Select the best answer.
__ 1. ___ an excellent jazz concert on TV last night.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 2. ___ a lot of students in the cafeteria this morning.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 3. ___ seven hurricane warnings for Puerto Rico last year.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 4. ___someone at the door when I was taking a shower.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 5. ___ many policemen on the roads during the past holiday.
(A) There was
(B) There were
Pre-Test (Negative Sentences)
__ 6. ___ many homeless people on the streets 20 years ago.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 7. ___ any water in my neighborhood yesterday night.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 8. ___ a lot of television sets in Puerto Rican homes years ago.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 9. ___ a quiet place to study at the library yesterday morning.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__10. ___ enough chairs for everyone at the seminar last Monday.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
Pre-Test (Direct Questions)
__ 11. ___ a security guard at the entrance of the university ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 12. ___ any messages for me yesterday ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 13. ___ some interesting action movies at the Video Store?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 14. ___ a variety of snack machines at the hospital lobby ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 15. ___ a delay in flight TM254 from Florida to Puerto Rico ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
Pre-Test (Wh-Questions)
__ 16. When ___ a fund raising activity for the hurricane victims ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 17. Why ___ many children crying at the dentist’s office ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 18. Where ___ summer jobs available for the teenagers ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 19. What ___ inside the enormous box ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 20. Why ___ an emergency meeting at the club last night ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
Pre-Test Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
A
B
B
A
B
B
A
B
A
B
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
A
B
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
A
Pre-Test Evaluation
Total Correct Answers
20
19
18-12
11 or
less
Excellent: Go to the Post-Test
Very Good: Review the incorrect answer and go
to the Post-Test.
Good: Review the incorrect answers, study the rules
presented in this module, do the practice exercises
and then go to the Post-Test.
You Need More Practice: Study the module,
review the rules carefully and do the practice
exercises. When you improve your score, you
may go to the Post-Test.
Past Tense Time Expressions
Past Tense Time Expressions are words or phrases in
sentences that indicate when the action occurred.
Examples:
yesterday
yesterday morning
yesterday afternoon
yesterday evening
last night
last Monday…
last week
last weekend
last month
last semester
last year
last summer
last Thanksgiving
10 minutes ago
5 days ago
3 weeks ago
Past Tense Time Expressions
More Examples:
2 Saturdays ago
4 months ago
7 years ago
2 semesters ago
3 summers ago
in 1912
in the 70’s
in the 90’s
in the year 1994
on December 25th, 2000
etc…
There was…/There were… Rules
Affirmative Sentences:
(1)
Use There was… with singular nouns in affirmative sentences
in the past tense.
Examples:
(a) There was a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend.
(b) There was a lot of noise at the party last Friday.
(c) There was an educational documentary on channel 6 last night.
(d) There was one empty apartment in the building last month.
(e) There was a strange-looking man at the bank yesterday.
There was…/There were… Rules
(2) Use There were… with plural nouns in affirmative
sentences in the past tense.
Examples:
(a) There were many ants in the yard after the pool party.
(b) There were three letters for you in the mail yesterday.
(c) There were a few pieces of chicken in the oven 20
minutes ago.
(d) There were less cars in Puerto Rico in the 70’s than
there are today.
(e) There were many women at the Bingo on Friday night.
There wasn’t…/There weren’t… Rules
Negative Sentences:
(1)
Use There wasn’t…with singular nouns in the negative form
and in the past tense.
Examples:
(a) There wasn’t a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend.
(b) There wasn’t a lot of noise at the party last Friday.
(c) There wasn’t an educational documentary on channel 6
last night.
(d) There wasn’t one empty apartment in the building last
month.
(e) There wasn’t a strange-looking man at the bank
yesterday.
There wasn’t…/There weren’t… Rules
2. Use There weren’t… with plural nouns in the negative form
and in the past tense.
Examples:
(a) There weren’t many ants in the yard after the pool party.
(b) There weren’t three letters for you in the mail yesterday.
(c) There weren’t a few pieces of chicken in the oven 20 minutes ago.
(d) There weren’t many women at the Bingo on Friday night.
Was there…?/Were there…? Rules
Direct Questions and Yes/No Answers:
The question forms of there was… and there were… are formed by
placing the verb before there (inverting the word order), and using a
question mark (?) at the end.
Example #1:
Sentence: There was a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend.
Question: Was there a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend ?
Answers: Yes, there was. / No, there wasn’t.
Was there…?/Were there…? Rules
Example #2:
Sentence: There were many ants in the yard after the pool party.
Question: Were there many ants in the yard after the pool party?
Answers: Yes, there were. / No, there weren’t.
Wh- was there…?/ Wh- were there…?
Rules
Wh-Questions and Answers:
When we use Wh-questions, we ask for information. We
always use wh-question words to begin the question. Observe
the following rules and remember: What-Qué, When-Cuándo,
Where-Dónde, How-Cómo, Why-Por qué…
Wh-was there…?/ Wh-were there…?
Rules
Pattern #1:
What
When
Where
Why
+
was there
+
singular noun… ?
Example:
Sentence→ There was a big garden sale at K-Mart last weekend.
Question → Where was there a big garden sale last weekend ?
Answer → There was a big garden sale at K-Mart.
Short Answer→ At K-Mart.
Wh- was there…?/Wh- were there…?
Rules
Pattern #2:
What
When
Where
Why
Example:
+
were there
+
plural noun…
?
Sentence→ There were many ants in the yard after the pool party.
Question → When were there many ants in the yard ?
Answer → There were many ants in the yard after the pool party.
Short Answer→ After the pool party.
There was…/There were Practice
Exercise
Select the best answer.
__ 1. ___ many “parrandas” in my neighborhood last Christmas.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 2. ___ an urgent weather broadcast on the radio this morning.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 3. ___ much traffic to Old San Juan last Saturday.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 4. ___ 25 children at the birthday party last Sunday.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 5. ___ some nurse job positions in the newspaper last week.
(A) There was
(B) There were
There wasn’t…/There weren’t...
Practice Exercise
__ 6. ___ any interesting programs on TV last night.
(A) There wasn’t
(B) There weren’t
__ 7. ___ a variety of fresh fruit at the supermarket two days ago.
(A) There wasn’t
(B) There weren’t
__ 8. ___ enough beds for the patients at the hospital last month.
(A) There wasn’t
(B) There weren’t
__ 9. ___ a life guard at the swimming pool last night.
(A) There wasn’t
(B) There weren’t
__10. ___ many tourists at the expensive Resort last summer.
(A) There wasn’t
(B) There weren’t
Was there…?/ Were there…? Practice
Exercise
__ 11. ___ many graduates at the graduation in May, 2005 ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 12. ___ a car accident on Kennedy Expressway yesterday ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 13. ___ an ambulance at your house last night ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 14. ___ good sales at JC Penny last spring ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 15. ___ different typical foods at “The Puerto Rican Food
Festival” in New York City last year ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
Wh- was there…?/ Wh- were there…?
Practice Exercise
__ 16. What ___ inside the mysterious package ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 17. When ___ a Surprise Party for your parents ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 18. Where ___ some strange noises last night ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 19. Why ___ a disagreement in class yesterday ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 20. Why ___ many papers on the floor at the office yesterday
morning ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
There was…/ There were… Practice
Exercise Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
B
A
A
B
B
B
A
B
A
B
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
B
A
A
B
B
A
A
B
A
B
Practice Exercise Evaluation
Total Correct Answers
20
19
Excellent: Go to the Post-Test.
Very Good: Review the incorrect answer and
go to the Post-Test.
18-12 Good: Review the incorrect answers, consult the
module again and then go to the Post-Test.
11 or You Need More Practice: Study the module,
less
review the rules carefully and do the practice
exercises again. When you understand and
improve your score, you may go to the Post-Test.
Post-Test
Select the best answer.
__ 1. ___ an excellent jazz concert on TV last night.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 2. ___ a lot of students in the cafeteria this morning.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 3. ___ seven hurricane warnings for Puerto Rico last year.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 4. ___someone at the door when I was taking a shower.
(A) There was
(B) There were
__ 5. ___ many policemen on the roads during the past holiday.
(A) There was
(B) There were
Post-Test
__ 6. ___ many homeless people on the streets 20 years ago.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 7. ___ any water in my neighborhood yesterday night.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 8. ___ a lot of television sets in Puerto Rican homes years ago.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__ 9. ___ a quiet place to study at the library yesterday morning.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
__10. ___ enough chairs for everyone at the seminar last Monday.
(A) There wasn’t (B) There weren’t
Post-Test
__ 11. ___ a security guard at the entrance of the university ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 12. ___ any messages for me yesterday ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 13. ___ some interesting action movies at the Video Store?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 14. ___ a variety of snack machines at the hospital lobby ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
__ 15. ___ a delay in flight TM254 from Florida to Puerto Rico ?
(A) Was there
(B) Were there
Post-Test
__ 16. When ___ a fund raising activity for the hurricane victims ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 17. Why ___ many children crying at the dentist’s office ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 18. Where ___ summer jobs available for the teenagers ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 19. What ___ inside the enormous box ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
__ 20. Why ___ an emergency meeting at the club last night ?
(A) was there
(B) were there
Post-Test Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
A
B
B
A
B
B
A
B
A
B
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
A
B
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
A
Post-Test Evaluation
Total Correct Answers
20
Excellent: Congratulations! You have successfully
completed this module. You may work with a different
module if necessary.
19 Very Good: Review the incorrect answer. You may work
on a different module if necessary.
18-12 Good: Review the incorrect answers, review the areas of
difficulty and take the Post-Test again.
11 or You Need More Practice: I recommend that you review
less
the complete module and take the Post-Test again.
Letter to the Student
Congratulations! You have completed this module
with the skills There was… and There were… If you
really understand all of the rules and examples
presented, you can work with a different module
depending on your needs. However, if you still have
some questions concerning the rules, I advise you to
review this module again before studying a different
module. Remember you learn by practicing,
therefore use the skills There was… and There
were… in your daily conversations and written work.