There Was/ There Were Worksheet

(TESOL Worksheets--Past Simple, Subject Verb Agreement, Was and Were)

This is a worksheet I made to practice statement and question forms of "there was" and "there were".  The feedback is on PowerPoint.  I used this worksheet as extra practice after using the drilling PowerPoints here.
Worksheet on Google (drive, docs, pub)
PowerPoint on Google (drive, docs, pub)
Update: Modified version of this same activity as a board race: slides, pub

Match the words to the sentences:

there, was, were

1. _________________ a man in the house.

2. _________________ two men in the garden.

3. _________________ a dog in the car?

4. _________________ three dogs in the school?

5. _________________ two babies in the room?

6. _________________ a cat in the bed?

7. _________________ two girls in the building.

8. _________________ a book on the table.

9. _________________ two books on the table.

10. _________________ a book on the table?

Google Slides for Drilling There was/ There were

(TESOL Worksheets)

Past Simple, Subject Verb Agreement, Was and Were
These are two different Google Slide Presentations I made for drilling the "There was" versus "There were" grammar and pronunciation.

The first one is the statement form.  The second one is the question form.  In my class, I did this on two separate days.

The statement form (slides, pub)


The question form (slides, pub)

Was/Were Card Game

[In an effort to keep track of useful materials--so I can find it again when I need it--I'm collecting links to stuff that I've had good luck with using in class. I'm indexing it, along with my own materials, over here and here.   The above link is to materials that I've used successfully for a lesson on Was/Were with both beginning adults and young children.
The link above is to the wordpress blog where I found these documents, but the actual PDF of the game is here and the teacher's instructions are here.  Although I've used this game multiple times in class now, and never done it according to the teacher's instructions, which seemed a bit strange to me.  Usually I just cut up all the pictures and cards and shuffle them, and have the students work out the order and sentences together in groups.  Sometimes I might read out the story once first to help.
I'm not entirely sure the above links were posted online with the consent of the copyright holders of this material.  But then I'm not the copyright police.  I'm just linking to useful materials I find online.]

Update: I've created a slideshow in order to expand this card game activity into a full lesson.  Materials below:
slideshow: slides, pub

Card Game Answers: docs, pub

Answer the questions with was or were: docs, pub

Write down as many sentences as you can: docs, pub

Was Were Worksheet and PowerPoint presentation

(TESOL Worksheets--Was and Were)
[This is a worksheet combined with PowerPoint slides (for a classroom in which I had use of a projector) to explain the difference between was and were, and practice.  
This was designed for young children.  I designed it after using the was/were game linked to in the previous post, when it was clear my students didn't understand the distinction, and were just making random guesses.  The intent of this worksheet/PowerPoint was to explain the distinction as clearly as I could, and drill it.  It's very dry and boring, and I regret that I wasn't creative enough to make this more interesting, but it did seem to do the job.  They (more or less) got it after this.  The Worksheet is below, and on Google (drive, docs, pub).  PowerPoint is also on Google (drive, slides, pub), and embedded below.  The worksheet was cut into 3 different parts, and handed out to students in sections rather than all at once.
None of the images on the PowerPoint slides are my own, and were all taken from a Google Images search. ]

Answer the questions with was or were:

1. I _______________ hot.

2. You _______________ happy.

3. _______________ you happy?

4.  _______________ I funny?

5. You _______________ sad.

6. I _______________ sad.

7. I _______________  happy.

8. _______________ you cold?

9. I _______________ cold.

10. I _______________ funny.

Answer the questions with was or were:

1. He _______________  happy.

2. They _______________ happy.

3. _______________ he happy?

4. John _______________ happy.

5. John and Jill _______________ happy.

6. Mary _______________ happy.

7. The men _______________ angry.

8. The women _______________ hungry.

9. The man _______________ angry

10. She _______________  sad.

Answer the questions with was or were:

1. The lion _______________ hungry.

2. _______________ the lion hungry?

3. The weather _______________ hot.

4. _______________ the weather cold?

5. The dogs _______________ noisy.

6. The dog _______________ dirty.

7. The computers _______________ new.

8. _______________ the computer old?

9. _______________ the clock broken?

10. _______________ the desks clean?

ESL Games Plus: Was/Were

[In an effort to keep track of useful materials--so I can find it again when I need it--I'm collecting links to stuff that I've had good luck with using in class. I'm indexing it, along with my own materials, over here and here.   The above link is to materials that I've used successfully for a lesson on Was/Were with young children.
The link above I used with young children studying the difference between was and were.  It was used in a classroom that had a projector and an interactive whiteboard.  The class was divided into 2 teams, and competed against each other.]

Was Were Computer Game at British Council Website

[In an effort to keep track of useful materials--so I can find it again when I need it--I'm collecting links to stuff that I've had good luck with using in class. I'm indexing it, along with my own materials, over here and here.   The above link is to materials that I've used successfully for a lesson on Was/Were with young children.
The link above has two games, but it was the second game (the one lower on the screen.)  That I had the most success with.  We did it on an interactive white board, so the screen was displayed on the board, and the students could choose the correct words by touching the screen.  We did it as a class relay, where one student would race up to the board, solve the sentence puzzle as fast as they could, and then race back to tap the next student, who would then run up to solve the next puzzle.  Then the students would play again to try to beat their previous time.  They absolutely loved this--worked really well in the class.]

Grammar Auction for Was/Were

(TESOL Worksheets--Was and Were)
Google: drive, docs, pub
[This is for very young students still learning the difference between "was" and "where". Divide students into groups. Give each group a sheet with the sentences on them. The groups have to bet on which sentences are correct, and which ones are not. (It's also possible to do this game as a grammar auction, where students bid on correct sentences, but I find the game usually moves quicker if students bet.) I start each team off with ten points. No team is allowed to bet more points than they have at the time. If they get the answer right, they double their bet. If they get the answer wrong, they lose their bet. The auction can be done on paper, or on the power point presentation at Google Drive (drive, slides, pub).]

Is this sentence correct?
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	1. We were there yesterday.
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	2. They was with us.
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	3. Was there a dog with you?
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	4. Were there lions in the zoo?
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	5. Was there a cat?
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	6. Were he at school yesterday?
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	7. Was the doctor there?
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	8. Were my sister home?
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	9. Was there a mouse in the house?
Yes	No	How many points do you bet?	10. I were home alone yesterday.