Aquí tienes unos apuntes densos y detallados sobre “there were”, para un nivel intermedio-avanzado. Te explico su uso, estructura, diferencias con otras formas y aplicaciones prácticas en contexto.
Apuntes avanzados sobre “There were”
Relacionado: Apuntes.
1. ¿Qué es “there were”?
“There were” es la forma en pasado plural de la estructura existencial inglesa “there is / there are”, que se utiliza para indicar la existencia o presencia de algo en un lugar o momento determinado.
Se traduce habitualmente como:
“Había” (cosas en plural)
“Existían”
2. Estructura
️ Afirmativa:
There were + sustantivo plural + complemento opcional
There were many people at the concert.
(Había muchas personas en el concierto.)
Negativa:
There weren’t (were not) + sustantivo plural
There weren’t any chairs left.
(No quedaban sillas.)
Interrogativa:
Were there + sustantivo plural + ?
Were there any problems during the exam?
(¿Hubo problemas durante el examen?)
3. ️ Diferencia clave: There were vs There was
| Forma | Número | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| There was | Singular | There was a cat on the roof. |
| There were | Plural | There were two cats on the roof. |
4. Traducción y equivalencia en español
| Inglés | Español (natural) |
|---|---|
| There were cars everywhere. | Había coches por todas partes. |
| There weren’t any tickets. | No había entradas. |
| Were there any messages? | ¿Había mensajes? |
En español se usa el verbo “haber” en forma impersonal: “había”.
En inglés, sin embargo, concuerda con el número (singular/plural).
5. “There were” en distintos tiempos
| Tiempo | Forma | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Presente | There are | There are many books. |
| Pasado | There were | There were many books. |
| Futuro | There will be | There will be many books. |
| Presente perfecto | There have been | There have been many books. |
| Pasado perfecto | There had been | There had been many books. |
| Condicional | There would be | There would be many books. |
6. “There were” con cuantificadores
“There were” funciona muy bien con:
-
many (muchos/as)
-
a few (algunos/as)
-
some (unos/as)
-
no (ninguno/a)
Ejemplos:
-
There were many guests. (Había muchos invitados.)
-
There were a few problems. (Hubo algunos problemas.)
-
There were no students in class. (No había estudiantes en clase.)
7. Uso en descripciones y narrativa
“There were” es frecuente en descripciones de ambientes, escenas o eventos pasados:
Descripciones de lugares:
- There were tall buildings all around.
(Había edificios altos por todas partes.)
Cuentos y narrativa:
- There were once three brothers who lived in a forest…
(Había una vez tres hermanos que vivían en un bosque…)
Informes de hechos:
- There were several delays at the airport due to the storm.
(Hubo varios retrasos en el aeropuerto por la tormenta.)
8. Errores comunes
| Error | Corrección | Comentario |
|---|---|---|
| There were a book | “Book” es singular → debe ser There was a book | |
| There was many people | “People” es plural → debe ser There were many people | |
| Were there a problem? | “Problem” es singular → debe ser Was there a problem? |
9. “There were” vs “There have been” vs “There had been”
| Forma | Tiempo | Traducción | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| There were | Pasado simple | Había | There were problems. |
| There have been | Presente perfecto | Ha habido | There have been complaints. |
| There had been | Pasado perfecto | Había habido | There had been signs before the explosion. |
10. Conclusión rápida
-
“There were” = Había (cosas/plural)
-
Nunca con sustantivo singular
-
Se usa mucho en descripciones pasadas y en narración
-
️ Requiere concordancia en número (were + plural)
¿Te gustaría que convierta estos apuntes en una ficha para Obsidian o que prepare ejercicios para afianzar el uso de “there were”?