There is / are / was / were / will be
"Yesterday my students and I were talking about how our cities have changed in the last years. All of them said that some years ago there weren't as many cars as there are now, and that there is much more pollution nowadays because of the traffic and the traffic jams. Then I asked them about the future of Bristol and Lewis, one of my best students, said: "I think that there won't be any places for our children to play. We laughed for a while and kept on with the lesson."
There's a lot of traffic in London.
Previous:
Pasemos a continuación a explicar pormenorizadamente el uso de estas estructuras que equivaen al verbo impersonal en castellano "haber":
- There is / are:
Forma:
| Number |
Affirmative (full form) |
Affirmative (short form) |
Negative (full form) |
Negative (short form) |
Questions |
| Singular | There is | There's | There is not | There isn't | Is there ...? |
| Plural | There are | No existe | There are not | There aren't | Are there ...? |
Ejemplos:
There's one cinema in my town. Hay un cine en mi ciudad.
There are not two shops in the village. No hay dos tiendas en el pueblo.
"Are there two cars in the garage?" "¿Hay dos coches en el garaje?"
Nota: Las respuestas breves o short answers son Yes, there is y No, there isn't. Observa estos ejemplos:
Ejemplos:
"Is there a pen on the table?" "Yes, there is." "¿Hay un bolígrafo encima de la mesa?" "Si, lo hay."
"Are there many people there?" "No, there aren't." "¿Hay mucha gente allí?" "No, no hay."
Usos:
Se trata de la forma impersonal del verbo "haber" en castellano. Se usa para:
- Expresar la existencia de algo en el presente:
Ejemplo: There are a lot of clouds in the sky. Hay muchas nubes en el cielo.
- Nombrar algo o alguien por primera vez en una narración:
Ejemplo: "There is a man next to the bank, he's tall and dark ...." "Hay un hombre junto al banco, es alto y moreno ..."
- There was / were:
Forma:
| Number | Affirmative (full form) | Affirmative (short form) |
Negative (full form) |
Negative (short form) |
Questions |
| Singular | There was | No existe | There was not | There wasn't | Was there ...? |
| Plural | There were | No existe | There were not | There weren't | Were there ...? |
Ejemplos:
There was a tomato in the fridge. Había un tomate en el frigorífico.
There weren't any toys in the kitchen. No había juguetes en la cocina.
"Was there much traffic?" "¿Había mucho tráfico?"
Nota: Las respuestas breves o short answers son Yes, there was/were y No, there wasn't/weren't. Observa:
Ejemplos:
"Was there an apple here?" "Yes, there was." "¿Había una manzana aquí?" "Si, había."
"Were there many people there?" "No, there weren't" "¿Había mucha gente allí?" "No, no había."
Usos:
Se usa there was / there were para:
- Expresar la existencia de algo en el pasado:
Ejemplos:
There were a lot of cars in here. Había muchos coches aquí.
"Was there any milk in the fridge?" "¿Había leche en el frigorífico?"
- There will be:
Forma:
| Number | Affirmative (full form) | Affirmative (short form) |
Negative (full form) |
Negative (short form) |
Questions |
| Singular | There will be | There'll be | There will not be | There won't be | Will there ...? |
| Plural | There will be | There'll be | There will not be | There won't be | Will there ...? |
Ejemplos:
There'll be a party here tomorrow. Habrá una fiesta aquí mañana.
There won't be any tickets for the concert. No habrá entradas para el concierto.
"Will there be many people here tomorrow?" "Yes, there will." "¿Habrá aquí mucha gente mañana?" "Sí, habrá."
Nota: Las respuestas breves o short answers son Yes, there will y No, there won't.
Usos:
Se usa there will be para:
- Expresar la existencia de algo en el futuro:
Ejemplos:
There will be a lot of problems at work next year. Habrá muchos problemas en el trabajo el año que viene.
"How many people will there be in the match tomorrow?" "¿Cuántas personas habrá en el partido mañana?"
Nota: Otras estructuras de este verbo impersonal son:
There has been / There has not (hasn't) been / Has there been ...? delante de nombres singulares y There have been / There have not (haven't) been / Have there been ...? para nombres plurales.
Ejemplos:
There has been a lot of work since Sunday. Ha habido mucho trabajo desde el domingo.
There haven't been any accidents lately. No ha habido accidentes últimamente.
"How many boys have there been in the party?" "¿Cuántos niños ha habido en la fiesta?"
Autoevaluación
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Elige la opción correcta para completar las siguientes oraciones: |
"Now let's take a look at the countable and uncountable nouns. Go on ..."