Count Nouns, Singular

With the Past Simple
 
 
 

Examples of Count and Uncount Nouns

Count Nouns, Singular	Count Nouns, Plural	Uncount Nouns
a pinch of salt	several dashes of salt	salt
a cup of tea	a few cups of tea	a little tea
a loaf of bread	some loaves of bread	some bread
a shirt, one hat, a belt	a lot of shirts	a lot of clothes
one song	hundreds of songs	much music
a bribe, a kickback	lots of bribes	a lot of corruption
an idea, a breakthrough	many ideas	much innovation
one minute/an hour	60 minutes/24 hours	plenty of time
a road runner	a herd of buffaloes	abundant wildlife

 
 

There was and other Positive Past Simple Forms

There was refers to someone or something (singular countable nouns or SCN and uncountable nouns) that were present or existed sometime in the past.

Examples:
● There was an owl perched on that tree last evening.
● We saw the same man on the wharf.
● Fiona worked with only one client at her previous company.
● The current prime minister was a radical in his university days.
● A helicopter was hovering above the stadium.
● One bird ate the entire apricot.
 
 

Negative Sentence Forms

 
Examples:
● There wasn’t just one bug in the program; I found dozens of others.
● Mansur didn’t have a car at that time. He commuted by bus.
● The auditor didn’t say a word as he examined the records.
● Mr. Jurek admitted that he wasn’t always a good student.
● One person alone didn’t build this farmhouse; the neighbors helped out.

 
 
Yes-No Questions

Examples:
● Was there a giant Christmas tree in the square? —> Yeah. Here’s a picture of it.
● Did you see a security guard at the credit union? —> No, I didn’t see one (any).
● Did a scorpion sting your hand? —> No, a tarantula bit me.
● Was Zachery the founder of this company? —> No. He bought and expanded it.

 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Answer the following questions

Or respond to the following statements with yes, no, I agree, I disagree, that’s true, that’s not true/false, yes and no, maybe, perhaps, I think so, I don’t think so, sometimes, it depends. Say why and give examples.
 
 
1. Many successful companies started off with a single idea.
 
 
2. A pocket-watch was once a highly prized possession.
 
 
3. Does your school have a program for “gifted” students? For “slow learners”? What are they like?
 
 
4. Did just one individual invent or develop the computer?
 
 
5. At one time, my country had a king (emperor) and a queen (emperess). My country was once a monarchy.
 
 
6. There is an ancient or medieval walled city or fortress in the centre of my city.
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
7. Did you have a large collection (of marbles, sports cards, toy soldiers, dolls, comics, kids’ books)?
 
 
8. In the old days, everyone carried a gun or a knife.
 
 
9. In the old days, a single coin could buy a loaf of bread, a shirt or a night in an inn.
 
 
10. Every family owned or lived in a house in the past.
 
 
11. Our neighborhood once had a tailors, a shoemaker, a dressmaker, a watch repairer, a bakery.
 
 
12. Visiting a nearby town or city was a great adventure for most people.