there was
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
used to begin a story or description
Literally: existence in the past
Register: neutral
Examples
There was a large audience in the theater.Có một lượng lớn khán giả tại rạp chiếu phim.
There was little water in the well.Có một ít nước trong giếng.
Tatoeba sentence #238473 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Everyday learner phrase (CEFR A1); level cross-referenced from published learner lists. Definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “there was” mean?
used to begin a story or description Literally: existence in the past
Is “there was” formal or informal?
there was is generally neutral.