waren es

were there; they were

→ sein

phrase Uncommon #16,948

were there; they were In questions about quantity, it means “were there”; before a description, it can mean “they were.”

GE: Wie viele waren es gestern?

EN: How many were there yesterday?

Natürlich waren es warme Pfannkuchen.

Of course they were warm pancakes.

Waren es Dealer aus dem Viertel?

Were they dealers from the neighborhood?

— Elite Squad: Im Sumpf der Korruption (2010)

Den Nachrichten zufolge waren es mehr als zweihundert Meter, stimmt's?

According to the news reports, it was more than two hundred meters, right?

— Memories of Murder (2003)

Waren es mehr als zehn?

Were there more than ten?

— Loveless (2017)

Eigentlich waren es zwei Besucher.

Actually, there were two visitors.

Und wie viele waren es?

And how many were there?

— Loveless (2017)

Waren es zwei oder drei?

Was it two or three?

— Lagaan - Es war einmal in Indien (2001)

Immerhin waren es fünf, das war nicht fair.

There were five of them, that wasn't fair.

— Tampopo (1985)

Oder waren es mal.

Or they used to be.

— Paddington 2 (2017)

Wie viele waren es?

How many were there?

— Elite Squad: Im Sumpf der Korruption (2010)

Vielleicht waren es ja Engel.

Maybe they were angels after all.

— Salyut-7 (2017)

Waren es immer Mädchen?

Were they always girls?

— Blau ist eine warme Farbe (2013)

Dann waren es also zwei, die damals verunglückt sind.

So there were two who died in the accident back then.

— Rebecca (1940)

Früher waren es die Zensuren im College.

It used to be the grades in college.

— Die Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Wie viele Stücke waren es, hä?

How many pieces were there, huh?

— Memories of Murder (2003)

Einst waren es nur eine Million verdammter Ratten.

Once upon a time, there were only one million damned rats.

— Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)

Beim letzten Mal waren es vier, die es versucht haben.

Last time, four people tried.

Wie viele waren es, hast du gesagt?

How many did you say there were?