Chapter 1-b

QuestionAnswer
it was /there was
było
there were
były
once
raz
there was(were) once
było raz
four
cztery
four - coll. (Collective numbers are used before nouns denoting people of mixed sex, personal and animate neuter nouns (of which there are few), and non-masculine personal pluralia tantum. They are used with nouns in the gen., nom., acc. and voc.
czworo
children
dzieci
four children (mixed gender)
czworo dzieci
Once there were four children
Było raz czworo dzieci
Peter
Piotr
Susan
Zuzanna
Once there were four children: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.
Było raz czworo dzieci: Piotr, Zuzanna, Edmund i Lucja.