there used to be meaning in Chinese
过去常常有
某地曾有…
Examples
- There used to be a cinema here , did not there ?
从前这里有一家电影院，是不是？ - There used to be a house here .
原来这里是有一幢房子的。 - I remember there used to be some stories about her .
我记得，关于她，这里传播一些流言蜚语。 - I know that there used to be such lunatic affairs as divorce courts .
我知道以往曾经有过离婚法庭之类丧心病狂的玩艺儿。 - There used to be a rubber estate there, but the company went broke and it was abandoned .
过去那边有一个橡胶园，但是那家公司破产了，橡胶园也丢荒了。