"Под столом ничего не было."

Translation: There was nothing under the table.

[GabrielBer689099]

why do you use было here?

[212498873]

It is to show the past tense.

[kmj0084]

To indicate past tense; although, i think the writers are going to extraordinary lengths to emphasize how loose the word ordering can be.

[aatay626142]

Behind за, in front of перед, under под, above над, on на, inside в, by side/nearby/whereabouts около/ возле