There is/are

You already know am, is, and are. Now use there is and there are to say that something exists or is in a place.

1. What do “there is” and “there are” mean?

There is and there are are used to say that something exists or is in a place.

Examples:

• “There is a dog in the garden.”
• “There are two chairs in the room.”

2. When do we use there is / there are?

You use there is / there are to talk about:

2.1 Existence (something exists)

• “There is a problem.”
• “There are many people here.”

2.2 Saying that something is in a place

• “There is a shop near my house.”
• “There are books on the table.”

3. Choosing the correct form: there is or there are

The form depends on the noun phrase after there is / there are: singular or uncountable nouns take there is; plural nouns take there are.

Use “There is”

• with one thing (singular)
• with uncountable nouns

Examples:

• “There is a cat outside.”
• “There is milk in the fridge.”

Use “There are”

• with more than one thing (plural)

Examples:

• “There are two cats outside.”
• “There are many students in the class.”

Contractions and spoken English

In everyday speech and informal writing, there is often contracts to there’s:

• “There’s a cat outside.”
• “There’s some juice in the fridge.”

Use there are with plural nouns in careful English: “There are two cats outside.”

In casual speech, many people say “There’s two cats outside,” but use “There are two cats outside” in careful writing.

4. Negative sentences

To make a sentence negative, add not. In everyday English, we often use isn't and aren't.

• There isn't + a/an + singular noun
• There aren't + any + plural noun
• There isn't + any + uncountable noun

Examples:

• “There is not a TV in the room.” → There isn't a TV in the room.
• “There are not any chairs.” → There aren't any chairs.

You can also use no:

• “There is no milk in the fridge.”
• “There are no chairs in the room.”

5. Yes / no questions

To make a question, change the word order.
Structure: Is / Are + there + noun phrase (+ place)?

To change a statement into a question:

• There is a bank nearby. → Is there a bank nearby?

Examples:

• “Is there a toilet here?”
• “Is there any milk?”
• “Are there two bathrooms?”
• “Are there any students in the class?”

5.1 Short answers

Yes:

• “Yes, there is.”
• “Yes, there are.”

Do not contract affirmative short answers: say “Yes, there is,” not “Yes, there’s.”

No:

• “No, there isn’t.”
• “No, there aren’t.”

6. There is / there are with some and any

We often use some and any with there is / there are.

• Some → positive sentences
• Any → negative sentences and questions

Examples:

• “There is some water.” (water = uncountable → is)
• “There isn’t any milk.” (milk = uncountable → isn’t)
• “Are there any shops nearby?” (shops = plural → are)

How many? / How much?

Use How many with plural countable nouns and How much with uncountable nouns.

• “How many chairs are there?”
• “How much milk is there?”

Use a lot of with both uncountable and plural nouns:

• “There is a lot of traffic today.”
• “There are a lot of people in the park.”

7. Talking about the past

This lesson focuses on the present. To talk about the past, change is/are to was/were:

• “There was a café here last year.”
• “There were two cafés here last year.”

You can study the full past forms in a later lesson.

8. Quick summary