There is / There are
📌 Lesson contents
🎯 Lesson goal
In this lesson you will learn to use There is and There are 📖 to describe what is around you. You will learn the rules for affirmative, negative and question forms, and at the end you can test yourself with the quiz at the bottom of the page! 🚀
🌟 The basic rule: “There is” and “There are”
In English, to say that something exists or is in a place, we don’t use the verb “have”. We use There + the verb to be.
🔍 When do we use “There is”?
We use it with singular nouns (just one thing) or uncountable nouns (things we can’t count, like water, time, milk).
- There is a cat in the garden. 🐱
- There is some water in the glass. 🥛
🔍 When do we use “There are”?
We use it only with plural nouns (more than one thing or person).
- There are two dogs outside. 🐕🐕
- There are many students in the class. 👨🏫
🔴 Negative form: “There isn’t”
For the negative, just add NOT after the verb. Be careful: with plurals and uncountable nouns we often use the word any.
- Singular: There isn’t a book on the desk.
- Plural: There aren’t any apples. 🚫🍎
- Uncountable: There isn’t any milk.
❓ Asking questions: “Is there…? Are there…?”
To make a question, just swap the order: the verb to be goes first!
- Is there a bank near here? ➔ Yes, there is. / No, there isn’t.
- Are there any questions? ➔ Yes, there are. / No, there aren’t.
Gap Fill Exercises
Test yourself with the exercises below. Write the correct form (There is, There’s, There are, Is there, Are there, There isn’t, There aren’t) and look carefully at the clue words in each sentence.