16 There is and There are

Advertising

Introduction

There is/are are expressions used in sentences that want to confirm, deny or check that something exists.

Form

There is/are has the subject after the verb and we usually find them in their three forms:

Affirmative

Singular nouns: There is + singular noun/uncountable noun + …
Plural nouns: There are + plural noun + …

Negative

Singular nouns: There is + not + singular noun/uncountable noun + …
Plural nouns: There are + not + plural noun + …

Negative short forms are: there isn’t/aren’t (the same short forms of to be).

A more common negative expression is there are not any (there are no)/there aren’t any (there aren’t).

Interrogative

Singular nouns: Is there + singular noun/uncountable noun + …?
Plural nouns: Are there + plural noun + …?

Example

  • There is
    • There is a cat in the garden.
    • There is not a cat in the garden.
      There isn’t a cat in the garden.
    • Is there a cat in the garden?
  • There are
    • There are ten cats in the garden.
    • There are not ten cats in the garden.
      There aren’t ten cats in the garden.
    • Are there ten cats in the garden?

Use

There is/are is an expression used in sentences that want to confirm, deny or check, that something exists.

Summary

There is/are is used when we want to confirm (affirmative), deny (negative) or check (interrogative) that something exists.

  • Singular: there is;
  • Plural: there are.

For example:
— Affirmative: “There is a plate on the table.” / “There are plates on the table.”
— Negative: “There isn’t a plate on the table.” / “There aren’t plates on the table.”
— Interrogative: “Is there a plate on the table? / “Are there plates on the table?”

The more common negative forms are there is no/there are no.

For example:
— “There is no plate on the table.” / “There are no plates on the table.”

NOTE: Another common negative form is there are not any.

Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.

Exercises


The exercises are not created yet. If you would like to get involve with their creation, be a contributor.



Ambassadors

Open TextBooks are collaborative projects, with people from all over the world bringing their skills and interests to join in the compilation and dissemination of knowledge to everyone and everywhere.

Become an Ambassador and write your textbooks.

Online Teaching

Become a Books4Languages Online tutor & teacher.

More information here about how to be a tutor.

Translations


Contributors

The Books4Languages is a collaborative projects, with people from all over the world bringing their skills and interests to join in the compilation and dissemination of knowledge to everyone, everywhere.

License