THERE IS / THERE ARE

If we want to say that something exists or doesn't exist somewhere or at some time,
we often use 'there + be'.

There is a bird in the sky.

There are two birds in the sky.

Subject-Verb Agreement

The structure of there is/there are is very simple:

  verb be subject

there is singular subject

there are plural subject

Notice that normal word order (subject-verb) is reversed or inverted (verb-subject).

The word there is not the subject. It is important to identify the subject and make sure
that the verb agrees with it.

Look at these examples with singular subject and singular verb:

  ther verb b not  article/ singular  

e e quantifier subject

+ There is   a big  
problem.

There 's   some milk in the fridge.

- There is n't any sugar in the

cupboard.

? Is there   a cup on the table?

Here are examples with plural subject and plural verb:

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   there verb b not  article/ plural  
e quantifie subject
r

+ There are   two boys in the garden.

There are   many question to answer.

s

- There are n't any students in class.

? Are there   any taxis waiting?

Notice that we can use the there is/are construction in other tenses, and the same
agreement is needed, for example:

 There was a noise in the night.

 There were lots of people at the party.

 There have been complaints about you recently.

 There will be lots of people at the party so you'll need to tidy the room in the
morning.

There is with singular subject series

We use there is before a series of singular subjects. Look at these examples:

 There is fruit, bread and wine on the table.

 There's a cup of coffee and some sugar on the table.

 There's a red car and a blue car outside.

The phrase "fruit, bread and wine" refers to three things, so why do we use the
singular there is? The reason is ellipsis (where we cut out words that are repeated). So...

There is fruit, bread and wine on the table.

 really means
There is fruit, there is bread and there is wine on the table.

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There is/are with mixed subject series

Sometimes we have a series of subjects that are mixed - singular and plural. In informal
speech, the verb then agrees with the nearest subject. Look at these examples:

 There's a girl and two boys outside.

 There are two boys and a girl outside.

 There's some wine and two apples on the table.

 There are two apples and some wine on the table.

Note that this is common usage in informal speech only. It is not recommended for
formal English such as essay-writing in an exam.

There is/are + lots of

Do we use there is or there are with lots of or a lot of? It depends on the noun: if it is

singular, use there is; if it is plural, use there are:

 There are lots of dogs in the street.

 There's a lot of snow outside.

Note that in everyday English, many people use there's with a plural subject:

 There's two boys in the garden.

 There's two boys and a girl outside.

 There's a lot of dogs in the street.

This is increasingly common in British and American English, but it is not

recommended in formal situations.

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ACTIVITIES

I. Change these (strange!) sentences so that you use 'there + the correct tenses of be'

1) A boy doesn't exist in the street. (present simple)

________________________________________________________
2) A party will exist tomorrow. (future simple)
________________________________________________________
3) A lot of illnesses existed in the 14th century. (past simple)
________________________________________________________
4) Does a table exist in the garden?
________________________________________________________
5) Does a train exist to Glasgow tonight?
________________________________________________________
6) A lot of mountains exist in Switzerland.
________________________________________________________
7) Many mosquitoes didn't exist near the lake.
________________________________________________________
8) Will biscuits exist at the meeting?
________________________________________________________
9) Did a lot of people exist in the restaurant?
________________________________________________________
10) No flowers exist in the hall.
________________________________________________________

II. Read the following sentences carefully and mark them as correct or incorrect.

1. Is there have a garden in your yard?

2. There are some pens on the desks.
3. How many sisters do you have?
4. Are there a car in the garage?
5. I have some friends in Australia.
6. There aren’t have any customers in the store.
7. Why aren’t there any dishes on the table?
8. How many countries is there in South America?
9. Are there a phone that I can use?
10. There isn’t any juice left.

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III. Form sentences with "there is" or "there are" in the positive, negative or question
form as shown in brackets:

1. _____________ a jacket . (positive)

2. _____________ five books. (negative)
3. _____________ four chairs? (question)
4. _____________ any clothes on the floor. (negative)
5. _____________ some rice? (question)
6. _____________ many people at the supermarket. (positive)

IV. Complete the following sentences with there is and there are in the affirmative,
negative and interrogative form depending on each case.

1. _____________ a red car parked in our driveway.

3. _____________ many options to pick from.
4. _____________ a euro and ten cents on the counter.
5. _____________ a lot of errors on this page.
6. _____________ a load of laundry to do.
7. I'm hungry. _____________ any apples in your backpack?
8. Sorry, Dad. _____________ nothing left. (-)
9. Help yourself. _____________ coffee, tea and juice to drink.
10. _____________ a library next to the park.
11. All the students went home. _____________ any students in the classroom.
12. A: _____________message for me? B: No, _____________.
13. How many days _____________ in March, thirty or thirty-one?
14. A: _____________ a post office nearby? B: I’m sorry, I don’t know.
15. _____________ something I can help you with?
16. No, _____________ any public holidays next month.

V. Take a look at your surroundings. What do you see? Make sentences with there is
and there are.

1. ________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________