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UNIT 2

PART I. THERE TO BE (HABER, EXISTIR)


A. PRESENT TENSE: THERE IS - THERE ARE

Estas expresiones se usan para indicar la existencia de algo. Son equivalentes a la expresión HAY, en castellano.
THERE IS /!ear íz/ se usa con sustantivos singulares o incontables. THERE ARE /!ear á:r/ se usa con sustantivos plurales.
Normalmente, en el singular, se usa la contracción THERE´S /!éarz/.

There is a book on the desk /!ear íz e búk on !e désk/ (Hay un libro sobre el escritorio)
There´s a car in the car park. /!éarz e ká:r in !e ká:r pa:rk/ (Hay un auto en el estacionamiento)
There´s some water in the glass. /!éarz sam wóter in !e glæs/ (Hay agua en el vaso)
There are 10 students in my class. /!ear á:r tén stiúdents in mai klæs/ (Hay 10 alumnos en mi curso)
There are some chairs in the room /!ear á:r sam tchéarz in !e rúm/ (Hay algunas sillas en la sala)

La forma negativa se expresa con THERE IS NOT / THERE ISN´T /!ear íznt/ o THERE ARE NOT / THERE AREN´T /!ear á:rent/

There is not a book on the desk. /!ear iz nót e búk on !e désk/


There isn´t a car in the car park. / !éar íznt e ká:r in !e ká:r pa:rk/
There isn´t any water in the glass. /!éar íznt éni wóter in !e glæs/
There´s no water in the glass /!éarz nóu wóter in !e glæs/
There are not 10 students in my class. /!ear a:r nót tén stiúdents in mai klæs/
There aren´t 10 students in my class. /!ear á:rent tén stiúdents in mai klæs/
There aren´t any chairs in the room. /!ear á:rent éni tchéarz in !e rúm/
There are no chairs in the room. /!ear a:r nóu tchéarz in !e rúm/

La forma interrogativa se hace mediante simple inversión del verbo con la palabra THERE.

Is there a book on the desk? /íz !ear e búk on !e désk/


Is there a car in the car park? /íz !ear e ká:r in !e ká:r pa:rk/
Is there any water in the glass? /íz !éar éni wóter in !e glæs/
Are there 10 students in the class? /á:r !ear tén stiúdents in mai klæs/
Are there any chairs in the room? /á:r !ear éni tchéarz in !e rúm/

Hay dos palabras interrogativas estrechamente relacionadas con There is y There are: HOW MUCH? /háu match/
(¿Cuánto? ¿Cuánta?) y HOW MANY? /háu méni/ (¿Cuántos? ¿Cuántas?)

How much whisky is there in the glass? There´s very little (whisky).
How much ice is there in the glass? There´s a lot (of ice).
How much water is there? There isn´t any (water). There´s no water.
How many doors are there in this room? There´s only one (door).
How many windows are there? There are three (windows).
How many chairs are there? There aren´t any (chairs). There are no chairs.

Como ud. ha advertido, la palabra SOME /sám/ (algo, algunos / as) solamente se usa en forma afirmativa. En las
interrogaciones se debe usar la palabra ANY /éni/. En la forma negativa se puede usar NOT ANY /not éni/ o NO /nóu/.

Estudie la siguiente tabla:

Affirmative SOME There´s some water in the glass. /!éarz sam wóter in !e glá:s/
There are some trees in the garden /!éar á:r sam trí:z in !e gá:rdn/
Negative NOT ANY There isn´t any water in the glass. /!ear íznt éni wóter in !e glá:s/
There aren´t any trees in the garden. /!ear á:rent éni trí:z in !e gá:rdn/
NO There ´s no water in the glass. /!éarz nóu wóter in !e glá:s/
There are no trees in the garden. /!ear á:r nóu trí:z in !e gá:rdn/
Interrogative ANY? Is there any water in the glass? /iz !ear éni wóter in !e glá:s/
Are there any trees in the garden? . /a:r !ear éni trí:z in !e gá:rdn/

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Note el uso de LITTLE /lítl/ (poco/a), FEW /fiú:/ (pocos/as) y A LOT OF /e lót ov/ (bastante/bastantes)

There´s very little water in the glass /!éarz véri lítl wó:ter in !e glá:s/ Hay muy poca agua en el vaso
There´s a lot of ice in my glass. /!éarz e lót ov áis in mai glá:s/ Hay bastante hielo en mi vaso
There are very few desks in the room. /!ear a:r véri fiú: desks in !e rú:m/ Hay muy pocos escritorios en la sala
There are a lot of chairs in the room. /!ear a:r e lót ov tchéarz in rú:m/ Hay bastantes sillas en la sala.

La expresión A LOT OF normalmente se usa en oraciones afirmativas. En las oraciones negativas e interrogativas
se prefiere usar las palabras MUCH o MANY, según sea el caso

There´s a lot of sugar in the bowl /!éarz e lót ov shúgar in !e bóul/


Affirmative a lot of
There are a lot of books on the shelf. /!éar á:r e lót ov buks on !e shélf/

not much There isn´t much sugar in the bowl. /!éar íznt match shúgar in !e bóul/
Negative
not many There aren´t many books on the shelf. /!éar á:rent méni buks on !e shélf/

much? Is there much sugar in the bowl? /iz !éar match shúgar in !e bóul/
Interrogative
many? Are there many books on the shelf? /á:r !éar méni buks on !e shélf/

El artículo indefinido A/AN (un,una) no tiene una forma para el plural, por lo tanto se omite. Normalmente el artículo A/
AN se reemplaza por las palabras SOME /sam/ algunos/as, SEVERAL /séverl/ varios/as, MANY /méni/ muchos/as.

There is a tree in the garden. There are trees in the garden


There are some trees in the garden
There are several trees in the garden.
There are many trees in the garden.

Cuando THERE IS/THERE ARE van seguidas directamente por un sustantivo, en las negaciones generalmente se
usa la palabra NO /nóu/

There´s water in that bottle. There´s no water in that bottle.


There are flowers in the garden. There are no flowers in the garden

Finalmente, estudie la siguiente tabla

some
a lot of
much
There is milk in this bottle
a little
very little
no/not any

some
several
many
flowers in the
There are a lot of
garden.
a few
very few
no/not any

EXERCISES

Ex. 1. Complete the sentences using THERE IS or THERE ARE:

1. _______________________ some books on the shelf.


2. _______________________ very little money left in the box.
3. _______________________ only one student in the lab now.
4. _______________________ very few people at the conference.

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5. _______________________ no more milk in the jug.
6. _______________________ no more CDs in the box.
7. _______________________ no time left.
8. _______________________ several helicopters in the airfield.
9. _______________________ some letters for you on the desk.
10. _______________________ a lot of mistakes in your composition.

Ex. 2. Change the following statements into the negative form.

1. There’s a lot of fruit in the basket. ___________________________________________________


2. There are a lot of students absent. ___________________________________________________
3. There´s some more meat in the fridge. ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
4. There are some extra chairs in the room. ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
5. There´s a telephone in the room. ___________________________________________________
6. There are a lot of people in the room. ___________________________________________________
7. There are some more clean glasses. ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
8. There are 30 days in February. ___________________________________________________
9. There´s some more money in my pocket. ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
10. There´s central heating in the room. ___________________________________________________

Ex. 3. Change the following sentences into the interrogative form.

1. There´s a hotel near the Training Center. ___________________________________________________


2. There are some students absent today. ___________________________________________________
3. There´s a lot of free time in the mornings. ___________________________________________________
4. There´s some more coffee in the cup. ___________________________________________________
5. There are more than 10 students. ___________________________________________________
6. There are more women than men. ___________________________________________________
7. There is another chair in that room ___________________________________________________
8. There are some more books. ___________________________________________________
9. There are 24 hours in a day. ___________________________________________________
10. There´s a train for Paris in the morning. ___________________________________________________

Ex. 4. Complete the following questions and answers. Use HOW MUCH......IS THERE? or HOW MANY..........
ARE THERE? in the questions, and THERE’S or THERE ARE in the answers .

Ej.: How many dictionaries are there? There are 8, sir.


1. ___________________ money _______________? ________________ very little.
2. ___________________ doors ________________ in the lab? ________________ just one.
3. ___________________ milk _________________ in the jug? ________________ no milk in it.
4. ___________________ video tapes ___________? ________________ very few.
5. ___________________ work _________________ today? ________________ a lot of work.
6. ___________________ people _______________ in the room?. ________________ a lot.
7. ___________________ butter ________________in the dish? ________________ just a little.
8. ___________________ secretaries____________here? ________________ two.
9. ___________________ women_______________ in that group? ________________ five or six.
10. ___________________ men _________________ in the crew? ________________ four men.

Ex. 5. Use LITTLE, FEW, A LOT in the blank spaces.

1. There are very ______________________________ books in the school library.


2. There´s ____________________________________ milk left in the bottle.

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