There is / are is used to introduce a topic, or say that something exists.

The choice between the phrases there is and there are at the beginning
of a sentence is determined by the noun that follows it.

THERE IS THERE ARE

We use there is for singular and there are for plural. We also use There is with uncountable nouns:

There is one table in the classroom. -There is milk in the fridge.

There are three chairs in the classroom.
There is a spider in the bath.
There are many people at the bus stop.
The contraction of there is is there's.
There's a good song on the radio.
There's only one chocolate left in the box.
You cannot contract there are.
-There is some sugar on the table.
-There is ice cream on your shirt.
The contraction of 'there are' it's there're - It's
quite uncommon to see this written down unless
you are trying to write exactly like we speak, for
example in direct speech in a dialogue.
-There’re nine cats on the roof.
-There’re only five weeks until my birthday.
-There’re three pencils on the table.

The negative is formed by putting not after is or are: We almost always use contractions
when speaking.
There is not a horse in the field.
There are not eight children in the school. The Negative contractions are:
There is not a tree in the garden. -There's not = There isn't
There are not two elephants in the zoo.
-There are not = There aren't
When we want to indicate that a zero quantity of something exists we use there aren't any.

There aren't any people at the party.

There aren't any trees in my street.

We also use this structure with uncountable nouns:

There isn't any water in the swimming pool.

There isn't any sugar in my coffee.

To form a question, we place is / are in front of there. Again we use any with plural questions or
those which use uncountable nouns.

We also use there is / are in short answers.

-Is there a dog in the supermarket? - No, there isn't.

-Are there any dogs in the park? - Yes, there are.

-Is there a security guard in the shop? - Yes, there is.

-Are there any polar bears in Antarctica? - No, there aren't.

-Is there any ice-cream in the freezer? - Yes, there is.

If we want to find out the number of objects that exist, we use How many in the following form:

How many + plural noun + are there (+ complement).

How many dogs are there in the park?

How many students are there in your class?

How many countries are there in South America?

How many Star Wars films are there?

A band plays their music in front of an audience.

The teacher stands in front of the students.
The man standing in the line in front of me smells bad.
Teenagers normally squeeze their zits in front of a mirror.
Behind is the opposite of In front of. It means at the back (part) of something.

-When the teacher writes on the whiteboard, the students are behind him (or her).
-Who is that person behind the mask?
-I slowly down because there was a police car behind me.

Between normally refers to something in the middle of two objects or things (or places).

There are mountains between Chile and Argentina.

The number 5 is between the number 4 and 6.
There is a sea (The English Channel) between England and France.

Across from and Opposite mean the same thing. It usually refers to something being in front of
something else but there is normally something between them like a street or table. It is similar to
saying that someone (or a place) is on the other side of something.

-I live across from a supermarket (= it is on the other side of the road)

-The chess players sat opposite each other before they began their game.

Next to and Beside mean the same thing. It usually refers to a thing (or person) that is at the side of
another thing.

At a wedding, the bride stands next to the groom.

Guards stand next to the entrance of the bank.
He walked beside me as we went down the street.
In this part of town there isn't a footpath beside the road so you have to be careful.

Near and Close to mean the same thing. It is similar to next to / beside but there is more of a distance
between the two things.

-The receptionist is near the front door.

-This building is near a subway station.
-We couldn't park the car close to the store.
-Our house is close to a supermarket.
 On means that something is in a position that is physically touching, covering or attached to
something.

The clock on the wall is slow.

He put the food on the table.
I can see a spider on the ceiling.
We were told not to walk on the grass.

Above and Over have a similar meaning. The both mean "at a higher position than X" but above
normally refers to being directly (vertically) above you.

-Planes normally fly above the clouds.

-There is a ceiling above you.
-There is a halo over my head. ;)
-We put a sun umbrella over the table so we wouldn't get so hot.
-Our neighbors in the apartment above us are rally noisy.

Under and Below have a similar meaning. They mean at a lower level. (Something is above it).

Your legs are under the table.

Monsters live under your bed.
A river flows under a bridge.
How long can you stay under the water?
Miners work below the surface of the Earth.
Sometimes we use the word underneath instead of under and beneath instead of below. There is
no difference in meaning those they are less common nowadays.

Preposition of place. Explanation Example

This is the best team in the world.
Look at the picture in the book.
In Inside. She looks at herself in the mirror.
Look at the girl in the picture.
She is in the car.
-Used to show an exact position or I met her at the entrance, at the bus
particular place. stop.
At -Place where you are to do something She sat at the table.
typical (watch a film, study, work). At a concert, at the party.
At the movies, at university, at work.
-From one end or side of something to They walked slowly through the
Through
the other. woods.
-In the direction of, or closer to someone She stood up and walked towards him.
Towards
or something.
 Around - In a circular way. We're sitting around the campfire.
Out of - Leaving something. The cat jumped out of the window.
Outside - Opposite of inside. Can you wait outside?

EXERCISES
1 Look at the pictures and complete the questions. Use this, that, these or those.
1 Is this your watch?

2 Are these your sunglasses?

3 Is this your camera?

4 Is that your bike?

5 Are those your books?

6 Is that your phone?

2 Look at the pictures and write sentences. Use the words in the table.

1 These trainers are old.

2 This shirt is big.
3 These trousers are small.
4 These shoes are old.
5 That coat is big.
6 This hat is small.

3 Put the conversations in order.

2 2
4 5
4
5
3 1
6
6 3
Fill in the blanks below to complete the sentences.

1. ___There is _ a library next to the park.

2. All the students went home. There aren’t any students in the classroom.

3. _There are_ 50 states in the United States.

4. No, ___there aren’t any___ polar bears at the South Pole.

5. A: _____Is there_ _ a message for me? B: No, ____there isn’t______.

6. Why __are there ____so many cars in the parking lot?

7. A: I’m hungry. B: ___There is __ a restaurant across the street.

8. How many days ___are there __ in March, thirty or thirty-one?

9. _There are a few things I have to do this afternoon.

10. A: _Is there a post office nearby? B: I’m sorry, I don’t know.

11. __Is there something I can help you with?

12. No, __there aren’t any_ public holidays next month.

13. How many countries __are there__ in the world?

14. __There is _a woman in the picture. She is smiling.

15__There are___ only three more days before the exam. Let’s study!

Prepositions of Place. Write the correct answer.

1. The wine is ___in___ the bottle.

2. Pass me the dictionary, it's ___on___ the bookshelf.

3. Jennifer is ___at___ work.

4. Berlin is __in____ Germany.

5. You have something ___on___ your face.

6. Turn left ___at__ the traffic lights.

7. She was listening to classical music __on__ the radio.

8. He has a house __on____ the river.

9. The answer is __at__ the bottom of the page.

10. Julie will be ___on___ the plane now.

11. There are a lot of magnets __on____ the fridge.

12. She lives ____in__ London.

13. John is ___in___ a taxi. He's coming.

14. I'll meet you ___at___ the airport.

15. She stood ___at___ the window and looked out.

16. The cat is ___in___ the house somewhere.

17. Why you calling so late? I’m already ___in___ bed.

18. I waited for Lucy ___at___ the station.

19. There was a picture of flowers ___on___ her T-shirt.

20. She has a house ___in___ Japan.

All Things Grammar . (s.f.). Recuperado el 28 de Agosto de 2021, de

https://www.allthingsgrammar.com/:
https://www.allthingsgrammar.com/uploads/2/3/2/9/23290220/atg-worksh-
thereisare.pdf

Learning, N. G. (2021). Grammar Practice Worksheets for Life. Recuperado el 28 de Agosto de

2021, de https://www.ngllife.com/student-zone-grammar-practice-
worksheets/elementary

Perfect English Grammar. (2008). Recuperado el 28 de Agosto de 2021, de https://www.perfect-

english-grammar.com/: https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/support-
files/prepositions_of_place_2.pdf