English Grammar: There Is, There Are,

Some, Any
In English grammar we use “there is” or “there are” to talk about things we can see
and things that exist.

We use “there is” for singular and uncountable nouns, and we use “there are” for
plural countable nouns.

“There are five people in the office.” (plural countable noun)

“There’s a television in the living room.” (singular countable noun)

or “There’s some milk in the fridge.” (uncountable noun)

See our page on English nouns for more information about countable and
uncountable nouns.

Using “some”: biraz

With plural countable nouns we can either give the quantity (“five people”) or use
“some” if we don’t know the exact quantity.

There are some potatoes in the plastic bag

“There are five people in the office.” (We can see five people exactly)
“There are some people in the office.” (We don’t know exactly how many people)
With uncountable nouns we also use “some”.

“There’s some milk in the fridge,” (I don’t know the exact quantity.)
“There’s some money in my wallet.” (I don’t know exactly how much money.)
Remember: with singular countable nouns we use a/an, the, or another determiner or
pronoun – not “some”.“There’s a woman in the shop.”

There is an apple in the basket.

“There’s the woman who works in the hospital.”

“There’s my sister in the photo.”

Negative form and using “any”

There are two ways to form the negative.
1. Add not or n’t to the end of the verb. See our page on the verb to be for more
information on forming negatives and questions.
“There isn’t a freezer in the kitchen.” (singular, countable noun)
“There isn’t any money in my wallet.” (uncountable noun)
“There aren’t any students” in the classroom. (plural noun)
For uncountable nouns, use “any” after the negative “isn’t”, and for plural countable
nouns use “any” after “aren’t”.

There aren’t any apples in the basket.

There isn’t an apple in the basket.

There isn’t any flour in the jar.

Remember: Do not use “any” with singular countable nouns.

“There isn’t a single biscuit left in the packet.” (Not “There isn’t any single biscuit left
in the packet.”)

2. Use “no” after “there is” or “there are”.

“There is no freezer in the kitchen.” (singular countable noun)

“There are no students in the classroom.” (plural noun)
“There’s no coffee left.” (uncountable noun)
However, it’s more common to use “isn’t + a” for singular countable nouns, “isnt +
any” for uncountable nouns and “aren’t + any” for plural nouns.

If you need more help with English grammar, see our page on some and any for
more information.
Question form and using “any”
1. To make a question, change the word order from subject-verb to verb-subject:

There is a + singular noun = Is there a + singular noun?

Is there an apple/ an orange in the fridge? There is an apple/ an orange in the

basket.

“Is there a toilet on this train?” Yes, There is. / No,There isn’t.
2. Then, change “some” to “any” in questions.

There is some + uncountable noun = Is there any + uncountable noun?

There is some milk in the glass. = Is there any milk in the glass?

“Is there any time to go shopping?” Yes, there is some itme to go shopping.
There are some + plural noun = Are there any + plural noun?

“Are there any trains to London this morning?”

Short answer form
Yes, there is. / No there isn’t.

Yes there are. / No there aren’t.

1. Choose the correct words.

1   There is / There are a wardrobe in my bedroom.
2   There isn’t / There aren’t any posters on my bedroom
walls.
3   There isn’t / There aren’t a chest of drawers in my
bedroom.
4   There is / There are a dictionary in my bag.
5   There isn’t / There aren’t any shelves in our classroom.
6   There are / There aren’t any curtains in the classroom.

2. Complete the prepositions of place. Place: yer

Where is the cat? The cat is behind of the box.

1   behind: arkasında

2   Under: altında It is under the box.

3   near : yanında It is near the box_________

4   between: arasında the cat is between the boxes.

5   in:içinde It is in the box.

6   on : üstünde It is on the box.

7   opposite: karşısında It is opposite the box.

 8   in front of: önünde

4. Complete the sentences about the picture in

exercise 3. Use There’s a, There isn’t a, There are some or  There
aren’t any.
1   ………………………… a computer on the teacher’s desk.
2   ………………………… dictionaries.
3   ………………………… a book on Emily’s desk.
4   ………………………… notice board next to the window.
5   ………………………… posters.
6   ………………………… pens on Jack’s desk.

Answer

5. Write questions and short answers about the

picture. Use Is there a … or  Are there any … .
1   …Are there any… chairs?
            Yes, there are.
2   ………………………… plant near the noticeboard?
     …………………………
3   ………………………… books on Lottie’s desk?
     …………………………
4   ………………………… posters on the wall?
     …………………………
5   ………………………… shelves?
     …………………………
Answer

6. Look at the picture again and answer the

questions. Use prepositions of place.
1   Where’s Emily?
          She’s between Jack and Lottie.
2   Where’sthe lamp?
     ……………………………..
3   Where are the dictionaries?
     ……………………………..
4   Where’s the teacher’s chair?
     ……………………………..
5   Where’s the bin?
     ……………………………..

Answer

Challenge!
Write six sentences about your classroom: three with there is /
are  and three with there isn’t / aren’t. Use a, some  and any.
        There’s a computer on the teacher’s desk.
1   ………………………………………….
2   ………………………………………….
3   ………………………………………….
4   ………………………………………….
5   ………………………………………….
6   ………………………………………….

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