This grammar topic will teach you how to work with popular English constructions there is / there are. Or, in other words, how to say: there is something here, there is something missing there.
There (are) a lot of rules at the airport.– There are a lot of rules at the airport.
There is no stadium in the town.– There isn’t a stadium in the town.
We use this construction when the sentence refers to the fact that something is / Not is located somewhere. In other words, something is somewhere or something is not somewhere. To do this, in English we use the construction there is / there are.
The word there in this construction will not change under any circumstances. According to the law of the genre, the verb to be will change in number and tense, as we will discuss below.
Here you need to be careful and not confuse the adverb there (there) and part of the construction there is / are. The difference will be visible in context and translation: there, which is included in there is / are, won’t even be translated, it’s just “is.” For example:
There is only one restaurant there. – There (there is) only one restaurant.
The second part of this construction is a verb already known to us "be"– to be in the form is and are (is for singular, are for plural).
There is a cake in the refrigerator. – There is a cake in the refrigerator.
There's a hole in my pocket. – There's a hole in my pocket.
In the last sentence we shortened there is to there's, which is quite typical in spoken English.
There are two men in the room. – There are two men in the room.
There're many mistakes in your test, you must do it over. – There are many errors in your test, you should redo it.(there are = there’re)
Often a student wonders: why can’t I say simply through a verb to be? For example:
Many mistakes are in your test.
It's very simple: such a sentence is grammatically correct, but the speaker will not say so, it will sound less natural to his ear. In addition, the design there is / are is very popular among carriers, so you definitely shouldn’t avoid it.
It is interesting that proposals with there is / are we translate from the end, the construction itself may not be translated at all or translated with the word “is”.
There are many Italian foodstuffs in this shop. – This store has a lot of Italian products.
There are seven days in a week. – There (are) seven days in a week.
Negation
It is a pleasure to work with this construction: to construct a negation we
add the particle not or the word no after is / are
There is not an umbrella in the car. – There is no umbrella in the car.
There isn't any cold water in the refrigerator. – There is no cold water in the refrigerator.
There is no lamp in my son’s room. – There is no lamp in my son's room.
Have you noticed that after there is not there must be an article a or an; after there is no we do not put either an article or any.
There are not two but three kids in their family. – Their family has not two, but three children.
There are n’t problems with this child. – There are no problems with this child.
There are no guests at the party. – There are no guests at the party.
Question
To construct a question you just need to rearrange the words in the construction itself there is / are.
Is there a scarf in the wardrobe? – Is there a scarf in the closet?
Is there a dog in the car? – Is there a dog in the car?
What is there on the table? – What (is) on the table?
Are there letters for me? – Are there any letters for me?
Are there students in the lecture hall? – Are there any students in the audience?
How many days are there in February? – How many days are there in February?
Very often the question arises in sentences where we need to list objects in both singular and plural. What to do in these cases?
The choice of is or are will depend on the first noun immediately following the construction there is / are.
There is one bathroom and two bedrooms in my flat. – My apartment has two bedrooms and one bathroom.
Because "bathroom" in the singular there is the first one, we chose there is.
There are 200 (two hundred) passengers and one air steward on the plane. – The plane has one flight attendant and 200 passengers.
In this sentence "passengers" the plural comes first, so we chose there are.
You can answer briefly:
Are there dogs in the pet-shop? – No, there aren’t. – Are there dogs in the pet store? - No.
Is there a line/queue? – Yes, there is. – Is there a queue? Yes, I have.
Countable and uncountable nouns
First, let us remember that there are such necessary concepts in English as a countable noun and uncountable nouns. A countable noun can be counted piece by piece: book-books, raccoon-raccoons, room-rooms. Accordingly, an uncountable noun cannot be counted piece by piece; examples of such words are: sugar, flour, sand, water
There is only works with singular countable nouns or only with uncountable nouns.
There is a store-room in the flat. – The apartment has a storage room.(example with a singular countable noun).
There is no sugar in my tea. – There is no sugar in my tea(example with an uncountable noun).
That is, we do not say: There are no sugar in my tea.
Accordingly, there are only works with plural countable nouns (well, uncountable nouns simply do not exist in the plural).
There are many rules in the English language. – There are many rules in English.(rule-rules, plural countable noun)
There are no lipsticks in her purse. – There are no lipsticks in her purse.(lipstick-lipsticks, plural countable noun)
Construction a lot of
The construction a lot of – works a lot with both countable and uncountable nouns, but there is one subtlety when using it together with there is / are.
There is a lot of salt in my soup. – There is a lot of salt in my soup.
Even though a lot of is a lot, we do not put there are here because "salt" uncountable noun.
There are a lot of important documents in his safe. – There are many important documents in his safe.
We use there are because “ documents" is a countable noun and is in the plural.
Some/any
An important part of this topic is the indefinite pronouns some and any. These words mean a certain quantity (inexact quantity).
Some is used in affirmative sentences.
Any is used in negative and interrogative sentences.
There is some bread in a bread bin. – There is some bread in the breadbox.
Is there any bread in a bread bin? – Is there any bread in the breadbox?
There isn’t any bread in a bread bin. – There is (no) bread in the breadbox.
There are some letters at the post office. – There are several letters in the mail.
Are there any letters at the post office? – Are there any letters in the mail?
There aren't any letters at the post office. – There are no letters at the post office.
- Some and any work with both countable and uncountable nouns.
Sometimes we may come across small subtleties of translation:
- Some+ uncountable noun = “a little” or depending on the context.
There is some sand in your shoes. – There's a little sand in your shoes.
- Some+ plural countable noun. number = "several"
There are some eggs in the refrigerator. – There are several eggs in the refrigerator.
- Some+ countable noun in singular number = "some"
There is some guy in your office. – There's a guy in your office.
- Any in a negative sentence = “none, none, none”
There aren't any letters for you. – There are no letters for you.
- Any in an interrogative sentence = “any, any, any / how much”
Is there any butter at home? – Do you have (any) butter at home?
Are there any dresses in this shop? – Does this store have any dresses?
As you noticed, we placed the translation of the words any and some in brackets, that is, in the Russian version these words are not mandatory. In the English version they are necessary.
And the last point: no need to consume some / any, if you have a specific subject in the singular and it is countable. In this case you need the article a / an:
There isn't a bike near the house. – There is no bicycle near the house. That is, a specific bike.
If the question arises: why doesn’t the article the go with a specific object, if the object is specific? The answer is simple: after there is Always Only articles a / an are used.
There is a big window in my room. – There is a large window in my room.
Use in other tenses
Of course, we do not only say in the present tense: there are a lot of people there, no problem, etc. In the past, future tense we will also say: there were no problems, there were a lot of people, there will be a lot of questions. If you are already familiar with the topic of modal verbs and tenses: Past Simple, Future Simple, Present Perfect and Past Perfect, then there will be no questions ☺
Since as part of the design there is / are we have a verb (to be in the form is and are) it is logical that it can change in tenses if we need it. Recall that the form there is / there are refers to the Present Simple tense.
If you know how to be works in principle in different tenses, then you will not have problems. And we remind you:
| Time | Form to be | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Past Simple | There was/were |
There was a hole in my pocket. – There was a hole in my pocket. Were there any problems with your essay? – Were there any problems with your essay? There wasn’t a wallet on my table. – There was no wallet on my table. |
| Future Simple | There will be | There will be a lesson on Monday. – There will be a lesson on Monday. Will there be a meeting this week? – Will there be a meeting this week? There will be no winners in this war. – There will be no winners in this war. |
| Present Perfect | There have been / There has been | There have been a lot of money problems this year. – There have been a lot of money problems this year. Have there been many interesting projects recently? – Have there been many interesting projects there recently? There hasn’t been any client today. – There weren't a single customer today. |
| Past Perfect | There had been (These formulas are rarely used in spoken English) |
There had been some of my daughter’s friends when I came home. – When I came home, several of my daughter's friends were there. He told me that there had been no real love in his life. – He told me that there was no true love in his life. Had there been a party already when you arrived? – When you arrived, was there already a party there? |
Modal verbs and there is / are
Modal verbs also fit perfectly into the sentence structure with there + be, all the rules are the same, you just need to understand modal verbs and remember that after modals we we don't change to be , but leave it in its original form:
There must be some explanation for his behavior. – There must be an explanation for his behavior.
There should be some law against people like you. – There must be some kind of law against people like you.
There may be a dangerous turn of events. – Events could take a dangerous turn.
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Constructions There is And There are are used to indicate the presence of something in a certain place, the location of objects or their quantity. In this construction the word there stands formal subject and does not carry any meaning (it cannot be translated as “ here», « there"), so such sentences are translated from the end.
- There is a mouse in the kitchen!- There's a mouse in the kitchen!
- There are some cookies in the box.— There are some cookies in the box.
- There was a man in the room.– There was a man in the room.
- There were men in the room waiting for you.– There were men in the room who were waiting for you.
- I think there will be a lot of people at tomorrow’s concert.– I think there will be a lot of people at tomorrow’s concert.
Statement
In affirmative sentences, the formal subject always comes first there, followed by the verb to be in the required form and “ present subject"(object or person). Verb form to be depends on the number of the noun and the tense in the sentence.
There is And there was used for singular objects or concepts or uncountable nouns.
There are And there were used for plural items.
If in the statement after revolutions there is / there was / there will be the countable subject is singular, it is used with the indefinite article a / an. Definite article the practically not used.
- There is = There’s (abbreviation)
- There's a cat in our garden.- There is (some) cat in our yard.
If this is a set of objects, then a numeral is used, indicating their number or word some(some). Also used before uncountable nouns some.
- There are two cats in our garden.- There are two cats in our yard.
- There are some cats in our garden.- There (are some) cats in our yard.
- There's some milk in the fridge.— There is some milk in the refrigerator.
- There was some food in this lunchbox.— There was food in this lunchbox.
In the statement after the construction there is/ there was/ there will be pronouns may be used someone(someone) and something(something).
- There was something strange in his room.“There was something strange in his room.”
- There was someone asking for your phone number.- Someone asked for your phone number.
Negation
Negative sentence with there is /there are is formed using a negative particle not after the verb to be in the required form.
In denial with there is not/ there wasn't / there will not be singular nouns are used with the indefinite article a/ an(no negative pronouns, since in English there can only be one negative).
- There wasn't a cat in our garden.
- There won't be a party next week.- There will be no party next week.
In a negative sentence, nouns in plural or uncountable nouns are used with a pronoun any(some, none).
- There is not = there isn’t (abbreviation)
- There isn't any money in his wallet.
- There are not = there aren’t
- There aren't any pencils on my desk.
In denial after there is not / there wasn't / there will not be pronouns may be used anybody, anyone(someone, no one) and anything(something, nothing, nothing).
- There isn't anyone in the room.- There is no one in the room.
- There wasn't anything interesting in that city. “There was nothing interesting in that city.”
Also, a negative sentence can be formed using a negative pronoun no before a noun, regardless of its number. In this case, the particle is not placed not after to be .
- There was no cat in our garden.– There was no cat in our yard.
- There there are no pencils on my desk.– There are no pencils on my desk.
- There is no money in his wallet.- There is no money in his wallet.
In a negative sentence after there is /there was /there will be pronouns may be used nobody,no one(nobody) and nothing(nothing, nothing).
- There there is no one in the room.- There is no one in the room.
- There was nothing interesting in that city.“There was nothing interesting in that city.”
Question
Interrogative sentence with there is / there are is formed by placing the verb to be in the required form at the beginning of the sentence.
As in negative sentences, questions use singular nouns with the indefinite article a / an.
- Is there a cat outside?– Is there a cat on the street?
- Will there be a party next week?– Will there be a party next week?
In questions, plural or uncountable nouns are used with a pronoun any(some kind).
- Were there any pencils on my desk?– Were there (some) pencils on my desk?
- Is there any money in your pockets?– Do you have (some) money in your pockets?
In questions after is there / was there/ will there be pronouns may be used anybody, anyone(someone) and anything(something).
- Is there anything I can do for you?- Can I help you?
Short answers to general questions also use the construction there is/ there are in the affirmative or negative form at the right time.
- Is there a cat outside?– Is there a cat on the street?
- Yes, there is.- Yes, I have.
- No, there isn't .- No.
- Was there anybody in my room?– Was there someone in my room?
- Yes, there was.- Yes.
- No, there wasn't.- No.
In special questions, the question word comes first, followed by the word order of the general question. After interrogative expressions how many/ how much followed by the noun to which they refer.
- Who is there in my room?-Who's in my room?
- Why are there so many people?– Why are there so many people there?
- How much money is there in your wallet?- How much money is in your wallet?
Features of use
There is / There are can be used with almost all tenses and modal verbs, as well as with the construction to be going to. In this case, only the verb changes to be.
- There has been an accident this morning. I hope everything is alright now.– There was an accident this morning. I hope everything is fine now.
- She said that there had been nothing to drink at Matt’s party.“She said there were no drinks at Matt's party.”
- There must be some money in my pocket.- There must be some money in my pocket.
- There may be a dog in their garden.– Perhaps there is a dog in their yard.
- There should have been a letter from Craig in my mailbox.“There should have been a letter from Craig in my mailbox.”
- There is going to be a charity concert next week.– Next week they are going to hold a charity concert.
Listing items
When listing multiple items after a construct there is / there are the verb to be is put in singular or plural form depending on the number of the noun that follows it.
- There is one cat and one puppy in Jack’s house.– There is one cat and one puppy in Jack’s house.
- There is a cat and two puppies in Jack’s house.– There is one cat and two puppies in Jack’s house.
- There are two puppies and a cat in Jack’s house.– There are two puppies and one cat in Jack’s house.
There with other verbs
The verb to be in the construction there is / there are can be replaced by other verbs that express the meaning of presence, such as to exist(to be, to exist), to lie(lie), to live(live), to come(to come, to happen), to stand(stand), etc.
- There was a big statue in this park.– There was a big statue in this park.
- There stood a big statue in this park.– There was a large statue in this park.
- There lives an old woman in this house.– An elderly woman lives in this house.
- There came some noise from his room.- There was (some) noise coming from his room.
Have you ever heard about the situation with a fly in a bowl of soup? If (God forbid) this happens to you, then you should complain to the waiter and demand a replacement of the dish immediately! Waiter! There's a FLY in my soup! Woop!
The construction of the sentence seems quite simple, but, oddly enough, in English the phrase “there is” / “there are” often causes many difficulties both in construction and in translation and, accordingly, in use. So when is there is and when are there?
But since you"re with us! There"ll be no problems! You will forever remember this phrase and be on friendly terms with it, carefully reading and remembering this article, of course. So, check it out!
What does there is/there are mean?
The phrase “there” + “be” is translated, starting with the circumstances of the place, which usually comes at the end of a sentence:
There is a cat in the box.
There (is) a cat in the box.
If there is no circumstance, then during translation the sentence begins with the words “is”, “there is”, “exists”, “happens”, “is located”, etc. In principle, often “there is / there are” is not translated at all . Like this
“invisible”, but extremely necessary turnover.
When to use there is and there are
« There is" And " there are"is used when they want to say that something exists (does not exist) or is (is not) located in a specific place.
« There is" indicates the presence in a certain place of some kind one object (person). Also used with indefinite subjects (this is when the indefinite article ("a", "an") is used when there is no article, or the words "some", "any", "no" are used), and with indefinite pronouns like "somebody", "nothing"
There's something that makes me feel worried. - Something is bothering me.
« There are» indicates availability at a specific location several(many) objects (persons).
There are two cats on the couch. - There (are) 2 cats on the sofa.
note: the word “there” (there) in the phrase “there is/there are” has no independent meaning and forms an inseparable whole with “is/are”. If, according to the meaning, it is necessary to express the circumstance of place with the word “there” - “there”, then “there” is repeated at the end of the sentence.
There are so many boxes there. - There (are) so many boxes.
Sentence structure with there is and there are
To make everything clearer, we present you with a simple formula and below is an example with numbers for clarity:
(1) " There is/there are" + (2) subject + (3) circumstance of place or time.
(1) There are (2) a lot of flowers (3) in the garden.
Affirmative sentences
There is one table in the classroom.
There are three cats on the couch.
There is a spider in the bath.
There are many sinners in Hell.
« There is» also used with uncountable nouns(uncountable nouns):
There is milk in the fridge.
There is some sugar on the table.
There is ice cream on your shirt.
The number of the verb “be” is determined by the number of the first noun after this phrase:
There is a table and two chairs in the room.
There are two cats and a midget in the car.
Abbreviations (contractions). “There is” in a simplified version becomes “ there's" Almost always, in informal correspondence or in colloquial speech, this particular version of the phrase is used.
There's a good song on the radio.
There's only one chocolate bar left in the box.
As you know, shortening can be done in different ways, but pay attention to the option with “are”:
there is not = there's not = there isn't/ there are not = there aren't. There's no contraction of “there are”. Pay attention!
There are nine cats on the roof.
There are only five weeks until my birthday.
When talking about informal communication, we can use "there's" even when talking about the plural. But don't try to use it in formal correspondence or in an exam. This is forbidden.
There's three other people who are still to come.
There's lots of cars in the car park.
Usually " there» not used with a definite subject.
The door was open. - The door is open. (Error: “There was the door open.”)
Interrogative sentences
Questions are formed by the usual rearrangement (subject “ there" changes places with the predicate " be»):
Is there Anyone at home?
Are there any cats on the floor?
When posing a question to define the subject, question words are used “ how many», « how much"how much and interrogative pronoun" what", which precede the subject:
How many cats are there on the couch?
How much water is there in the bottle?
What is there in the box?
In the answer to the last question, the verb “to be” can also be used in the plural if the fact of the presence of several objects or phenomena is stated (or, for example, in the case of their listing):
« How many" With " are there" If we want to find out the number of existing objects, then we use “how many” according to the following structure:
« How many» + plural noun + « are there» (+ addition).
How many dogs are there in the park?
How many students are there in your class?
How many gangsters are there in Chicago?
How many horror movies are there in your collection?
"There" can also be used in " question tags"(short general question, stating the question).
There'll be enough boxes for everyone, won't there?
Negative sentences
In negative sentences after the verb " to be" is used either " not"(when the noun following the negation is preceded by pronoun or numeral), or " no" (in other cases).
There is not(isn't) any money in the wallet. — There is no money in the wallet.
There is no money in the wallet. — There is no money in the wallet.
A short negative answer consists of the word “ no", followed by " there" and the verb " to be" in the appropriate form with a negative particle " not»:
Are there any cats on the couch? No,there are not(aren't).
Is there a dog in the supermarket? - No, there isn't.
There "aren't" with "any". When we want to talk about zero quantity of something, we use " there aren't any».
There aren't any people at the party.
There aren't any trees in my street.
The same goes for uncountable nouns:
There isn't any water in the swimming pool.
There isn't any sugar in my coffee.
« There" can also be used in sentences where " be" is an auxiliary verb in the form progressive or passive. Pay attention to the word order:
There have been more Americans killed in road accidents than in all the wars since 1900.
There’ll be somebody meeting you at the airport.
The construction can also be used with modal verbs:
There must be somebody inside - ring again.
There may be a mistake - check again.
There might be some prey running around — I should be attentive.
This structure should also be translated into Russian from the end.
Temporal forms there + be
What about other temporary forms? Or is it only the Present who is in charge here? Not at all!
"There" is used with different forms of "be" in a variety of tenses. Use it for your health!
| Singular countable nouns (apple) Uncountable nouns (blood) |
Plural countable nouns ( cats) | |
| Affirmative | There is / was / will be an apple on my table. There is/ was/ will be (some/much) blood on the floor. |
There are / were / will be three (many / a lot of) cats on the couch. |
| Negative | There isn't / wasn't / won't be an apple on my table. There isn't / wasn't / won't be (any/much) blood on the floor. |
There aren't / weren't / won't be (any / many / a lot of) cats on the couch. |
| Questions | Is / was there an apple on my table? Will there be an apple on my table? Is / was there (any / some / much) blood on the floor? Will there be (any / some / much) blood on there floor? |
Are/were there (any / many / a lot of) cats on the couch? Will there be (any / many / a lot of) cats on the couch? |
| How much / how many | How much blood is / was / will be there? | How many cats are / were / will be there? |
| Short answers | Yes, there is / was / will be. No, there isn't / wasn't / won't be. |
Yes, there are / were / will be. No, there aren't / weren't / won't be. |
There were fire-breathing dragons in the streets. ( Past Simple)
I think there"ll be loads of people at the festival. ( Future Simple)
There hasn't been many entries for the competition. ( Present Perfect)
The examination concluded that there had been no ill-treatment during detention. ( Past Perfect)
By the time he hopes that there will have been full consultation with the human rights bodies. ( Future Perfect Continuous).
It should be noted that in the question in the future tense before « there» is put « will", and the verb " to be" is put after him.
Will there be are your friends there? - Will your friends be there?
Difference between there is/there are and it/they
Take a look at the following suggestions. First, we become familiar with the essence of the proposal using “ there is / there are", and then we refer to what was mentioned using " it" or " they».
There's a good movie on channel 2. It starts at 10 o"clock (it = the movie).
There are 3 new students in our class. They"re from Brazil (they = the students).
The constructions “there is” and “there are” are used only in relation to new information. If anything already mentioned in context, then you should use “it is” or “they are”.
We also use " it» + « to be» + adjective + infinitive phrases ( infinitive clauses). In such sentences the emphasis falls on the infinitive phrase:
It's nice to meet you.
It's hard to hear anything with this noise.
Was it easy to understand him?
It"ll be difficult to fit into the box.
Conclusion
Today we repeated/studied the main nuances of using the construction “there is” / “there are” in different tenses and types of sentences.
We hope you won’t have any more questions on this topic!
Keep going forward like there's no tomorrow!
And stay classy!
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