There Is and There Are
Use 'there is' and 'there are' to say that something exists or is present. The verb agrees with the noun that follows: singular takes 'is', plural takes 'are'.
Level A1
Nouns & Determiners
Summary
- Use 'there is' and 'there are' to say that something exists or is present. The verb agrees with the noun that follows: singular takes 'is', plural takes 'are'.
Structure
There + is/are + noun (+ place)
Examples
- There is a book on the table.
- There are two cafes near my house.
- Is there any milk left?
- There aren't any seats free.
Common mistakes
- • Saying 'There is many people' instead of 'There are many people'.
- • Confusing 'there' with 'it', e.g. 'It is a problem with the car' when introducing existence — 'There is a problem'.
More nouns & determiners
Plural and Quantifiers: Some / Any
A1
Use 'some' in positive sentences and offers/requests, and 'any' in negatives and most questions. They work with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
Plural Nouns
A1
Most English nouns add -s to show more than one. Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, or -x take -es, and a noun ending in consonant + y changes y to -ies.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
A2
Countable nouns can be counted and have plural forms; uncountable nouns name things we see as a mass and have no plural. The distinction controls which determiners and verbs you can use.
Possessive 's
A1
Add 's to a noun to show ownership or relationship. For plural nouns already ending in -s, add only an apostrophe.
This, That, These, Those
A1
These demonstratives point to things by number and distance. This/these are for things near you; that/those are for things farther away.