✍️ There is / There are

Learning goals

By the end of this topic you can:

• Use there is and there are to say what exists in a place.
• Decide when a noun is countable or uncountable, and choose the correct form.
• Write negative sentences with there isn't and there aren't.
• Ask questions with Is there...? and Are there...? and give short answers.
• Use quantifiers like a, some, any, much, many, a lot of, a few, a little correctly.

1. What do "there is" and "there are" mean?

We use there is and there are to say that something exists in a place.

• There is a cat in the garden.
• There are two dogs in the street.

The word there here does not mean "in that place over there". It is only a way to start the sentence. The word order is always the same: There + is/are + noun + (place).

2. Countable and uncountable nouns

Before you choose is or are, you must look at the noun.

Countable nouns are things you can count (one book, two books, three books): book, chair, apple, student, window, egg, coin, car, dog.

Uncountable nouns are things you cannot count one by one — you cannot say two waters: water, milk, rice, sugar, bread, cheese, money, homework, information, coffee, juice, time.

Careful! Some words are uncountable in English but countable in Spanish.
We say homework, information, money and bread with there is, never there are.
✗ There are a lot of homework. → ✓ There is a lot of homework.

To count an uncountable noun, we use a container or a portion: There is a glass of water on the table. There are two bottles of milk in the fridge (bottles are countable!).

3. Rule 1 — There is (singular and uncountable)

Use there is with:

1. One countable thing → a / an / one
2. Any uncountable noun → some, a little, a lot of, or nothing

• There is a computer in the classroom.
• There is an apple in my bag.
• There is some milk in the fridge.
• There is a little sugar in my coffee.
• There is a lot of rice in the pot.

The short form is there's: There's a bus at six o'clock.

Careful! We write there's, but we do not write there're.
With plural nouns, always write the full form: There are two buses.

4. Rule 2 — There are (plural)

Use there are with two or more countable things.

• There are two doors in my house.
• There are twenty-five students in my class.
• There are some birds in the tree.
• There are many volcanoes in Costa Rica.

Careful! The verb agrees with the noun that comes after it, not with the word there.
✗ There is three books on the desk. → ✓ There are three books on the desk.

Special word: people. People is plural, so it always takes there are.
✗ There is a lot of people. → ✓ There are a lot of people at the party.

5. Rule 3 — Negative form

To make a negative, add not after the verb. We normally use the short forms.

• There isn't any bread in the kitchen.
• There aren't any tomatoes in the fridge.
• There aren't many buses on Sunday.

Careful! In negative sentences we use any, not some.
✗ There isn't some water. → ✓ There isn't any water.
✗ There aren't some eggs. → ✓ There aren't any eggs.

You can also use no instead of not any, and then the verb stays positive:

6. Rule 4 — Questions

To make a question, put is or are before there.

• Is there a library in your school?
• Are there any pens in your bag?
• Is there any sugar in the tea?
• How much water is there in the bottle?
• How many desks are there in the classroom?

Careful! In questions we normally use any, not some.
✗ Are there some apples? → ✓ Are there any apples?
We use some in a question only when we offer something: Is there some cake for me?

7. Rule 5 — Short answers

We never repeat the whole sentence. We use a short answer.

Careful! Do not use the contraction in a short positive answer.
✗ Yes, there's. → ✓ Yes, there is.
But the negative contraction is correct: ✓ No, there isn't.

8. Rule 6 — Quantifiers

A quantifier is a word that tells us how much or how many.

Careful! Much sounds strange in positive sentences.
Say There is a lot of homework, not There is much homework.
A lot of works with everything, so it is a safe choice.

Quick summary

• There is = one countable thing or an uncountable noun. There are = two or more countable things.
• The verb agrees with the noun after it: There are three books, not There is three books.
• Negative: there isn't / there aren't, and use any (not some).
• Question: Is there...? / Are there...?, and use any (not some).
• Short answers: Yes, there is. / No, there isn't. / Yes, there are. / No, there aren't.
• Use many and a few with countable nouns, much and a little with uncountable nouns, and a lot of with both.

Key vocabulary