There is / There are

Learn how to use 'there is' and 'there are' to say that something exists or is present somewhere.

What is There is / There are?

We use there is / there are to say that something exists or is present in a place. The subject comes after the verb.

	Positive	Negative	Question
Singular	There is a cat.	There isn't a cat.	Is there a cat?
Plural	There are two cats.	There aren't any cats.	Are there any cats?
Uncountable	There is some water.	There isn't any water.	Is there any water?

Note

Choose is or are based on the noun that follows there:

There is → singular noun or uncountable noun
There are → plural noun

some vs any

	Positive	Negative / Questions
countable (plural)	some books	any books
uncountable	some water	any water

There is some milk in the fridge. Is there any milk in the fridge? There isn't any milk left.

Past Form: there was / there were

	Form
Singular (past)	There was a park here.
Plural (past)	There were some trees.

Common Sentences with There is/are

There is a problem with the computer.
There are 30 students in the class.
Is there a bus stop near here?
There is no need to worry.
There were hundreds of people at the concert.

1
Decide: is the noun singular, plural, or uncountable?
Singular / uncountable → is. Plural → are.
2
Use some in positives, any in negatives and questions
There is some / There isn't any / Is there any?
3
For the past, use was/were
same rules as above.

Real world: hotel website description

There is a swimming pool on the top floor. There are two restaurants and a spa in the hotel. There isn't a gym, but there are fitness classes every morning. Is there a car park? Yes — there are 50 spaces available.

Real world: flat-to-let advertisement

There are three bedrooms and a large kitchen. There is some storage space in the hallway. There isn't a garden, but there is a shared roof terrace. Were there any previous tenants? Yes — there were two families before.

Tip There is / there are appears in hotel and property descriptions, menus ("There are three options today"), travel guides ("There is a market every Saturday"), and safety notices ("There are no lifts — please use the stairs"). Use is for one thing, are for more than one.

Fill in: ___ a lot of traffic on the road this morning.

There was a lot of traffic on the road this morning.

Practice Problems

Fill in: ___ three apples in the bowl.

Show answer

There are three apples in the bowl.

Fill in: ___ any sugar left?

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Is there any sugar left?

Make negative: There is a cinema in the town.

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There isn't a cinema in the town.

Fill in (past): ___ a big tree in the garden, but it was cut down.

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There was a big tree in the garden, but it was cut down.