There is / There are
In this lesson you will learn how to use “there is” and “there are” to talk about what is present and to use “is there?” / “are there?” to ask questions with examples of each. If you want to go straight to the exercise, click here. This lesson is part of a complete Elementary (A1-A2) English Course.
“There is / There are” for positive or negative sentences and questions
| Positive | Negative | Question | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular / uncountable | There is | There is not | Is there? |
| Plural | There are | There are not | Are there |
Use “there is” to say that a singular or uncountable thing is present. “There is” is also used for lists of distinct things.
- There is a can on the shelf.
- There is a can, a bottle and a cup on the shelf.
Use “There are” to say that multiple countable things are present.
- There are two cans on the shelf.
- There are some people in the garden.
To make a question, just invert the order of “there” and “is” or “are”.
- Are there any cans on the shelf?
- Is there a dog in the garden?
To study or revise when countable and uncountable nouns in English, check out the lesson and exercises here.
Examples of “There is” / “there are” in context
Here are some examples of “there is” and “there are” used to describe what is visible in a variety of images.
There was / there were for positive, negative and questions about the past
To talk about what was present in the past we can use “there was” or “there were”.
- There was a meeting yesterday.
- Was there a problem?
- There were some people here last week.
- Were there any desks in the office when you arrived?
| Positive | Negative | Question | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular / uncountable | There was | There was not | Was there? |
| Plural | There were | There were not | Were there |
Exercises
Check your comprehension of this topic with these interactive with these exercises.