THERE BE

THERE IS/ THERE ARE

RULES

● We use there is and there are when we first refer to the existence
or presence of someone or something:

There’s a letter on your desk. Julia brought it from the mail room.
Not: It´s a letter on your desk. X
There are three Japanese students in my class.

● There is and there´s are both singular forms. We use there´s more
commonly in informal speaking:

There is a new café in the centre of town which sells Indonesian food.

She´s very determined and there’s no chance she will change her mind.

● There are is the plural form of there is and there’s

EXAMPLES:

There are two new buildings next to the school. They are both science
buildings.

● The choice between the phrases there is and there are at the
beginning of a sentence, is determined by the noun that follows it.

● Use there is when the noun is singular (“There is a cat”). Use there
are when the noun is plural (“There are two cats”).

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 ● You probably know that the choice between is vs are depends on a
noun. In most sentences, the noun comes before the verb. But in
sentences that begin with there is and there are, the noun comes
later.

Example

● There is a cat on the porch.

● In the sentence above, cat is singular, so it requires there is.

Example:

● There are many opportunities to learn at this company.

● In the sentence above, opportunities is plural, so it requires there are.

( Don’t let the word many throw you off- concéntrate on the noun)

THERE IS
COUNTABLE UNCONTABLE

There is a pencil. There is milk.

There is not an apple. There is not time.

There is one car. There is water.

Is there a pen? Is there sugar?

● Utilizamos “there + be” (hay) para hablar sobre la existencia de algo.

“There + be” se puede expresar en todos los tiempos verbales, pero a
diferencia del español, en inglés conjugamos este verbo si el nombre
que va después está en plural o en singular y si es contable o
incontable.
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● Se utiliza “there is” con nombres contables en singular y con
contables. Hay una forma corta: “there’s”

THERE ARE
● There are five pencils.
● There are not two cars.
● Are there many people?
● Se utiliza “there are” solo con nombres contables en plural. No hay
una forma corta.

THERE vs IT
● There is a pen on the table. It is pen.
● There is a car in the garage. It is blue.
● There is milk. It is in the refrigerator.

● Se utiliza “there” cuando hablamos de algo primero para indicar que

existe, se usa “it” para hablar de una cosa específica o algo ya
mencionado.

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 GRAMMAR

AFFIRMATIVE
Subject Verb Direct object

+ is + a ball.
There are candles.

NEGATIVE
Subject Verb to be Direct object

+ is not + a ball.

There are not candles

QUESTION
Verb to be Verb to be Direct object

Is + + a ball?

Are there candles?

SHORT ANSWERS
POSITIVE NEGATIVE
Yes Subject Auxiliar No Subject Auxiliar
+ + + +
is is not
Yes there No there are not
are

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 EXERCISES

I.- COMPLETE WITH THERE IS OR THERE ARE

seven colorson the table.

a tele
phone on the desk.

a dog in the box.

three books on the desk.

twelve books in the packet.

two dolphins in this picture.

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 II.- COMPLETE WITH THERE IS OR THERE ARE

EXAMPLE:

There aretwo bedrooms and a living room.

1.- also a kitchen.

2.- a bathroom.

3.- In the living room six chairs and a sofa.

4.- also a big table.

5.- a clock on the wall.

6.- a lamp.

7.- a Shell full of books

8.- any water?

9.- (not) any sugar in the coffee.

10.- . (not) any tomatoes in the salad

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III.- Complete with are or is, according to the sentence:

EXAMPLE:

There are many animals in the zoo.

1. There a mouse on the desk.

2. There siringe in the first aid kid.

3. There rams in the institute.

4. There are many baby pigs near the classroom.

5. There a bird next to the tree.

6. There hammers in the tool box.

7. There a file in thed USB.

8. There some sugar on the table

9. There documents in the folder.

10. There many students today

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IV.- Complete the questions below.Choose Is there or Are
there
EXAMPLE:

Is there a bowl on the kitchen table?

a) pullovers in the suitcase?

b) a football match on saturday?

c) chickens on the farm?

d) computers in your room?

e) a museum in your hometown?

f) many trees in the park?

g) a blue car in the garage?

h) geocaches in this forest?

i) Thirty-four teacher in the institute?

j) an umbrela in the car?

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IV.- Complete the questions with Is there or Are there
EXAMPLE:

Is there a hippo in this zoo? Yes, There is

a) a whale in this zoo? No,

b) tigers in this zoo? No,

c) sharks in this zoo? Yes,

d) a Tomcat on this farm? Yes,

e) a horse in this farm? No,

a) a cow in this farm? Yes,

f) pigs in this farm? No,

g) rabbits in this farm? Yes,

h) fish in this farm? No,

i) an umbrela in the car? Yes,

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IV.- Put in the correct order. It could be positive, negative or
question.

EXAMPLE:
many/ aren’t/ this/ pages/ There/ in/ book.

There aren’t many pages in this book.

1. any/ eggs / There/ the/ the/ in/ are/ fridge./ ?

2. is/ nearby /restaurant. / nice/ There/ a/

3. dining/ are/ chairs / in/ room./ There/ three/ the

4. hospital/ there / this / isn’t / a / in / town

5. Are/ There/ park./ people /at / the/ many /?

6. hear./ Is / bank / there/ a / near / ?

7. a/ classroom. / There/ computer/ isn’t/ the/in

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V.- Choose between It’s or there’s:
EXAMPLE:

It is very cold outside

a) a book on the desk

b) 6 o’clock

c) new.

d) something in your drink

e) a film at 10:30am

f) time to go

g) tea or coffee,which would you prefer?

h) easy to cheat

i) another meeting at 11 o’clock

j) late to eat dinner.

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