There Is and There Are: Rules and Examples (A1)

What is "there is / there are"?

We use there is and there are to say that something exists, or that something is in a place. We often use them to describe a room, a street or a town for the first time.

There is a park near my house. There are two cafés on my street.

Use there is for one thing. Use there are for two or more things.

How to form "there is" and "there are"

Positive

Form	Noun	Example
There is (there's)	one thing	There's a bank on Main Street.
There is (there's)	uncountable noun	There's some milk in the fridge.
There are	two or more things	There are three bedrooms in the flat.

An uncountable noun = something we do not count, like milk, water, money, time, rice. It takes there is. See Countable and Uncountable Nouns.

More examples:

There is a dog in the garden.
There is an email for you.
There is a lot of snow today.
There are some people at the door.
There are many students in my class.

Negative

Form	Example
There isn't (is not) + a / an	There isn't a bus stop here.
There isn't + any + uncountable	There isn't any coffee.
There aren't (are not) + any + plural	There aren't any chairs.

You can also say there's no and there are no: There's no coffee. There are no chairs. Do not use no and any together: ~~There's no any coffee.~~

Questions and short answers

Question	Yes	No
Is there a pharmacy near here?	Yes, there is.	No, there isn't.
Is there any bread?	Yes, there is.	No, there isn't.
Are there any good restaurants?	Yes, there are.	No, there aren't.

Do not use a contraction in a positive short answer. Wrong: ~~Yes, there's.~~ Correct: Yes, there is.

How many ...?

Use How many + plural noun + are there?

How many people are there in your family? → There are four of us.
How many rooms are there? → There are five.

For uncountable nouns, use How much + noun + is there?

How much milk is there? → There's a little.

A, an, some and any with "there is / there are"

Sentence type	One thing	Uncountable	Plural
Positive	There's a cat.	There's some water.	There are some cats.
Negative	There isn't a cat.	There isn't any water.	There aren't any cats.
Question	Is there a cat?	Is there any water?	Are there any cats?

Use a before a consonant sound: a hotel, a bus.
Use an before a vowel sound: an apple, an hour.
Use some in positive sentences. Use any in negatives and most questions.

See Articles and Determiners for more.

When to use "there is / there are"

1. To describe a place

There's a big window in the kitchen.
There are two beds in the room.
There isn't a lift in this building.

2. To say what is (or is not) available

Is there any parking here?
There's no milk left.
There are some tickets for Saturday.

3. To say something exists or happens

There's a problem with my phone.
There's a meeting at 10.
There are lots of lakes in Canada.

4. To ask about a place

Is there a supermarket near here?
Are there any buses to the airport?
How many floors are there?

There is vs it is

Use there is the first time you talk about something. Use it is after that, when you describe it or say where it is.

There is	It is
says something exists	describes or gives more information
There's a café on the corner.	It's very small.
There's a message for you.	It's from your boss.
There's a new film at the cinema.	It's really funny.

The same with plurals: There are two parks near us. They're both very nice.

Wrong: ~~It is a supermarket near my house.~~ (when you mean one exists) Correct: There is a supermarket near my house.

There vs they're vs their

These three words sound the same, but they mean different things.

Word	Meaning	Example
there	used in there is / there are; also = in that place	There are two cats. Put it there.
they're	= they are	They're my neighbours.
their	belongs to them	Their house is big.

Example with all three: Their kids are at the park. They're happy there.

Common mistakes

1. Using "there is" with a plural noun

Wrong: ~~There is two cars outside.~~
Correct: There are two cars outside.
Two or more things → there are.

2. Using "have" or "has" instead of "there is"

Wrong: ~~Has a bank near here?~~
Correct: Is there a bank near here?
To say something exists in a place, use there is / there are.

3. Using "it has" instead of "there is"

Wrong: ~~In my city it has many parks.~~
Correct: In my city there are many parks.
English uses there are here, not "it has".

4. Wrong word order in questions

Wrong: ~~There is a toilet here?~~ (in writing or careful speech)
Correct: Is there a toilet here?
In questions, is / are comes before there.

5. Using "any" in positive sentences

Wrong: ~~There are any eggs in the fridge.~~
Correct: There are some eggs in the fridge.
Use some in positive sentences.

6. Using "there are" with uncountable nouns

Wrong: ~~There are some water on the floor.~~
Correct: There is some water on the floor.
Uncountable nouns take there is.

Quick reference

	Singular / uncountable	Plural
Positive	There is / There's	There are
Negative	There isn't / There's no	There aren't / There are no
Question	Is there ...?	Are there ...?
Short answer	Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.	Yes, there are. / No, there aren't.
Quantity	How much ... is there?	How many ... are there?

Common questions

Is "there's" OK with a plural noun?

In informal speech, many people say "There's two cars outside" or "There's lots of people here." You will hear this often. In writing, in exams and in careful speech, use there are with plural nouns.

Is it "there is" or "there are" with a list?

Use the verb that matches the first thing in the list. There is a sofa and two chairs. There are two chairs and a sofa.

What is the past of "there is / there are"?

Use there was (singular and uncountable) and there were (plural): There was a party last night. There were many people. See Past Simple.

Practise next

Verb To Be: Am, Is, Are — the verb inside there is / there are
Countable and Uncountable Nouns — choose there is or there are
This, That, These, Those — point at things near and far
Determiners — more about some, any and no
A1 Grammar Basics Quiz — check your A1 grammar

There Is and There Are