There is vs. there are: How to use in a sentence?

Do you know how to use there is and there are? Enhance your knowledge with the lesson given below and the grammar explanation to guide you better.

Look at these examples to see how we use there is and there are:

• There's a beautiful lake near my house.

• There aren’t any playgrounds in the neighbourhood.

• There are no shops on this street.

• But there's a pharmacy and a bakery.

Grammar explanation - Using 'there is' and 'there are'

Here are the grammar explanations to guide you better: 1. Affirmative We use there is to indicate that something exists or is located in a place.

• There is a fountain in the square.

We use there is for singular nouns and there are for plural nouns.

• There is a bookstore on the corner.

• There are several parks in the city.

We can say there's instead of there is. This is more common when speaking. However, there is no contracted form for there are.

• There is a bakery nearby. → There's a bakery nearby.

• There are three shops on this street. → (No contraction for there are.)

When speaking informally and listing multiple items, we often use there is or there's even for plural nouns.

There's a library, a gym, and a grocery store down the street. (Instead of "There are a library, a gym, and a grocery store down the street.")

2. Negative

For negatives, we use there isn't or there's not for singular nouns and there aren't for plural nouns.

• There isn't a train station nearby.

• There aren't any schools in this area.

We often use there isn't a + singular noun, there isn't any + uncountable noun, and there aren't any + plural noun.

• There isn't a park in the neighbourhood.

• There isn't any sugar left.

• There aren't any chairs in the room.

To emphasize the negative, we can also use there is no + uncountable noun and there are no + plural noun. (There is no + singular noun is possible, but less common.)

• There's no bread in the cupboard.

• There are no buses after 10 p.m.

3. Questions

For questions, we use Is there for singular and uncountable nouns and Are there for plural nouns.

• Is there a coffee shop around here?

• Is there any juice in the fridge?

• Are there any tickets left for the concert?

To answer, we say Yes, there is or No, there isn't for singular and uncountable nouns, and Yes, there are or No, there aren't for plural nouns.

• Is there a cinema nearby? Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.

• Are there any chairs available? Yes, there are. / No, there aren't.

Here’s a summary of these forms:

4. Other verb tenses

We can use there is and there are in various other tenses.

• There was a festival last weekend. (Past simple)

• There were many visitors at the museum. (Past simple)

• There will be a meeting tomorrow. (Future simple)

Try another grammar lesson