There is and there are

When you use it

You use there is and there are to say that something exists or to say what is in a place: There is a bank on the corner, There are three chairs in the room. It is the normal way to mention something for the first time. Once the thing has been introduced, you switch to it or they: There is a café nearby. It opens at eight.

How it is formed

The pattern is there + a form of be + the thing + the place. The verb agrees with the thing that follows it: singular or uncountable nouns take is, plural nouns take are.

There in this pattern is not the place word meaning there, not here. It is an empty subject, in the same way that it is an empty subject in it is raining. Because there fills the subject slot, the real place goes at the end: There is a bank on the corner. (On the corner is a bank exists, but it sounds literary.) You can even combine both: There is a bank there.

The short form there's is very common in speech and writing. There're for the plural is heard in speech but rarely written; write there are.

With uncountable and plural nouns, the usual small words are some in affirmative sentences and any in negatives and questions: There is some milk, There isn't any milk, Is there any milk? A second way to make a negative is no after there is or there are: There is no milk, There are no chairs. Do not combine not with no.

Short answers use there and the verb: Is there a lift? Yes, there is. Are there any shops? No, there aren't. To ask about quantity, use how many with a plural noun and how much with an uncountable noun, and keep the question order: How many rooms are there?, How much milk is there?

Examples

• There is a bank on the corner.
• There are three chairs in the room.
• There's some milk in the fridge.
• There isn't a lift in this building.
• There aren't any shops near here.
• Is there a pharmacy nearby? Yes, there is.
• Are there many students in your class?
• How many rooms are there in the flat?

Common mistakes

• ✗ In the room is a table. On the table lies a book.
  ✓ There is a table in the room. There is a book on the table.
  Ukrainian and Russian start with the place and then give a verb of position: У кімнаті стоїть стіл / В комнате стоит стол. In everyday English this order is rare and sounds like a novel. Normal speech uses the empty there as the subject, be as the verb, and puts the place at the end.
• ✗ It is a bank on the corner. It is a lot of people here.
  ✓ There is a bank on the corner. There are a lot of people here.
  It is a bank identifies something already known: What is that building? It is a bank. To say that a bank exists in that place, English uses there is. Both sentences translate є / есть in the Slavic languages, which is why they get mixed up.
• ✗ There is two chairs. There are a lot of noise.
  ✓ There are two chairs. There is a lot of noise.
  The verb agrees with the noun after it. Є in Ukrainian and есть in Russian do not change for number, so the agreement has to be added consciously. Look at the noun: plural means are, singular or uncountable means is.
• ✗ There is no any milk. There isn't no chairs.
  ✓ There isn't any milk. / There is no milk. There aren't any chairs. / There are no chairs.
  English has two correct negatives, isn't any and is no, and they cannot be combined. The double negative comes from немає ніякого молока / нет никакого молока, where two negative words are normal.
• ✗ Is here a bank? Here is a bank?
  ✓ Is there a bank here?
  The there of the pattern is not тут / здесь. Even when you mean here, the question is built with is there, and here goes at the end.

Try it