What There Is and There Are Mean
There is and there are announce that something exists — that a thing is present somewhere. An English sentence needs a subject in front of its verb, and existence has no obvious one, so English borrows the little word there to hold the seat. The real news then arrives after the verb, and that is the rule the whole lesson turns on: the noun after the verb, never the word there, chooses is or are.
ONE THINGSingular → is
A cat is singular, so the verb is is.
There is a cat in the garden.
The listener did not know about any cat until now.
MORE THAN ONEPlural → are
Two cats is plural, so the verb is are.
There are two cats in the garden.
Only the noun changed, and the verb changed with it.
This there has nothing to do with the there that means in that place, and the two share a sentence quite happily: There is a good restaurant over there.
There's three people waiting is genuine English — native speakers say it constantly, because there's has worn down into a single opening noise. It is still not standard written English and it is marked wrong in exams. Say it if you like; write There are three people waiting.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"There a problem with the door."
- Question 2
"There four people in the lift."
The forms
POSITIVE
Thereis / arenoun
There are three books on the table.
Uncountable nouns count as singular: There is some water in the glass.
NEGATIVE
Thereis / aren'tany + noun
There aren't any chairs in the hall.
Or with no, which replaces both the n't and the any: There are no chairs.
QUESTION
Is / Arethere…?
Are there any shops near here?
The verb hops in front of there. Nothing is added, and do never appears.
SHORT FORMS
- there isthere's
- there is notthere isn't
- there are notthere aren't
there's is what you will hear almost every time · there are has no short form in writing, so it is spelled out in full
Is there a bank near here? — Yes, there is. / No, there isn't. Never Yes, it is: that answers a question about one particular thing (Is it a bank?), not a question about whether anything exists.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"There a lot of traffic today."
- Question 2
"There any eggs in the fridge."
- Question 3
" there a lift in this building?"
When to use it
What a place contains
There are two windows in my room.
Describing a room, a street, a town or a photo.
Signal words: in my room · in the photo · near here
Amounts you cannot count
There is some milk in the fridge.
An uncountable noun has no plural, so it takes the singular verb.
Signal words: milk · water · rice · money · information
Asking how many, how much
How many students are there in your class?
The frame does not move: the verb still stands in front of there.
Signal words: How many + plural · How much + uncountable
Events, not only objects
There is a meeting at three.
Anything that happens or exists — a meeting, a party, a problem.
Signal words: a meeting · a party · a problem · a mistake
Three small partners travel with this structure. some goes in positives (There are some eggs), any in negatives and questions (There aren't any eggs · Are there any eggs?), and no is a shorter negative that swallows both the n't and the any: There are no eggs. And when several things follow, the verb agrees with the first of them — There is a table and four chairs in the kitchen, but There are four chairs and a table in the kitchen.
There is / There are vs. have
Vietnamese uses one word, có, for both there is and have. English splits them, and the split is about what sits in the subject's chair: there for existence, an owner for possession.
| THERE IS / THERE ARE | HAVE / HAS | |
|---|---|---|
| What it says | Something exists somewhere. | Somebody or something owns it. |
| Example | There is a big window in my room. | My room has a big window. |
| The subject | there — a placeholder that means nothing | the owner: my room, I, she |
| The verb | always be: is, are, isn't, aren't | have, has, don't have, doesn't have |
| Never say | There have a big window. | In my room has a big window. |
Both bottom lines are the same mistake seen from two sides. There have… keeps the existence frame but swaps in the possession verb; In my room has… keeps the possession verb but gives it a place instead of an owner — the word-for-word shape of Trong phòng tôi có…. The repair is to pick one sentence and finish it: either there takes be, or a real owner takes have.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"In my kitchen a small table."
- Question 2
"My flat two bedrooms."
Common mistakes
Incorrect:There is three people in the room.
Correct:There are three people in the room.
the noun after the verb is plural → are
Incorrect:In my room has a big window.
Correct:There is a big window in my room.
a place cannot own — existence takes there is
Incorrect:There have a lot of cars in the street.
Correct:There are a lot of cars in the street.
this structure is built on be; there have is not English
Incorrect:There are a milk in the fridge.
Correct:There is some milk in the fridge.
uncountable: no a, no plural, singular verb
Incorrect:Are there a bank near here?
Correct:Is there a bank near here?
one bank → Is there
Incorrect:Is there a problem? — Yes, it is.
Correct:Is there a problem? — Yes, there is.
the short answer repeats there
Quick check · 6 questions
Which sentence is correct?
There are thirty students in my class.
- A. There are thirty students in my class. — Correct
- B. In my class have thirty students.
- C. My class have thirty students.
Answer: A. There are thirty students in my class.
Sentence B gives have a place instead of an owner, which English does not allow. Sentence C has the right shape but the wrong verb — "My class has thirty students" is also correct, because a class can own things.
Choose the right verb:
There are two banks near my house.
- A. are — Correct
- B. is
Answer: A. are
Two banks is plural, so the verb is are. The word there decides nothing; it is only holding the subject slot.
Choose the right verb:
There is some rice in the bowl.
- A. is — Correct
- B. are
Answer: A. is
Rice has no plural, so it takes is however many grains are in the bowl.
Choose the right negative:
There aren't any buses after ten.
- A. aren't — Correct
- B. isn't
- C. don't have
Answer: A. aren't
This structure is built on be, so the negative is isn't or aren't. Do and does play no part in it at all.
Choose the word that starts the question:
Is there a bus stop near here?
- A. Is — Correct
- B. Are
- C. Does
Answer: A. Is
The verb moves in front of there to make the question, and a bus stop is singular, so that verb is is.
Choose the correct phrase:
My school has a big library.
- A. has — Correct
- B. there is
- C. there has
Answer: A. has
Once you have a real owner in the subject slot, the verb is have or has. To use there you would have to build the other sentence in full: There is a big library in my school.
