By Jacqueline Schaalje

Now we’ll learn a very important phrase: There is and there are.

When you want to say you see something in a room or anywhere else, you can say:

I see a cup.

But it’s more usual to say:

There is a cup.

Okay, let’s practise.

You’re going to have a look at this picture, and say what you see:
So you’ll say what is in the room or on the table.

There is a newspaper.

There is a napkin.

There is a window.

There is a chair.

There is a red tablecloth.

There is a bottle of wine.

There is a bread. You can say: There is a loaf of bread.

Note: When you speak, you say: There’s.

Okay, so you use “there is” for things that are singular (there is only one).

Now for things that are more than one – the plural:

There are two wine glasses.

And that’s it, there aren’t any more things that are more than one.

So for the plural you need to say: “There are.”

Now let’s do negatives:

You make those with “There isn’t” for the singular (one thing).

And “There aren’t” for the plural.

Now let’s think of some things that aren’t in the room or on the table.

With there isn’t:

There isn’t a can of juice.

There isn’t a knife.

There isn’t any water.

There isn’t any fruit.

There isn’t any salad.

With there aren’t:

There aren’t two chairs.

There aren’t three glasses.

There aren’t any people.

There aren’t any beer glasses.

There aren’t any dishes.

Quiz

You can do this quiz online here. 

Look at the picture of the table.

Some word or words are missing in these sentences. Fill in the missing word(s).

Example:

There _________ a bread.

You type: is

1 There __________ a chair next to the table.

2 There ___________ a sofa.

3 There ___________ any fruit.

4 There ___________ two glasses.

5 ___________ isn’t any water.

6 ___________ aren’t any apples.

7 There ________ a bottle of wine.

8 There isn’t a can _________ juice.

9 There __________ any spoons.

10 There ________ a napkin.

Further reading: Also check out this article about some and any. 

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