There Is / There Are

There is and there are introduce the existence or presence of something. The word there in these constructions is not a place -- it is a dummy subject, a grammatical placeholder. The real subject comes after the verb.

There is a pharmacy on the corner.

The real subject here is a pharmacy. The sentence means: a pharmacy exists on the corner.

Agreement with the real subject

The verb agrees with the noun that follows it, not with there.

REAL SUBJECT	VERB	EXAMPLE
singular noun	is	There is a problem.
plural noun	are	There are several options.
uncountable noun	is	There is some water in the jug.

With singular and uncountable nouns, use is. With plural nouns, use are.

There is a bridge across the river.

There are three hospitals in this city.

There is too much noise outside.

Negatives

For negatives, add not after the verb, or use the contractions isn't / aren't.

There is not enough time. = There isn't enough time.

There are not many parks here. = There aren't many parks here.

Two more patterns are common in negatives: there isn't any + uncountable or singular noun, and there aren't any + plural noun.

There isn't any milk in the fridge.

There aren't any clean towels.

To emphasize the absence, use no directly after the verb. The verb stays positive.

There is no reason to worry.

There are no flights until tomorrow.

Questions

Invert the verb and there to form a question.

Is there a bank near here?

Are there any restaurants on this street?

Short answers follow the same pattern: Yes, there is / No, there isn't and Yes, there are / No, there aren't.

Is there any sugar left? -- No, there isn't.

Are there any messages for me? -- Yes, there are.

Contractions

There's is the standard contraction of there is. It is extremely common in both speech and informal writing.

There's a meeting at ten.

There're exists as a contraction of there are, but it is rare in writing and awkward to pronounce. In everyday speech, many people use there's even with plural nouns -- there's two options. This is accepted in conversation but not in formal writing.

Other tenses

The construction works with any tense of be. The agreement rule stays the same -- match the verb to the real subject.

There was a storm last night.

There were hundreds of people at the concert.

There has been a change of plans.

There have been several complaints this week.

There will be a test on Friday.

There might be delays due to the weather.

Lists after there is / there are

When a list of items follows, the verb often agrees with the first item in the list.

There is a desk, two chairs, and a bookshelf in the office.

Here the first item (a desk) is singular, so there is sounds natural. Strictly speaking, the full list is plural, and formal writing may prefer there are. In practice, both forms are widely used with mixed lists, and matching the first item is the more common choice.

There as a place vs. there as a dummy subject

The word there has two different roles in English. As a place adverb, it points to a location. As a dummy subject, it introduces existence.

The keys are there, on the shelf. (place -- where are the keys?)

There are keys on the shelf. (existence -- keys exist on the shelf)

The difference is clear from word order and stress. In spoken English, the place adverb there carries stress; the dummy subject there is unstressed and reduced.

Common mistakes

Singular vs. plural

There are a problem

There is a problem

There is many students in the class

There are many students in the class

There is two banks on this street

There are two banks on this street

Uncountable nouns

There are some milk in the fridge

There is some milk in the fridge

There are a lot of traffic today

There is a lot of traffic today

Negatives

There is not any chairs left

There are not any chairs left

There aren't no reason to panic

There is no reason to panic

Questions

There is a hospital nearby?

Is there a hospital nearby?

Are there any water?

Is there any water?

Past tense

There was many people at the party

There were many people at the party

There were a letter on the table

There was a letter on the table

There is a pharmacy on the corner.

The real subject here is a pharmacy. The sentence means: a pharmacy exists on the corner.

Agreement with the real subject

The verb agrees with the noun that follows it, not with there.

REAL SUBJECT	VERB	EXAMPLE
singular noun	is	There is a problem.
plural noun	are	There are several options.
uncountable noun	is	There is some water in the jug.

With singular and uncountable nouns, use is. With plural nouns, use are.

There is a bridge across the river.

There are three hospitals in this city.

There is too much noise outside.

Negatives

For negatives, add not after the verb, or use the contractions isn't / aren't.

There is not enough time. = There isn't enough time.

There are not many parks here. = There aren't many parks here.

Two more patterns are common in negatives: there isn't any + uncountable or singular noun, and there aren't any + plural noun.

There isn't any milk in the fridge.

There aren't any clean towels.

To emphasize the absence, use no directly after the verb. The verb stays positive.

There is no reason to worry.

There are no flights until tomorrow.

Questions

Invert the verb and there to form a question.

Is there a bank near here?

Are there any restaurants on this street?

Short answers follow the same pattern: Yes, there is / No, there isn't and Yes, there are / No, there aren't.

Is there any sugar left? -- No, there isn't.

Are there any messages for me? -- Yes, there are.

Contractions

There's is the standard contraction of there is. It is extremely common in both speech and informal writing.

There's a meeting at ten.

Other tenses

The construction works with any tense of be. The agreement rule stays the same -- match the verb to the real subject.

There was a storm last night.

There were hundreds of people at the concert.

There has been a change of plans.

There have been several complaints this week.

There will be a test on Friday.

There might be delays due to the weather.

Lists after there is / there are

When a list of items follows, the verb often agrees with the first item in the list.

There is a desk, two chairs, and a bookshelf in the office.

There as a place vs. there as a dummy subject

The word there has two different roles in English. As a place adverb, it points to a location. As a dummy subject, it introduces existence.

The keys are there, on the shelf. (place -- where are the keys?)

There are keys on the shelf. (existence -- keys exist on the shelf)

The difference is clear from word order and stress. In spoken English, the place adverb there carries stress; the dummy subject there is unstressed and reduced.

Common mistakes

Singular vs. plural

There are a problem

There is a problem

There is many students in the class

There are many students in the class

There is two banks on this street

There are two banks on this street

Uncountable nouns

There are some milk in the fridge

There is some milk in the fridge

There are a lot of traffic today

There is a lot of traffic today

Negatives

There is not any chairs left

There are not any chairs left

There aren't no reason to panic

There is no reason to panic

Questions

There is a hospital nearby?

Is there a hospital nearby?

Are there any water?

Is there any water?

Past tense

There was many people at the party

There were many people at the party

There were a letter on the table

There was a letter on the table

There Is / There Are

Agreement with the real subject

Negatives

Questions

Contractions

Other tenses

Lists after there is / there are

There as a place vs. there as a dummy subject

Common mistakes

More in this topic

There Is / There Are

Agreement with the real subject

Negatives

Questions

Contractions

Other tenses

Lists after there is / there are

There as a place vs. there as a dummy subject

Common mistakes

More in this topic