There is / There are

We use there is and there are to say a noun exists in a place. We usually use prepositions.

For singular nouns we use there is and for plural nouns we use there are.

ThereBENounPrepositionPlace
Thereisa bookonthe table.
Thereisa bottleinthe fridge.
Thereisa shoe shopatthe mall.
Thereisa banknearthe station.
ThereareparksinLondon.
Thereareshoesunderthe stairs.
Thereareflowersbythe pond.
Therearebooksonthe shelf.

Questions

Be comes before the there for questions.

For closed questions (yes and no answers):

BEthereYes/NothereBE
Istherea bank near here?Yes,thereis.
Istherea fridge in the kitchen?No,thereisn't.
Arethereplates on the table?Yes,thereare.
Aretherecows in the field?No,therearen't.

For open questions (many possible answers) we use a question word:

QuestionBEthereThereBEAnswer
Whatisthere in the fridge?Thereisa chicken.
Whatisthere on the table?Thereisa cake.
How many lionsarethere at the zoo?Thereare4 lions.
How many platesarethere on the table?Thereare8 plates.

Tip!
* We do not use have to say something exists:
Has a tree in the garden.
There is a tree in the garden.
Have eggs in the fridge.
There are eggs in the fridge.

Review Quiz

Try the quiz below!

There Is / There Are

There Is / There Are - Determiners ( some / any / a / an )

How much / How many

Demonstratives ( this / that / these / those )

There Is / There Are - Review