THERE IS /THERE ARE

There is - There are

We use there is and there are to say that something exists.

Positive Sentences

We use there is for singular and there are for plural.

• There is one table in the classroom.
• There are three chairs in the classroom.
• There is a spider in the bath.
• There are many people at the bus stop.

Contractions

The contraction of there is is there's.

• There's a good song on the radio.
• There's only one chocolate left in the box.

You cannot contract there are.

• There are nine cats on the roof.
• There are only five weeks until Christmas.

Negative Form

The negative is formed by putting not after is or are:

• There is not a horse in the field.
• There are not eight children in the school.
• There is not a tree in the garden.
• There are not two elephants in the zoo.

The Negative contractions are:

There's not = There isn't

There are not = There aren't

There Are with ANY

When we want to indicate that a zero quantity of something exists we use there aren't any.

• There aren't any people at the party.
• There aren't any trees in my street.

We also use this structure with uncountable nouns:

• There isn't any water in the swimming pool.
• There isn't any sugar in my coffee.

Questions

To form a question we place is / are in front of there.

Again we use any with plural questions or those which use uncountable nouns.

We also use there is / are in short answers.

• Is there a dog in the supermarket? - No, there isn't.
• Are there any dogs in the park? - Yes, there are.
• Is there a security guard in the shop? - Yes, there is.
• Are there any polar bears in Antarctica? - No, there aren't.
• Is there any ice-cream in the freezer? - Yes, there is
   .

There Are + SOME

In general, some is used in positive sentences:

• I got some nice presents for Christmas this year.
• This job is going to take some time.
• Look! There are some large black birds on the roof of the church.
• You have some butter on your chin.
• If you are hungry, there are some biscuits in the cupboard.
• I'm sure I'll return to Japan some day.
• There is somebody on the phone for you.
• I'd like to go somewhere hot this summer.

In fact, the use of some/any is a little more complicated. Following are two common occasions when the above "rules" are "broken":

1. We can use some in questions when offering/requesting:

• Would you like some more tea?
• Could I have some milk, please?
• Do you want something to eat?

2. We use any in positive sentences when we mean it doesn't matter which ..:

• You can come and ask for my help any time.
• Which book shall I read? - Any one. It's up to you.
• You can sit anywhere but here. This is my seat!

How Many with Are There

If we want to find out the number of objects that exist we use How many in the following form:

How many + plural noun + are there (+ complement).

• How many dogs are there in the park?
• How many students are there in your class?
• How many countries are there in South America?
• How many Star Wars films are there?