There Is / There Are Exercises

In sentences beginning with there, the verb agrees with the noun that comes after it — this noun is the real subject. Use there is (or there's) with a singular or uncountable noun: "There is a book on the table" and "There is milk in the fridge." Use there are with a plural noun: "There are three books on the table." The word "there" is not the subject — it simply introduces the sentence.

When a list follows "there," British English traditionally matches the verb to the first item in the list: "There is a pen and two notebooks on the desk" — the first item "a pen" is singular. However, many speakers also say "There are a pen and two notebooks," matching the overall plural meaning. In formal writing and examinations, matching the first item is considered more correct. A common mistake is using "there is" with a clearly plural noun: "There is many problems" should be "There are many problems."