There Is / There Are Exercises

There Is / There Are - Intermediate

medium

Mixed quantities, some/any/no, and uncountable nouns

20 questions • 12 min

There Is / There Are - Advanced

hard

Lists, head nouns, and longer descriptive phrases

20 questions • 14 min

There Is / There Are - Negatives

easy

There isn’t, there aren’t, there is no, and there are no

20 questions • 12 min

There Is / There Are - Questions

easy

Is there ...? Are there ...? with a, an, and any

20 questions • 12 min

What does there is / there are mean, and when do you use it?

There Is / There Are is the basic English pattern for saying that something exists in a room, a town, a bag, a timetable, or a situation. It answers the question "What is here?" or "What do we have?" and appears constantly in A1 and A2 descriptions.

Room Descriptions

There is a lamp. There are two windows.

Town and Travel

There is a station. There are many cafes.

Food and Home

There is some bread. There are two apples.

School and Work

There is a teacher. There are six students.

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When do you use there is with singular nouns?

Use There is with one person, one thing, or one event: "There is a message on the table", "There is a bus at 8:00", and "There is an airport near the city". Singular countable nouns usually need an article such as a or an.

There is a doctor in the building.

There is an umbrella by the door.

Contraction: There's a problem with the printer.

When do you use there are with plural nouns?

Use There are with two or more people or things: "There are three shops on this road" and "There are many emails in my inbox". Words like two, many, several, anda few usually make the noun phrase plural.

Clear plural signals

There are two chairs.
There are many visitors.
There are a few mistakes.

Common trap

Learners sometimes see a long phrase and forget the noun. Always check the head noun: visitors, mistakes, reasons.

When do you use there is with uncountable nouns?

Uncountable nouns take There is, not There are. This includes words like water, traffic, homework,information, money, and space.

Food and drink

There is some water. There is no sugar.

City life

There is a lot of traffic. There is plenty of space.

Quick test: if you normally cannot put a number directly before the noun, it probably takes There is.

How do negative there is / there are sentences work?

English uses several negative patterns here. With singular and uncountable nouns, use there isn't any or there is no. With plural nouns, use there aren't any or there are no.

Singular / uncountable

There isn't any milk.
There is no problem.
There isn't a bank nearby.

Plural

There aren't any seats.
There are no taxis.
There aren't any tickets left.

How do questions with there is / there are work?

Use Is there for singular and uncountable nouns, and Are there for plurals. Questions very often use a, an, or any: "Is there a hotel?", "Is there any coffee?", "Are there any buses?"

Is there a pharmacy near the station?

Is there any homework for tomorrow?

Are there any clean cups in the kitchen?

What happens with there is / there are in lists and long noun phrases?

This is where many A2 learners slip. In sentences with lists, the first noun often drives the choice. In longer noun phrases, the head noun matters more than nearby words.

List rule

There is a lamp and two chairs.
There are two chairs and a lamp.

Head noun rule

There is a pair of shoes.
There are several pairs of shoes.

There Is / There Are mistakes infographic

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What is the difference between there is / there are and it is?

Use There is / There are to introduce something. Use It is to describe something already known. This difference helps learners move from beginner descriptions to clearer conversation.

Introduce

There is a cafe near the station.

Describe

It is next to the post office.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

Grammar references and teaching sources cited on this page:

•
British Council LearnEnglish - A1-A2 explanation of existential there, including affirmative, negative, and question forms.LearnEnglish reference
•
Murphy, Raymond - English Grammar in Use. Cambridge University Press. Practical reference for beginner and elementary noun-phrase agreement patterns.
•
Swan, Michael - Practical English Usage. Oxford University Press. Reference notes on existential there, uncountable nouns, and article choice.

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