There is / There are (Present)

There is / there are are used to announce or deny the existence of something. They introduce new or unspecified nouns — things the listener does not already know about.

The 2 Rules + 1 Contrast:

Rule 1: Match be to the noun that follows — is for singular and uncountable nouns; are for plural nouns. Rule 2: For negatives and questions, use be (isn't/aren't/Is there?/Are there?) — NEVER do/does. Contrast: There is/are announces existence. It is describes weather, time, distance, and qualities.

Formula: There + is/are + [determiner] + noun + [location/context]

This lesson builds from A1 basics to A2 level in four steps:

1. Affirmative forms — there is, there are, there's
2. Negatives & questions — isn't/aren't, Is there? / Are there?, short answers
3. Quantifiers — some, any, much, many, a lot of, a few, a little
4. There is vs It is — announcing existence vs describing qualities

Affirmative: There Is and There Are

Use there is with singular nouns and uncountable nouns. Use there are with plural nouns.

Agreement Rule

What is an uncountable noun? An uncountable noun cannot be counted individually and has no plural form: water, milk, sugar, rice, money, traffic, noise, homework, time, information. These always take is, even with "a lot of":

• There is a lot of traffic today. ✅ (not "there are a lot of traffic")
• There is some sugar in the bowl. ✅

Examples

Contraction: There's

In informal speech and writing, there is is often shortened to there's:

• There's a hospital near here. (= There is a hospital)
• There's some milk left. (= There is some milk)

Note: In standard written English, always use there are for plural nouns. In informal speech, native speakers sometimes say "there's loads of people", but this is not correct in written form. Write "There are loads of people."

👉 Practice There Is & There Are: Affirmative →

Negatives and Questions

Negative Form

To make a negative sentence, add not after is or are. Use the contractions isn't and aren't in everyday English.

In negative sentences, use any (not some) with both countable and uncountable nouns:

• There isn't any juice left. ✅
• There aren't any students in the classroom. ✅

Question Form

To make a question, invert the word order — put Is or Are before there:

In questions, use any (not some) with both countable and uncountable nouns:

• Is there any homework for tomorrow? ✅
• Are there any eggs? ✅

Short Answers

When answering Is there...? and Are there...? questions, echo the auxiliary:

Short answer rule: Never repeat the full sentence. Match the question form exactly: Is there? → Yes, there is / No, there isn't; Are there? → Yes, there are / No, there aren't.

⚠️ The Do/Does Trap

One of the most common errors in English is using do/does/don't/doesn't to negate or question there is/are. This is always incorrect. The there structure uses be — not do.

Why does this happen? Many learners think of there as the subject of the sentence (like "he" or "she") and apply the do question/negative pattern. In fact, there is a grammatical placeholder — it has no real meaning — and the real subject is the noun that follows. Always use be.

👉 Practice Negatives & Questions →

Quantifiers: Some, Any, Much, Many & More

Quantifiers tell us how much or how many of something exists. The correct quantifier depends on two things: (1) whether the noun is countable or uncountable, and (2) whether the sentence is affirmative, negative, or a question.

Quantifier Decision Table

Some vs Any

Much vs Many

Both much and many express a large quantity, but:

⚠️ Much vs Many: Check if the noun can be counted. Time, money, noise, space, traffic, milk = uncountable → use much. Shops, students, chairs, books = countable → use many.

• There isn't much space in the car. ✅ (space = uncountable)
• There aren't many shops open. ✅ (shops = countable)
• There isn't many time. ❌ → There isn't much time. ✅

A Few vs A Little

Both express a small amount, but:

How Many / How Much Questions

Use How many for countable nouns and How much for uncountable nouns. Like all questions with there is/are, the word order is inverted — are/is there, not "there are/is":

⚠️ Word order: Say "How many chairs are there?" — not "How many chairs there are?" The inverted form (are there) is required in questions, just as in "Is there a bank?"

For more on How many and How much, see Wh- Questions.

👉 Practice Quantifiers →

⭐ There Is vs It Is: Two Different Structures

There is/are and it is are both very common but have completely different purposes. This is one of the most important distinctions at A2 level.

The Core Difference

When to Use "It Is"

Side-by-Side Comparison

⚠️ Never use "There is" for weather, time, or distance:

• There is cold outside. ❌ → It is cold outside. ✅
• There is ten o'clock. ❌ → It is ten o'clock. ✅
• There is a long way. ❌ → It is a long way. ✅

⚠️ For simple present existence, use there is/are — not there has/have: The forms there has and there have are used for perfect tenses ("There have been many accidents"), but for simple present existence sentences, always use there is/are:

• There has a lot of traffic today. ❌ → There is a lot of traffic today. ✅
• There have two messages on your phone. ❌ → There are two messages on your phone. ✅

👉 Practice Mixed Forms & There Is vs It Is →

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Quick Summary

The 4 Sentence Forms

How to Form Negatives and Questions — Step by Step

1. Identify the noun that follows there → is it singular, uncountable, or plural?
2. Choose is or are → singular/uncountable → is; plural → are
3. For negative: add not → there is not / there are not (contracted: isn't / aren't)
4. For question: invert → Is there...? / Are there...?; use any (not some)

Quantifier Quick Reference

There Is vs It Is — One-Line Rules

• There is/are → something exists: There is a problem.
• It is → weather, time, distance, quality: It is cold. It is 5 o'clock. It is far.

Practice Tips

1. Learn the noun type first. Before choosing is or are, always ask: "Is this noun singular, uncountable, or plural?" That one question determines almost every decision in this topic.
2. Say the negative out loud. When making a negative, say "There isn't…" or "There aren't…" aloud. If you hear yourself starting to say "There doesn't…", stop — that is always wrong.
3. For quantifiers, use the countable test. Can you say "one ___, two ___s"? If yes, countable → use many / a few. If no, uncountable → use much / a little.
4. Memorise the four "it is" categories. Weather, time, distance, and "it is + adj + to-inf" are the four situations where you must use it is instead of there is. Keep these as a mental list.
5. Practise with real environments. Look around the room and make there is/are sentences: "There is a window. There are two doors. There isn't any food on my desk." This connects the grammar to real use immediately.

Practice All Exercises

Ready to practise there is / there are in English? These there is there are exercises online — with answers and explanations for every question — cover all the key forms from A1 to A2. Printable there is there are exercises PDF worksheets and there's there are exercises printables are also available for offline practice. Work through all four sets of there is and there are grammar exercises: affirmative sentences, there is there are negative exercises with isn't / aren't, question forms (Is there? / Are there?), quantifiers (some, any, much, many, a lot of, a few, a little), and a mixed A2 review covering the there is vs it is distinction — also called it there exercises or there and it exercises at A2 level:

Now try the exercises to practise what you've learned!