There + Other Tenses

The there + be structure works in every tense and with every modal verb. If you already know there is / there are and there was / there were, extending to other tenses is straightforward — you just change the form of be.

Tense / Modal	Singular / Uncountable	Plural
Present	There is	There are
Past	There was	There were
Future (will)	There will be	There will be
Future (going to)	There is going to be	There are going to be
Present perfect	There has been	There have been
Past perfect	There had been	There had been
Modal	There must/might/should be	There must/might/should be

The pattern: "There" + tense form of be + noun. Only the present and past forms change for singular/plural (is/are, was/were). Future, modals, and past perfect use the same form for both.

Past Simple: There was / There were

A quick review of the past simple forms. For a complete lesson, see There was / There were.

	Singular / Uncountable	Plural
Affirmative	There was* a big tree.*	There were* many shops.*
Negative	There wasn't* any milk.*	There weren't* any problems.*
Question	Was there a cinema?	Were there many people?
Short answer	Yes, there was. / No, there wasn't.	Yes, there were. / No, there weren't.

Remember: Look at the noun after "there" — singular/uncountable → was; plural → were.

👉 Practice There was & There were →

Future: There will be / There is going to be

There will be

Use there will be for predictions, opinions, and general statements about the future:

I think there will be flying cars in the future.
There will be a meeting next Monday.
There won't be enough time to finish.

Questions: Will there be…?

Will there be a test tomorrow?
Yes, there will. / No, there won't.

There is going to be

Use there is/are going to be when you have present evidence or a definite plan:

The sky is dark. There is going to be a storm. (evidence now)
There are going to be some changes at work next month. (planned)

Questions: Is there going to be…?

Is there going to be a party this weekend?
Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.

Will be vs Is going to be

There will be	There is going to be
Opinion / belief: I think there will be…	Evidence: Look at the clouds — there's going to be…
General future: There will be a new president.	Plan: There are going to be changes next month.
Spontaneous: There will be enough for everyone.	Based on what you can see/know now

In practice: Both are often interchangeable. If in doubt, "will be" is the safer choice for general future statements.

👉 Practice Future: There will be & There is going to be →

Perfect Tenses: There has been / There had been

Present Perfect: There has been / There have been

Use the present perfect when a past event connects to the present — the result or effect is still relevant now:

Singular / Uncountable	Plural
There has been* an accident. (Traffic is still slow.)*	There have been* several complaints. (We need to act.)*
There has been* a lot of rain this week.*	There have been* many changes recently.*

Negatives & Questions:

There hasn't been any news yet.
Has there been any progress?
Yes, there has. / No, there hasn't.

Past Perfect: There had been

Use the past perfect when talking about something that existed before another past event:

By the time the firefighters arrived, there had been a fire for over an hour. (fire started BEFORE they arrived)
There had been several warnings before the storm hit.
She didn't know there had been a meeting that morning.

Present perfect vs Past perfect:

There has been an accident. → It just happened; the road is still blocked NOW.

There had been an accident. → Looking back at an earlier past; the road was blocked THEN.

Has been vs Have been

The agreement rule still applies in the present perfect:

has been (singular / uncountable)	have been (plural)
There has been* an increase in prices.*	There have been* several incidents.*
There has been* a lot of traffic.*	There have been* many delays.*

"Had been" doesn't change — it's the same for singular and plural: There had been a problem. / There had been many problems.

👉 Practice Perfect Tenses: There has been & There had been →

Modals: There must be / There might be

Modal verbs combine with "there + be" to express certainty, possibility, obligation, and expectation. The form is always there + modal + be:

Modal	Meaning	Example
must be	Logical deduction (strong)	There must be* a problem — the router is beeping.*
might / could be	Possibility (uncertain)	There might be* some money in the drawer.*
can't be	Impossibility	There can't be* anyone here — the office is locked.*
should be	Expectation	There should be* enough food for everyone.*
may be	Possibility (formal)	There may be* delays due to the weather.*
will be	Future certainty	There will be* a meeting at 3 p.m.*

Questions with Modals

Question	Example
Could there be…?	Could there be a mistake in the bill?
Might there be…?	Might there be another explanation? (very formal)
Should there be…?	Should there be more signs?

Note: "Must there be" and "May there be" are rarely used as questions in everyday English.

Negative Modals

Negative	Example
There can't* be…*	There can't be anyone home — the lights are off.
There shouldn't* be…*	There shouldn't be any problems.
There won't* be…*	There won't be a test this Friday.
There might not* be…*	There might not be enough seats.

👉 Practice Modals & Mixed Tense Review →

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Incorrect	Correct	Explanation
There will have* a meeting tomorrow.*	There will be* a meeting tomorrow.*	Always use "be" — not "have". The structure is "there + be", never "there + have".
There have been* an accident.*	There has been* an accident.*	"An accident" is singular — use "has been", not "have been".
There is going to have* a storm.*	There is going to be a storm.	After "going to", use "be" — the structure stays "there + be".
There must been* a mistake.*	There must be* a mistake.*	After modal verbs, use the base form "be" — not the past participle "been".
There can be* anyone here — it's locked.*	There can't be* anyone here — it's locked.*	When the evidence contradicts the idea, use "can't be" (impossibility), not "can be" (possibility).
There had been* a lot of changes recently.*	There have been* a lot of changes recently.*	"Recently" connects to the present — use present perfect "have been", not past perfect "had been".

Quick Summary

All Tenses at a Glance

Tense	Affirmative	Negative	Question
Present	There is/are	There isn't/aren't	Is/Are there…?
Past	There was/were	There wasn't/weren't	Was/Were there…?
Future (will)	There will be	There won't be	Will there be…?
Future (going to)	There is/are going to be	There isn't/aren't going to be	Is/Are there going to be…?
Present perfect	There has/have been	There hasn't/haven't been	Has/Have there been…?
Past perfect	There had been	There hadn't been	Had there been…?
Modals	There must/might/should be	There can't/shouldn't/won't be	Could/Should there be…?

Key Principle

The structure is always there + [tense form of be] + noun. Just change "be" to match the tense. Never use "have" or any other verb in place of "be".

Practice Tips

Think "there + be" as a unit. The core structure never changes — only the form of "be" changes (is, was, will be, has been, must be…). If you keep "be" in mind, you'll never accidentally use "have" or another verb.
Match the tense to the time signal. Look for clues: yesterday → was/were, next week → will be, recently → has/have been, before they arrived → had been.
For modals, think about certainty. Strong evidence → must be. Not sure → might be. Evidence says no → can't be. This is the same modal logic you use everywhere in English.
Don't forget agreement in present perfect. "Has been" for singular/uncountable, "have been" for plural. In all other tenses (will be, had been, modals), the form is the same for both.

Practice All Exercises

Ready to practise there was / there were and other tenses online with answers? These exercises cover there was / there were (past simple), there will be and there is going to be (future), there has been / there have been (present perfect), there had been (past perfect), and there + modal verbs (must be, might be, can't be, should be) — from A1 to B1. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Printable PDF worksheets are also available:

Set	Topic	Level
Set 1	There was & There were: Past Simple	A1
Set 2	There will be & There is going to be: Future	A2
Set 3	There has been & There had been: Perfect Tenses	B1
Set 4	There + Modals & Mixed Tense Review	B1

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

Learn There + Other Tenses