Affirmative Form
There is is used to express that something exists or that it is in a place.
Examples:
There is a couch in the living room.
There is a restaurant at the end of the street.
There is is used for singular nouns.
Example: There is a library in my village.
There are is used for plural nouns.
Example: There are two cats in their house.
When spoken, There is can be expressed as There’s. However, There are doesn’t have a contracted form.
Examples:
There is a library in my village. > There’s a library in my village.
There are two cats in their house. > There’re two cats in their house.
Negative Form
The negative form of There is is There is not or There isn’t or There’s not.
Example: There isn’t a supermarket near my house.
For There are, the negative form is There are not or There aren’t.
Example: There aren’t animals at the zoo.
There isn’t a is used with a singular noun.
Examples: There isn’t a hotel near here.
There isn’t any is used with an uncountable noun.
Example:
There isn’t any sugar.
There aren’t any is used with a plural noun.
Example:
There aren’t any books in her room.
To show that the negative is important, there is no and an uncountable noun are combined.
Example: There’s no sugar.
For plural form, there are no and a plural noun are combined.
Example:
There are no books in her room.
It is possible to use there is no + singular noun, but it’s not as common.
Example: There is no sense doing that.
Question Form
To form a question, Is there is used for singular nouns and uncountable nouns.
Examples:
Is there a hotel near your house?
Is there any sugar in the kitchen?
Are there is used for plural nouns.
Example: Are there any books in her room?
Answering Is there or Are there Questions
The response to Is there question is Yes, there is. or No, there isn’t.
Example:
Question: Is there a hotel near your house?
Answer: Yes, there is. / No, there isn’t.
Incorrect: Yes, there’s. / No, there is no.
The response to Are there question is Yes, there are. or No, there aren’t.
Example:
Question: Are there any books in her room?
Answer: Yes, there are. / No, there aren’t.
Summary of the Forms of There is and There are
| Singular | Plural | |
| Affirmative | There is There’s | There are |
| Negative | There is not There isn’t There’s not | There are not There aren’t |
| Negative + a/any | There isn’t a + countable noun There isn’t any + uncountable noun | There aren’t any |
| Negative + no | There is no | There are no |
| Question | Is there + singular noun | Are there + plural noun |
There is and There are in Other Verb Tenses
There is and There are can also be used in many other verb tenses.
Examples:
| Past simple (singular) | There was an earthquake last week. |
| Past simple (plural) | There were many people at the restaurant. |
| Future simple | There will be a lot of cars on the road tomorrow because it’s a long weekend. |