The rule for using the phrase there is (there are). The construction there is (are). Rules and exercises (basic level)

The phrase there is/there are in English is presented with examples.

This phrase in English serves to indicate the presence or absence of something or someone in a certain place. Thus, the phrase there is/there are names an object or person who is or is not located in a certain place. Such sentences have the following structure.

Version there is / there are -> Subject -> Circumstance of place

When translating such sentences, the turnover should be translated as is, is, is available.

Study some examples.

There is a mistake in this text - There is (there is) an error in this text.
There are trees in his garden - There are (are) trees in his garden.
There is an interesting story in the book - There is an interesting story in the book.
There is a monument near my house - There is a monument near my house.

It should be remembered that if several subjects are placed after the phrase there is/there are, then the verb to be must correspond to the subject that is placed after it. Study some examples.

There is a park and two shopping centers near my office - Near my office there is a park and two shopping center(since the first subject - park - is in singular, you should use the phrase there is).
There are five hospitals and a cemetary in our city - In our city there are five hospitals and one cemetery (since the first subject - five hospitals - is plural, the phrase there are should be used).

Let's consider the phrase there is/there are in the past tense, that is, in the Past Simple. In the past tense, there is/there are is changes to was, and are changes to were. Thus, the phrase takes the form there was/there were. Consider a few examples.

There was a restaurant in this area - There was a restaurant in this area.
There were fifteen chairs in that room - There were fifteen chairs in that room.
There was an airport and two railway stations in our city - In our city there was an airport and two train stations.

Let's consider the phrase there is/there are in the future tense, that is, in Future Indefinite. In the future tense, there is/there are is composed using the auxiliary verb will - there will be.

There will be three referees in the championship - There will be three referees at the championship.
There will be a new fountain here - There will be a new fountain here.

It is necessary to take into account that if the sentence contains the adverbial adverbial place there - there, then it is placed at the end of the sentence, despite the fact that the phrase there is/ there are is used at the beginning. This is explained by the fact that in there is / there are the word there does not have independent meaning. Study some examples.

There are three visitors there - There (are) three visitors.
There was a candid camera there - There was a hidden camera.

Explore interrogative form turnover there is/there are .

In order to make an interrogative sentence, the verb to be must be placed before the word there. Study some examples of interrogative sentences in the present tense.

Is there a piano in your assembly hall? - Is there a piano in your assembly hall?
Are there hotels in your city? - Are there hotels in your city?

Consider interrogative sentences in the past tense.

Was there a poster in his room? - Was there a poster in his room?
Were there musicians in the restaurant? - Were there musicians in the restaurant?

Consider interrogative sentences in the future tense. Here you should note that will is placed before there, and the verb to be is placed after there.

Will there be your friends there? - Will your friends be there?
Will there be a manager at the meeting? - Will the manager be at the meeting?

If in such sentences the question is posed to the subject, then the interrogative pronoun what or who is used, which is the subject.

What is there in your room? - What is in your room?
Who is there in your room? - Who (is) in your room?

If the question is asked to determine the subject, then interrogative words such as how much, how many, and what are used, which must be placed before the subject.

How many students are there in the auditorium? - How many students are in the audience?
How much water is there in the swimming pool? - How much water is in the pool?
What pictures were in his room? - What paintings were in his room? (in such questions it is not necessary to put there).
There were old and new pictures - Old and new pictures.

Consider negative sentences with the phrase there is/there are. To make negative sentences, you must use the negative particle not.

Study examples of negative sentences in the present tense.

There is not a shop near my house - There is no store near my house.
There are not factories in our city - There are no factories in our city.

As you noticed, in such sentences the particle not is placed after the verb to be.

Study examples of negative sentences in the past tense.

There was not a manual in the box - There was no manual in the box.
There were not cars in the tunnel - There were no cars in the tunnel.
As in the previous examples, the particle not follows the verb to be.

It should be noted that the following abbreviations are used in writing and in colloquial speech: there is not = there isn't, there are not = there aren't, there was not = there wasn't, there were not = there weren't.

Study negative sentences in the future tense.

There will not be many students at the conference - There will not be many students at the conference.
There won't be any journalists at the meeting - There will be no journalists at the meeting.

As can be seen from the above examples, to form negative sentences in the future tense, the auxiliary verb will is used in the negative form - will not, which is placed after the word there. In writing and in colloquial speech its abbreviated form will not = won"t is used.

To compose negative sentences with the phrase there is/there are, you can use not only the particle not, but also the negative pronoun no. It should be remembered that if no is used in a sentence, then the article is not used. This type of negation is mainly used in the case of uncountable abstract and real nouns. Study some examples.

There is no sugar in my cup - There is no sugar in my cup.
There is no time to go there - There is no time to go there.
There is no electric lighting here - There is no electric lighting here.

The construction there is (are) in the present tense. Rule. Example

Location design there is (are) refers to the most common constructions in English grammar.

Construction there is (are) is used when we want to say that a certain object is in a specific place.

EXAMPLE. There is a cat on the table.

In English this phrase has the following meaning:

On this lies on the table some kind cat.

(i.e. the table is specific (this one, mine), and this is the first time I’ve seen a cat :)

General view of the construction there is (are) in the present tense

Pay attention to the articles highlighted in blue:

article a means that I have not seen this OBJECT before (some kind of cat)

article the means that this PLACE is familiar to me (this table, my table, etc.)

1. Affirmative sentences with the construction there is (are):

There is+ a + noun (units) + place (its location)
There are+ noun (plural) + place (of their location)

EXAMPLES
There is a cat in the tree. — On this tree (yes) some kind cat.
There are two cats in the tree. — On this tree two some cats.

Design there is (are) translated as there is, is located

Verb is (are) in this construction you can NOT translate or use other verbs when translating, denoting location, for example: sitting, hanging, lying etc.

EXAMPLE. There is a cat in the tree. - Can be translated as On this tree sitting cat.

In this construction the word there lost its original meaning there.

2. Translation of a sentence with there is (are)

The translation of a sentence with this construction must begin with a word that answers the question Where?(usually it comes at the end of the sentence).

EXAMPLE

3. Interrogative sentences with the construction there is (are)

EXAMPLE
There is a problem. – Is is there a problem?

EXAMPLES
1) — Is there a problem? - Is there a problem?

- Yes, there is.- Yes.

- No, there isn't. No.

2) Are there books in your bag? — Are there any books in your briefcase?

- Yes, there are. - Yes.

or
- No, there aren’t. - No.

3) What is there in the room? - What is in this room?

— There is furniture in the room. - IN this the room has furniture.

4. Negative sentences with the construction there is (are)

Most often appears in negative sentences no(translated in this case as No).

EXAMPLE

Note 1.
If after the design there is there are two or more words, then the linking verb BE usually agrees with the first of them.

EXAMPLES
There is a lamp and some pencils on the table.
There are some pencils and a lamp on the table.

Note 2.
If before a noun plural costs a lot of, then the verb is used in the plural.

EXAMPLES
There are a lot of books on the table.

5. Forms of the construction there is (are) in simple tenses

There is (are)- in the present tense
There was (were)- in the past tense
There will be- in the future tense

6. A poem with the construction there is (are):

This is the Key of the Kingdom.
In that Kingdom there is a city;
In that city there is a town;
In that town there is a lane;
In that lane there is a yard;
In that yard there is a house;
In that house there is a room;
In that room there is a table;
On that table there is a basket;
In that basket there are some flowers.
Flowers in the basket, Basket on the table,
Table in the room, Room in the house,
House in the yard, Yard in the lane,
Lane in the street, Street in the town,
Town in the city, City in the Kingdom.
Of that Kingdom this is the Key.

7. Exercises for practicing the construction there is (are) in the present tense

In an affirmative sentence construction there is (are) has one of three options:

There is an apple on the apple tree.
There are three (many/some) apples on the apple tree.
There is some milk in the glass.

In design there is / are a noun may be preceded by a DETERMINER ( function word, eg. indefinite article (an, a), (three), quantity indicators (many, some) and their derivatives).

EXPLANATION

1. An indefinite article is placed before a singular noun a (an): an apple

2. Place before a plural noun cardinal number / many / some: three apples - three apples , many apples - a lot of apples, some apples - several apples.

3. An uncountable noun is preceded by indefinite quantity indicator some: some milk - a little milk.

Exercise 1. Rephrase the sentences using the construction there is or there are

SAMPLE The cherries are in the basket. => There are some cherries in the basket.

The newspapers are on the table. =>
The flowers are in the vase =>
The cheese is in the refrigerator. =>
The story by A. Christie is in the book. =>
The kitten is under the bed. =>

Grammar comment.

Question. How do the sentences differ: There is a bird in the tree. and The bird is in the tree? — Answer. Translation.

There is a bird in the tree. — Please note that when using the design there is, we are talking about a certain subject ( a bird), which is located in a specific place (in the tree) and the translation will be - Sits on (this) tree ( some kind) bird.

But if we rephrase the sentence, its meaning will change!

The bird is in the tree. — This sentence refers to a specific bird ( the = this), which is located in a specific place (in the tree) and the translation will be - This bird on the tree.

Now it remains to understand what the difference is between the words “some” and “this”...

Exercise 2. Translate into English using the construction there is or there are

There is tea in a cup. => There is some tea in the cup.
There are sweets in a vase. =>
There are gifts in the box. =>
There is food on the table. =>
There is porridge in the plate. =>

Many people, when faced with the English language, do not fully understand this construction. There is\There are. At best, a person remembers a few phrases like: “There are a lot of theaters in Moscow” or “There are 4 rooms in my flat: bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom.” And of course, everyone learns that if a sentence contains the construction there is\there are, this sentence is translated into Russian, starting from the end: “There are many theaters in Moscow” “There are 4 rooms in my apartment: a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom.” This is where the knowledge of this design usually ends, while its capabilities are truly much greater.

So the design there is\there are allows us to describe objects that are somewhere. In Russian this is translated by the words “lies” “stands” “is” “hangs” “is (is)” somewhere.

there is\there are can be placed either at the beginning of a sentence or at middle(more difficult case). For example, let’s take two topics: “Food” and “Interior items, furniture.”

At the beginning of a sentence, in affirmative sentences: There are a lot of books in the bookcase.— There are a lot of books in the bookcase. Instead of the words a lot of - a lot, you can substitute a certain amount, for example, 56. There are fifty-six books in the bookcase. You can substitute different adjectives to describe these very books: There are many different kinds of books in the bookcase.— There are many different books in the bookcase ( different types books). Further, separated by a colon, there may be a listing of these same types: detective stories, science fiction, fantasy, books for children... etc. Or there may not be a transfer
In the middle of a sentence, in a special question. How many kind of books are there in the bookcase?- First there is a special question - What kind of books, then, as always, the auxiliary verb (as usual in questions) are + there, and then it is specified where exactly - in the bookcase?
In the middle of an affirmative sentence. When it is said that someone is somewhere: How many people there are in the street! - How many people (are) on the street!

The design itself:

Affirmative: There is \There are + what? Who? (subject) + where.

There are bedrooms in the house.- In the house There is bedrooms.
There is an armchair in the room.- In the room costs armchair. In the room There is armchair.

Also, there is \ there are may not be translated into Russian at all. That is, it is implied that the object is located somewhere. There are twenty students in the classroom - There are 20 students in the class.(It is clear that they ARE there if they are IN the class)

Grammar.

Everything is clear here: we focus on the object that is located somewhere. If there is only one item, put there is , if there is more than one item, put there are.

1. There is a big nice bed in my room. — In my room (is, is, is) a large, good bed.

There is one bed, which means IS.

2. There are many flowers in the vase - There are many flowers in the vase.

There are a lot of flowers, which means ARE.

Prepositions of place are also often used with there is\ there are.

under- under

behind- for

opposite- against

on- on (the surface of something)

in- in (inside something)

by\next to\near- near, near, next to.

There is some sugar in my tea - I have sugar in my tea.

There are two apples next to the vase. — There are 2 apples near the vase.

There is a street. There is a big house in the street. There is a long iron fence opposite the house. There is a long road between a fence and a house. There are a lot of leaves on the road because it is autumn. There are a few trees at the end of the road.- This is the street. Standing on the street big house. Opposite the house there is an iron fence. There is a road between the fence and the house. There are a lot of leaves on the road because it is autumn. There are several trees at the end of the road.

Tense forms of the verb to be in there is/there are!!!:

Present Indefinite: there is/there are – there is, located;

Past Indefinite: there was/there were – was, was;

Future Indefinite: there will be (one form for plural and singular) – will be located;

Present Perfect: there has been/there have been – was, was;

Past Perfect: there had been (one form for plural and singular) - was, was;

Let's take some picture where objects are located in space, and try to describe it using this design.

There is a large comfortable living room in the house. There is a big wooden table in the middle of the room. There is a nice brown fur carpet on the floor. There are two sofas in the room. There are light pillows on the sofas. There are a few pictures on the walls above the sofas. There is a vase on the sofa table between the sofa and an armchair with some flowers in it. There is a white floor lamp near it. There are two caps and a teapot on the table.

The house has a large comfortable living room. There is a large wooden table in the center of the room. There is a beautiful wool rug on the floor. There are 2 sofas in the room. There are light pillows on the sofas. Several paintings hang on the walls above the sofas. Between the sofa and the chair on the table there is a vase of flowers. There is a large floor lamp next to her. There are two cups and a teapot on the table.

You can continue ad infinitum and even describe objects and their locations in even more detail. You can describe it by color, size, material of manufacture, your assessment (beautiful, dirty, attractive, ugly, comfortable, etc.), pattern, and many other characteristics.

Interrogative sentences + answer to general question. Is\ Are are placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Are are there nice pictures on the wall? Yes, there are.

Is is there any sugar in your tea? — Do you have sugar in your tea? Yes, there is

Negative sentences.

They are built in two ways: There is - There are

Using the verb to be + NOT: There is not(isn’t) any cheese in the refrigerator. - There is no cheese in the refrigerator. There aren't any nice clothes in the store. — There are no beautiful clothes in the store (Remember that clothes are units)
With the help negative particle NO (can be used in the sense of “not at all”): There is no sugar at home. Let's go to get some. “Not a grain of sugar at home.” Shall we go buy it?

Instead of NOT ANY you can use NO: There is no money in my pockets - I have no money in my pockets.

How they are built and already written in topics of the same name. I won’t repeat myself, just follow the links and take a look. The schemes are the same, only the words change.

There is= There's - short form. There are - short form No!

Various examples:

There is a letter on your desk. — There is a letter on the desk.
There are some people in the office. — There are several people in the office.
Look! There is a beautiful rainbow in the sky. - Look! There is a beautiful rainbow in the sky.
There are two parks in this town. — There are two parks in the city.
Are there any pens in the bag? — Are there handles in the bag?
There aren't any pens in the bag. — There are no handles in the bag.
There are no pens in the bag. — There are no handles in the bag.

Turnover thereis/thereare in English it is used when you need to indicate the presence of a person or phenomenon in a certain place. After turnover there is/there are the subject is put.

There is a lamp on the table. There (is) a lamp on the table.

Therewas a storm last night. There was a storm last night.

Translation of sentences with this phrase usually begins with the adverbial adverbial place.

If the subject is expressed by a plural noun, then the verb to be after there is also plural.

There are two lamps on the table. There are lamps at the bottom of the table.

If there is/there are several subjects in a sentence with the phrase there is/there are, then the verb to be usually agrees in number with the subject that immediately follows it.

There is a pen and six pencils on the table.

There are six pencils and one pen on the table. There are six pencils and one pen on the table.

There is a tendency, however, to use this phrase with the plural verb to be (there are) in cases where the second subject is plural.

There are a pen and six pencils on the table. There is a pen and six pencils on the table.

When the tense changes, the form of the verb to be changes:

After a formal subject there the verb to be can be used with modal verbs or with the verbs to seem, to appear in the meaning “to seem”.

There must be somebody in the room. It seems there is someone in the room.

There seemedtobe a way out. It seemed that there was a way out (of the situation).

The negative form is formed using negation no, which is placed after the verb to be before the noun.

There is no lamp on the table. There is no lamp on the table.

If a noun is preceded by a definition expressed by the pronouns any, much, etc., then after the verb to be a particle is placed not.

There is not any lamp on the table. There is (no) lamp on the table.

There is not much snow in the street. There is not much snow outside.

The interrogative form when using the verb to be in the Present Simple or Past Simple (or Present and Past Indefinite) is formed by placing the verb to be in first place - before there.

Is there a lamp on the table? Is there a lamp on the table?

When there is a complex form of the verb (that is, when there are auxiliary or modal verbs), the auxiliary or modal verb is placed before there, and the verb to be is placed after there.

Will there be an English lesson at 3 o’clock? Will there be a lesson English language at three o'clock?

When asking a question to a subject with the phrase there is/there are, the interrogative word what is used, which is the subject of the sentence. The verb to be in these cases is always used in the singular, even if the question is posed in relation to the presence of several objects or phenomena.

What is there on the table? What's on the table?

BUT: In answer to such a question, the verb to be is used in the plural if the fact of the presence of several objects or phenomena is stated (or, for example, in the case of listing them - as noted earlier).

What is there on the table? What's on the table?

There are some books. Several books.

Questions to other members of a sentence with this construction are constructed according to the general rule.

Brief answers to questions containing the phrase there is/there are are also constructed according to the general rule.

Are there any books on the table? — Are there any books on the table? —

Yes, there are (some). Yes, I have.(No, there aren’t.) (No.)

The particle there in the phrase there is/there are has no meaning, i.e. meanings of the adverb there - there, there. Therefore, if in a sentence with this phrase it is necessary to convey the meaning “there” (i.e., use the adverb there in its semantic meaning), then this second there is placed at the end of the sentence as an adverbial adverb of place.

But there are no lemons there. But there are no lemons there.

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Preparation for English language exams:

It is difficult to overestimate the role played by the construction there is/there are in the English language. Before starting, we advise you to memorize prepositions of place. We will talk about the arrangement of things in different rooms or parts of them, so we will need words such as in, at, in front of, etc..

The special word order for the English language is preserved in these sentences. Let's start with the affirmative form, since we usually talk about word order in English sentence judged by it.

Usually, the construction there is (are) itself comes first, then the object whose location needs to be described. The sentence completes, with the exception of some cases, the adverbial adverbial place. Less often, the adverbial adverbial place is placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Here are simple classic examples:

There is a bird in the cage.

Since a direct translation will look a little ridiculous (there is a bird in a cage), it is better to translate this sentence from the end. "There's a bird sitting in a cage." The word “sits” is also “invented”, and the sentence will sound completely Russian.

There are birds in the cages.

“Birds are sitting in cages.” Most likely, you and I went to a pet store.

According to the rules, when in one sentence we describe several different objects or their groups, the placement of the there is / there are constructions depends on the number of the first mentioned objects. Examples:

There is a table, two chairs, and three armchairs in the room. The room has a table, two chairs and three armchairs.

There are two chairs, three armchairs, and a table. The room has two chairs, three armchairs and a table.

Negations

Making sentences with the construction there is are negative is as easy as shelling pears. It is necessary after one of the forms of the verb be (that is, is, are) to put the words no or not, which express negation.

Language learners sometimes worry about what to give them. We hasten to reassure you: there is practically no difference, except perhaps ‘ no’ makes the denial a little stronger. It stands out more with its voice. One nuance - after the word “ no» article ‘a’ is not used. Examples:

There is not a brick house in the area. There is no brick house in the area. There is no brick house in the area.

There are not any brick houses in the area. There are no brick houses in the area. There are no brick houses in the area. In a sentence with not, the negative pronoun any is often used.

Questions

Interrogative sentences differ in word order, and in them, as in negatives, an indefinite pronoun is used any unlike some in affirmative sentences. Examples:

Is there petrol in the tank? Is there gasoline in the tank?

Are there any nails in the box? Are there any nails in the box?

Conversational forms

We considered only classic full forms sentences with there is/ are. It is very important to note that in spoken English it is preferable to use shortened forms of affirmative or negative sentences. Examples:

There's an apple in the vase. There is an apple in the vase.

There aren't any apples in the vase. There are no apples in the vase.

There isn’t an apple in the vase. There's no apple in the vase. There is no apple in the vase.

Table

Now let's work with a traditional table. We think that it will not be difficult to supplement it with your own examples. Use dictionaries more actively. Use an internet search. First, you can write the sentences given in this article into the table.