Usage
The constructions there is and there are in English sentences. Rules of use

The constructions there is and there are in English sentences. Rules of use

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The construction there is / there are is used to report the location of objects and persons. Remember a simple rule: if a Russian sentence begins with an adverbial place (the first word of a Russian sentence answers the question “where?”), then we begin an English sentence with there is / there are. For example: “There is a mouse in the box” - There is a mouse in the box. In this case, the very circumstance of place (in the box) must be placed at the end of the sentence. English sentences with the construction there is / there are are translated from the end (while There is... there are is not translated). For example: There is a bench in the garden - There is a bench in the garden.

If the sentence begins with a subject (“who?” or “what?”), this construction is not used, we translate it as it is: the car is in the street.

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Let us compare two sentences “there is a vase on the table” and “a vase on the table”. The first begins with the adverbial place, and the second with the subject, respectively, to translate the first sentence we use There is a…. - “there is a vase on the table”, and we translate the second sentence without this construction - “the vase is on the table”. If the subject (the thing referred to in the sentence) is singular, then there is is used, and if it is plural, then there are.

Please note that (is, are) in such sentences can be translated as “lies”, “stands”, “hangs”, “grows”, “is located”: There are toys in the box - In the box lie toys, there is a big tree in front of my house - In front of my house growing a big tree.
When listing items, There is used is, if the first item listed is singular (There is a copy book, three pencils and a ruler on the table) and there are, if the first item listed is in the plural (There are three pencils, a copy book and a ruler on the table).

Word order in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences with the construction there is / there are

Prepositions of place are function words that connect members of a sentence and are closely related to the use of the construction there is / there are, so we consider them in this post. First, let’s remember the prepositions of place and direction in English

On – on: there is an apple on the plate – there is an apple on the plate
In – inside: there are pens in the bag – there are pens in the bag
Above/over – above: there is a picture above the fireplace – a picture hangs above the fireplace
At - at: at the wall - at the wall
Near - near, around, nearby: near my house - near my house
Under - under: under the table - under the table
Below - below, under: below the window - below the window
Behind - behind: behind the tree - behind the tree
To - indicates movement towards an object: to school - to school, to work - to work, to a friend - to a friend
Into - inside: into the room - into the room
From - indicates movement from an object: from school - from school, from work - from work, take the cup from that boy - take the cup from that boy, take the book from the table - take the book from the table
Out of - from (from within): out of the bag - from the bag
In front of - in front of: in front of my house - in front of my house
Between - between: between the cupboard and the sofa - between the closet and the sofa
Up - up: up the street - up the street
Through - through, through: through the window - through the window
Across - across (crossing): across the street - across the street
Beside/next to - next to (next in a row): sit next to me - sit next to me

We recommend paying attention to the difference between the prepositions in and into. Phrases with the preposition in answer the question “where?” - in the cupboard - in the closet, in the bag - in the bag, in the box - in the box. Phrases with the preposition into answer the question “where?” - into the cupboard - into the closet, into the bag - into the bag, into the box - into the box.

More about the preposition into watch in our video:

Remember the exceptions: on a tree - in the tree, on the street - in the street, in a picture - in the picture.

Prepositions in the English language perform many functions; they act as case endings, which are absent in the English language; they are an integral part of countless expressions and should never be neglected.

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There are often situations when you need to say that something is somewhere or someone is somewhere. For example, “” (i.e. our company has 150 employees), “ There are three documents on the table"(i.e. there are three documents on the table).

Such sentences are translated into English using the special phrase there is or there are.

The choice of is or are depends on the number of the noun following this phrase: if in the singular, then we use there is

and if in the plural, then there are

Word order

The word order in such sentences requires special attention: there is/there are first, then what is being talked about and then where it is. In Russian, everything is the other way around - we start translating from where, and then what.

So, " Our company has 150 employees"translate as " There are 150 employees in our company", A " There are three documents on the table"in English it will be " There are three documents on the table».

Negation with the phrase there is / there are

To make negatives in sentences with this construction, i.e. to say that something is not there somewhere, you need to add the particle “not” after there is or there are.

Please note that in the singular the article (a table) is used before the noun, and in the plural– the pronoun any (any chairs), which means “any, any.”

You can also use short forms: there is not = there isn’t ; there are not – there aren’t.

In addition, negation can be said using the particle “no":

Interrogative sentences

Making a question with the there is/are construct is very simple:

That is, to compose a question you just need to swap there and is or are.

And if you need to ask whether there is any amount of something or someone, add the pronoun any before the noun:

People IS or ARE

In most cases, the use of this construction does not cause difficulties, but there are controversial issues: for example, which form of to be to use after the word people.

99% of the time you need the form are : people means "people", which is the plural form of person:

Please note that the noun person also has another plural form: persons, but it is used only in documentation.

However, there are cases when after people the is form is used. The fact is that the noun people has another meaning - nation, people, tribe. This value is used extremely rarely:

Most often, even in the meaning of “people, nation,” the word people is used in the plural – peoples (it has this form only in this meaning; in the meaning of “people” there is no need to add s at the end):

there is there are for children

An excellent memory poem there is there are for children.

There is a mouse in the house.
There is a mouse living in the house

There is a cat in the flat.
There's a cat living in the apartment

There is a fox in the box.
A fox sits in a box

There is a bee in the tree.
A bee sits on a tree

You need to make sentences from English words. After which you will find out its translation. Words can be dragged with the mouse or finger (on smartphones)

Constructions There is And There are are used to indicate the presence of something in a certain place, the location of objects or their quantity. In this construction the word there stands formal subject and does not carry any meaning (it cannot be translated as “ here», « there"), so such sentences are translated from the end.

There is a mouse in the kitchen!- There's a mouse in the kitchen!
There are some cookies in the box.— There are some cookies in the box.

There was a man in the room.– There was a man in the room.
There were men in the room waiting for you.– There were men in the room who were waiting for you.

I think there will be a lot of people at tomorrow’s concert.– I think there will be a lot of people at tomorrow’s concert.

Statement

In affirmative sentences, the formal subject always comes first there, followed by the verb to be in the required form and “ present subject"(object or person). Verb form to be depends on the number of the noun and the tense in the sentence.

There is And there was used for singular objects or concepts or uncountable nouns.

There are And there were used for plural items.

If in the statement after revolutions there is / there was / there will be the countable subject is singular, it is used with the indefinite article a / an. Definite article the practically not used.

There is = There’s (abbreviation)
There's a cat in our garden.- There is (some) cat in our yard.

If this is a set of objects, then a numeral is used, indicating their number or word some(some). Also used before uncountable nouns some.

There are two cats in our garden.- There are two cats in our yard.
There are some cats in our garden.- There (are some) cats in our yard.

There's some milk in the fridge.— There is some milk in the refrigerator.
There was some food in this lunchbox.— There was food in this lunchbox.

In the statement after the construction there is/ there was/ there will be pronouns may be used someone(someone) and something(something).

There was something strange in his room.“There was something strange in his room.”
There was someone asking for your phone number.- Someone asked for your phone number.

Negation

Negative sentence with there is /there are is formed using a negative particle not after the verb to be in the required form.

In denial with there is not/ there wasn't / there will not be singular nouns are used with the indefinite article a/ an(no negative pronouns, since in English there can only be one negative).

There wasn't a cat in our garden.
There won't be a party next week.- There will be no party next week.

In a negative sentence, nouns in plural or uncountable nouns are used with a pronoun any(some, none).

There is not = there isn’t (abbreviation)
There isn't any money in his wallet.

There are not = there aren’t
There aren't any pencils on my desk.

In denial after there is not / there wasn't / there will not be pronouns may be used anybody, anyone(someone, no one) and anything(something, nothing, nothing).

There isn't anyone in the room.- There is no one in the room.
There wasn't anything interesting in that city. “There was nothing interesting in that city.”

Also, a negative sentence can be formed using a negative pronoun no before a noun, regardless of its number. In this case, the particle is not placed not after to be .

There was no cat in our garden.– There was no cat in our yard.
There there are no pencils on my desk.– There are no pencils on my desk.
There is no money in his wallet.- There is no money in his wallet.

In a negative sentence after there is /there was /there will be pronouns may be used nobody,no one(nobody) and nothing(nothing, nothing).

There is no one in the room.- There is no one in the room.
There was nothing interesting in that city.“There was nothing interesting in that city.”

Question

Interrogative sentence with there is / there are is formed by placing the verb to be in the required form at the beginning of the sentence.

As in negative sentences, questions use singular nouns with the indefinite article a / an.

Is there a cat outside?– Is there a cat on the street?
Will there be a party next week?– Will there be a party next week?

In questions, plural or uncountable nouns are used with a pronoun any(some kind).

Were there any pencils on my desk?– Were there (some) pencils on my desk?
Is there any money in your pockets?– Do you have (some) money in your pockets?

In questions after is there / was there/ will there be pronouns may be used anybody, anyone(someone) and anything(something).

Is there anything I can do for you?- Can I help you?

Short answers to general questions also use the construction there is/ there are in the affirmative or negative form at the right time.

Is there a cat outside?– Is there a cat on the street?
Yes, there is.- Yes, I have.
No, there isn't .- No.

Was there anybody in my room?– Was there someone in my room?
Yes, there was.- Yes.
No, there wasn't.- No.

In special questions, the question word comes first, followed by the word order of the general question. After interrogative expressions how many/ how much followed by the noun to which they refer.

Who is there in my room?-Who's in my room?
Why are there so many people?– Why are there so many people there?
How much money is there in your wallet?- How much money is in your wallet?

Features of use

There is / There are can be used with almost all tenses and modal verbs, as well as with the construction to be going to. In this case, only the verb changes to be.

There has been an accident this morning. I hope everything is alright now.– There was an accident this morning. I hope everything is fine now.
She said that there had been nothing to drink at Matt’s party.“She said there weren't any drinks at Matt's party.”

There must be some money in my pocket.- There must be some money in my pocket.
There may be a dog in their garden.– Perhaps there is a dog in their yard.
There should have been a letter from Craig in my mailbox.“There should have been a letter from Craig in my mailbox.”

There is going to be a charity concert next week.– Next week they are going to hold a charity concert.

Listing items

When listing multiple items after a construct there is / there are the verb to be is put in singular or plural form depending on the number of the noun that follows it.

There is one cat and one puppy in Jack’s house.– There is one cat and one puppy in Jack’s house.
There is a cat and two puppies in Jack’s house.– There is one cat and two puppies in Jack’s house.
There are two puppies and a cat in Jack’s house.– There are two puppies and one cat in Jack’s house.

There with other verbs

The verb to be in the construction there is / there are can be replaced by other verbs that express the meaning of presence, such as to exist(to be, to exist), to lie(lie), to live(live), to come(to come, to happen), to stand(stand), etc.

There was a big statue in this park.– There was a big statue in this park.
There stood a big statue in this park.– There was a large statue in this park.

There lives an old woman in this house.– An elderly woman lives in this house.
There came some noise from his room.- There was (some) noise coming from his room.

Many people, knowing the basics of the English language, can always get confused in the use of the phrase there is / there are or even neglect it. Of course, this limits our combinatorics in constructing new sentences, and it also gives us a chance to misunderstand our interlocutor. So let’s try to abstract ourselves and understand this topic.

Turnover there is / there are typically used to determine the location of objects or if the sentence does not use a verb.

The structure of the sentence is as follows: there is/are + noun + adverbial place.

There is is only used for singular nouns:

There is a cat in the garden - the cat (is) in the garden;
There is a beach down here – There (is) a beach;
There is a new club near the college – There is a new club near the college;

You can also most often hear the abbreviated form there is – there’s:

There’s an apple on the table - there is an apple on the table;
There’s a refrigerator in the kitchen - there is a refrigerator in the kitchen;
There’s a pen on the school desk - a pen (lies) on the desk;

The indefinite article a/an can be replaced by the numerator one:

There is one chair in my room – in my room (there is) one stool;

There are is used for plural nouns:

There are twenty students in the class - there are twenty students in the class;
There are four girls and two boys in her family - in her family (there are) 4 girls and 2 boys;
There are three hospitals in town – there are three hospitals in the city;

Using there at the beginning of a sentence has no effect on using there at the end of that sentence:

There are big gray clouds over there - there (are) big gray clouds;

For clarity, the sentence there is/are is better translated from the adverbial place.

The affirmative sentence there is/are can be converted into an interrogative sentence. To do this, just swap there and is/are:

Is there a train to Moscow? – Is there a train to Moscow?
Is there a good restaurant in the street? – Is there a good restaurant on this face?
Are there a lot of children in the pool? – Are there many children in the pool?
Are there thirty or thirty one days in this month? – Are there thirty or thirty-one days this month?

And how to give a short answer to a similar question:

Is there money in your pocket? – Yes, there is – No, there isn’t
Are there a lot of policemen in the city? – Yes, there are – No, there aren’t

Affirmative sentences with the phrase there is/are can also be converted into negative sentences by adding the negative particle not:

There is not a knife in your bag - there is no knife in your bag;
There isn’t a battery in the phone - there is no battery in this phone;
There are not a instruments in my hangar - there are no instruments in my hangar;
There aren’t handsome guys in the hotel - there are no handsome guys in this hotel;

Or you can add the negative word no:

There is no sugar in this cup of coffee - there is no sugar in this cup of coffee;
There are no wheels in that car - there are no wheels in that car;

Thus, it is worth noting once again the use turnover there is / there are. There is is used only with singular nouns, respectively, there are with plural nouns. Both turns serve to explain, define or make statements about the location of an object. The order of construction of the phrase is first there is/are, then the noun and at the end the adverbial clause. The phrase there is/are can take a negative and interrogative form. And it is advisable to translate sentences from there is/are from the adverbial location.

Perhaps you want to clarify something on this topic. Leave a comment below with a question