There are and there is are forms used to express “existence of”.

The existence of an object, a thing, an animal, a person, etc.

Structure of there is:

There + verb to be (is) + a + the noun (in singular)

There is a church There is a house

We use there is with singular nouns (just ONE object)

The negative form of there is expresses the lack of existence of one thing. Something that does not exist.

The structure is:There + is + not + a + the noun

There is not a church There is not a house

In the negative form, a contraction can be use, where is and not, become just one word: isn’t

The structure is: is not

There + isn’t + a + the noun

There isn’t a church There isn’t a house

Is + there + a + the noun + ?

Is there a church ? Is there a house ?

In the interrogative form, we change the place of is at the beginning of the sentence.

The structure is:

We use there are with plural nouns (TWO or MORE objects)Structure of there are:

There + verb to be (are) + the plural noun

There are churches There are houses

The negative form of there are expresses the lack of existence of one thing. Something that does not exist.

The structure is:There + are + not + the plural

noun

There are not churches There are not houses

In the negative form, a contraction can be use, where are and not, become just one word: aren’t

The structure is: are not

There + aren’t + the noun in plural

There aren´t churches There aren’t houses

In the interrogative form, we change the place of are at the beginning of the sentence.

The structure is:

Are + there + the plural noun + ?

Are there churches ? Are there houses ?

The following chart shows the forms of “there is/are” in positive (+), negative (-), and questions (?)

Singular Plural

(+) There is a …

{chair, book, man}

There are…

[some] {chairs, books, men}

(-) There isn’t a …

{laptop, bathroom}

There aren’t…

[any] {laptops, bathrooms}

(?) Is there a …

{problem, shirt}

Are there…

[any] {problems, shirts}

In this picture of a town:There are twelve buildings (12 buildings “exist” in the town)There is a toy shop (One toy shop “exists” in the town)There are trees (Trees “exist” in the town)There is a bank (One bank “exists” in the town)There isn’t a café (One café does not exist in the town)There aren’t people on the streets (People do not exist in the picture)

Be careful when you translate from Spanish into English. Remember, follow the Structure in English.

Un ejemplo:Como se dice: ¿Hay algún restaurante cerca de aquí?ERROR: Is there any restaurant near here?(Es un error pues restaurant es singular pero any va con plural)CORRECT: Is there a restaurant near here?Are there any restaurants near here?

Short answers / Respuestas cortas

Is there a TV in your room?(+) Yes, there is.(-) No, there isn’t.

Are there (any) books?(+) Yes, there are. (-) No, there aren’t.

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*There también es usado para decir “allí”.