There Is vs. There Are
🔤 1. What do “there is” and “there are” mean?
We use there is and there are to say that something exists or is in a place.
For example:
- There is a book on the table.
- There are three books on the table.
The basic idea is:
There is / There are = something exists or is present.
📘 2. The most important rule
The choice between there is and there are depends on the noun after it.
One thing → There is
- There is a cat outside.
- There is a problem.
- There is an apple in the bag.
- There is a teacher in the room.
Two or more things → There are
- There are two cats outside.
- There are several problems.
- There are five apples in the bag.
- There are three teachers in the room.
Easy rule
| Number | Use |
|---|---|
| One thing | There is |
| Two or more | There are |
Think:
ONE → IS
MANY → ARE
🧩 3. “There is” + singular noun
Use there is with one person or one thing.
Examples:
- There is a dog in the garden.
- There is a restaurant near my house.
- There is an orange on the plate.
- There is one student in the classroom.
Notice that the noun is singular:
- a dog
- a restaurant
- an orange
- one student
🔍 4. “There are” + plural noun
Use there are with two or more people or things.
Examples:
- There are two dogs in the garden.
- There are three restaurants near my house.
- There are some oranges on the plate.
- There are twenty students in the classroom.
The nouns are plural:
- dogs
- restaurants
- oranges
- students
🧠 5. Be careful with singular and plural nouns
This is one of the biggest beginner mistakes.
Look at the noun, then choose is or are.
One
There is a chair in the room.
Many
There are four chairs in the room.
Another example:
There is a child in the park.
There are five children in the park.
Even though child → children is an unusual plural form, it is still plural, so we use are.
🗂️ 6. “There is” with a/an
Because a/an usually means one, we normally use there is.
- There is a problem.
- There is a bus outside.
- There is an email in my inbox.
- There is an old building nearby.
Not:
- ❌ There are a problem.
- ❌ There are an email.
Remember:
a/an = one → there is
🎯 7. “There are” with numbers
When you have a number greater than one, use there are.
- There are two windows.
- There are ten people.
- There are three bottles.
- There are many students.
Compare:
- There is one window.
- There are two windows.
💬 8. “There is” with uncountable nouns
Some nouns are not normally counted as individual items.
Examples:
- water
- milk
- rice
- money
- information
- furniture
We usually use there is with these nouns.
- There is some water in the bottle.
- There is some rice in the bowl.
- There is a lot of money in the account.
- There is some information on the website.
- There is some furniture in the room.
Even though there may be a lot of water, rice, or furniture, these nouns are treated as singular in this structure.
So:
There is some water.
Not:
🔤 9. Negative sentences
To say that something does not exist or is not present, add not.
There is → There isn't
- There isn't a bathroom upstairs.
- There isn't any milk in the fridge.
- There isn't a bus at the station.
There are → There aren't
- There aren't any chairs here.
- There aren't enough tickets.
- There aren't many people outside.
Easy rule
There is → There isn't
There are → There aren't
📘 10. “There isn't” vs. “There aren't”
Again, look at the noun.
One
There isn't a problem.
Many
There aren't any problems.
Another example:
There isn't a book on the desk.
There aren't any books on the desk.
🧩 11. Questions with “there is” and “there are”
To make a question, put is or are before there.
One thing
Is there + singular noun?
- Is there a bank nearby?
- Is there a problem?
- Is there a bathroom here?
- Is there an ATM in this building?
Many things
Are there + plural noun?
- Are there any restaurants nearby?
- Are there two bathrooms?
- Are there enough chairs?
- Are there many people outside?
Compare
Is there a supermarket nearby?
One supermarket.
Are there any supermarkets nearby?
More than one / asking about supermarkets in general.
🔍 12. Short answers
Questions with “Is there...?”
Is there a problem?
- Yes, there is.
- No, there isn't.
Is there a bus stop here?
- Yes, there is.
- No, there isn't.
Questions with “Are there...?”
Are there any tickets left?
- Yes, there are.
- No, there aren't.
Are there any shops nearby?
- Yes, there are.
- No, there aren't.
Notice:
Is there...? → Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.
Are there...? → Yes, there are. / No, there aren't.
🧠 13. “There is” is not the same as “It is”
Beginners sometimes confuse these two.
There is
Use there is to introduce something that exists or is present.
There is a dog outside.
You are saying:
A dog exists/is there.
It is
Use it is to talk about something that you already know about.
There is a dog outside. It is very big.
First, you introduce the dog:
There is a dog outside.
Then you talk about the dog:
It is very big.
🗂️ 14. “There are” is not the same as “They are”
The same idea applies to plural nouns.
There are
Introduce or say that things exist:
There are some birds in the tree.
They are
Talk about those birds after we know about them:
They are very noisy.
So:
There are three birds in the tree.
They are very noisy.
Think:
There is/are → introduce something
It/They → talk about something already known
🎯 15. “There is” vs. “It is”
Compare these carefully:
There is a phone on the table.
You are saying that a phone is there.
The phone is expensive.
You are talking about the phone.
We can combine them:
There is a phone on the table. It is expensive.
Not:
And not:
💬 16. “There are” vs. “They are”
Compare:
There are three boxes in the room.
You are introducing the boxes.
They are heavy.
You are describing the boxes.
Together:
There are three boxes in the room. They are heavy.
🔤 17. “There” can also mean a place
The word there can have another meaning.
For example:
Put the bag there.
Here, there means a particular place.
But in:
There is a bag on the chair.
“there” is part of the structure there is.
This can feel strange at first, so don't worry about the technical explanation.
Just remember the pattern:
There is + one thing
There are + many things
📘 18. “There is” with a list
This can be confusing when a sentence has several nouns.
For beginners, focus on the noun immediately after there is/are.
For example:
There is a table and four chairs in the room.
In everyday English, people often use there is informally with a list like this, especially when the first item is singular.
But when learning the basic rule, remember:
There is a table.
There are four chairs.
You don't need to worry about the more advanced cases yet.
🧩 19. Common mistakes
Correct:
Why?
A cat = one → there is
Correct:
Why?
Three cars = more than one → there are
Correct:
Why?
People = plural → there are
Correct:
Why?
Water is uncountable → there is
Correct:
Why?
Restaurants = plural → are there
Correct:
Why?
A problem = one → is there
Correct:
Why?
Two children = plural → there are
🔍 20. A very easy decision method
When you want to say something exists, ask:
Step 1: What is the noun?
For example:
___ a bicycle outside.
“Bicycle” = one.
So:
There is a bicycle outside.
Another example:
___ four bicycles outside.
“Bicycles” = more than one.
So:
There are four bicycles outside.
Step 2: Check the noun
| Noun | Correct |
|---|---|
| a car | There is a car. |
| an egg | There is an egg. |
| one person | There is one person. |
| two cars | There are two cars. |
| many eggs | There are many eggs. |
| three people | There are three people. |
| some water | There is some water. |
🧠 21. The connection with “is” and “are”
The choice between is and are follows the same basic singular/plural idea.
- is → one
- are → more than one
With there:
- There is a problem.
- There are two problems.
With normal sentences:
- The problem is serious.
- The problems are serious.
So the key idea is:
One → is
Many → are
🗂️ 22. Quick memory guide
One thing
There is
There is a book.
Many things
There are
There are five books.
Negative
There isn't → one
There isn't a book.
There aren't → many
There aren't any books.
Question
Is there...? → one
Is there a book?
Are there...? → many
Are there any books?
🎯 23. The most important rule
Don't look at the word there.
Look at the noun.
There is a computer.
One computer.
There are three computers.
Three computers.
So remember:
ONE → THERE IS
MANY → THERE ARE