Learn when and how to use There is /There are correctly in an English sentence.

1. THERE IS
THERE ARE
M U S T K N O W E N G L I S H W I T H J E N
W H E N D O I U S E T H E R E I S / T H E R E A R E ?

2. WHEN DO I USE THERE IS?
In English use ‘there
is’ with a singular
noun.
In English use 'there
is' with uncountable
nouns.

3. USE 'THERE IS' WITH A SINGULAR NOUN +
A/AN
• In a sentence with a singular noun use ‘a/an’ for affirmative, negative, and
questions.
– Affirmative 'there is' sentence with a singular noun
• There is an apple in the kitchen.
– Negative 'there is' sentence with a singular noun
• There isn’t (is not) a pear in the kitchen.
– A 'there is' question with a singular noun
• Is there an apple in the kitchen?

4. USE 'THERE IS' WITH UNCOUNTABLE
NOUNS+ SOME OR ANY
• In sentences with uncountable nouns use ‘some’ for affirmative, ‘any’
for questions, and 'any' with negative sentences.
– Affirmative 'there is' sentence with an uncountable noun.
• There is some sugar in the kitchen.
– Negative 'there is' sentence with an uncountable noun.
• There isn’t (is not) any sugar in the kitchen.
– A question using 'there is' with an uncountable noun.
• Is there any sugar in the kitchen?

5. WHEN DO I USE THERE ARE?
Use ‘there are’ with a plural noun.

6. USE 'THERE ARE' WITH A PLURAL
NOUN +SOME OR ANY
• In a positive/affirmative ‘there are’ sentence use ‘some’ before the
noun.
– There are some apples in the kitchen.
• In a question use ‘any’ before the noun.
– Are there any apples in the kitchen?
• In a negative sentence use 'there are not' or 'there aren’t any’.
– There aren’t any apples in the kitchen.

7. 'THERE IS' AND 'THERE ARE' SIDE BY SIDE
THERE IS
• Use 'there is' with a singular noun.
• Also use 'there is' with uncountable
nouns.
• In a sentence with a singular noun use
‘a/an’ for affirmative, negative, and
questions.
– There is an apple in the kitchen.
– There isn’t (is not) a pear in the
kitchen.
– Is there an apple in the kitchen?
• In sentences with uncountable nouns use
‘some’ for affirmative, ‘any’ for
questions or a negative sentence.
– There is some sugar in the kitchen.
– There isn’t (is not) any sugar in the
THERE ARE
• Use ‘there are’ with a plural noun.
• In a positive/affirmative ‘there are’
sentence use ‘some’ before the noun.
– There are some apples in the kitchen.
• In a question use ‘Any’ before the noun.
– Are there any apples in the kitchen?
• In a negative sentence use there are not
or aren’t ‘any’.
– There aren’t any apples in the kitchen.

8. REVIEW CHART
USE ‘A/AN’, ‘SOME’, ‘ANY’
BEFORE THE NOUN IN ‘THERE IS/ARE’ SENTENCES
Affirmative/positiv
e
Negative Question
Singular –
There is
A / An A / An A / An
Uncountable -
There is
Some Any Any
Plural –
There are
Some Any Any

9. L E T ’ S P R A C T I C E !
There ___ apples in the kitchen.
There ___ a pie in the kitchen.
There are _____ blackberries too.
___ there _____ cups?
There is _____ coffee.
___ there ____silverware?
__there _ cooking pot?
There ___ ____plants.
Is there ____ meat in the kitchen?
Is there __ clock?

10. L E T ’ S P R A C T I C E !
There are apples in the kitchen.
There is a pie in the kitchen.
There are some blackberries too.
Are there any cups?
There is some coffee.
Is there any silverware?
Is there a cooking pot?
There are some plants.
Is there some meat in the kitchen?
Is there a clock?

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