The document discusses using "there is/are" to describe facts about a house that a man found for his wife. It provides examples of using "there is" to describe a singular item like a backyard, and "there are" to describe plural items like nearby schools. It also discusses using contractions like "there's" and negatives like "there isn't/aren't" to describe what is not present. Finally, it provides practice questions for using "there is/are" to ask and answer questions about neighborhoods.

1. There is / There are
The Perfect House
9
Focus on Grammar 1
Part VIII, Unit 26
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells
Copyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Our New House
Honey, I found the
perfect house. You
are going to love it.
Oh, that’s great!
Tell me all about it.

3. Our New House
There is a big
backyard.
There’s air
conditioning.There are good
schools nearby.

4. Present Singular
There is a big
backyard.
There is air
conditioning.
Use there is or there’s to state facts about a
person or thing.

5. Present Plural
There are good
schools nearby.
There are a lot
of windows.
Use there are if the noun is plural.

6. Are there trees in
the yard?
Is there a
fireplace?
There aren’t any trees,
but there’s a big
driveway for my car.
There isn’t a fireplace, but
there’s a big space for my
flat screen TV.
There’s even an extra
bedroom for my mother!
There isn’t a
swimming pool,… Hmmm . . . Great.Is there a
swimming pool?
The Perfect House
… but there’s a
basketball court.

7. Negative
To state a negative fact, you can use there
isn’t a / an or there aren’t any.
There isn’t a garage.
There aren’t any trees in the
yard.
There isn’t a fence.
There aren’t a lot of neighbors.
present singular
present plural
present singular
present plural

8. There’s a basketball court.
Contractions
Use there’s in speaking and informal writing.
There’s even an extra bedroom
for my mother.

9. Practice 1
Look at the information about Mrs.
Chan’s class. Make sentences using
there is, there are and information
about this class.
Mrs. Chan’s History Class
Quiz Students Homework Readings
This Week 0 18 very little many
Example: This week, there isn’t a quiz.
This week, there are 18 students.
This week, there is very little homework.
This week, there are many readings.

10. Questions
Put is, or are before there to make a
question.
Is there a swimming pool?Are there mice in the house?

11. Short Answers
Use there in questions and short answers.
Is there a
porch?
Yes, there is.
Are there any
problems in the
basement?
No, there
aren’t.

12. Practice 2
Ask a partner questions about his
or her neighborhood. Use is there,
are there and short answers.
lots of housesExample:
a good school
many children
a highway five years ago
restaurants
problems
cafés five years ago
parks
noise
Are there lots
of houses in
your
neighborhood?
No, there
aren’t.

13. References
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and its
licensors. All rights reserved.