Make sentences with there was. The phrase There is \ There are in English

One of the most common constructions in English is the phrase there is there are. It locates an item or object. For example,

A cat is lying on the sofa. – There is a cat on the sofa.

This way we indicate where the cat is. The construction there is there are is always placed at the beginning of the sentence. If we are talking about one subject or object, we use the phrase There is, if we are talking about two or more – There are.

For example, sentences for there is there are:

There is a girl in the room. - The girl is in the room.

There are beautiful flowers in the garden. - There are beautiful flowers in the garden.

If a person begins to learn a language for the first time, then it is better to translate such sentences word for word into Russian. In this case, the above examples can be translated as - There is a girl in the room or There are beautiful flowers in the garden. Usually, no one talks like that, it’s just important to understand the meaning of what was said. A literal translation will help you correctly formulate phrases in English, and most importantly, begin to understand the logic of this phrase.

When you have worked out for yourself the correct construction of such sentences, then you can freely move on to a beautiful literary translation of constructions.

The first place to start studying turnover is:

There (is/are) + object/objects + location.

As you can see, in sentences with the construction there is/are, each word has its own specific place.

There is there are example sentences:

There is water in the bottle. - There is water in the bottle.

There is one mango on the table. – There is one mango on the table.

There are many people in the bus. – There are a lot of people on the bus.

There are four Chinese students in my class. – There are four Chinese students in my class.

Interrogative form and phrase there is there are in English

The interrogative form using this construction is created in this way: the verb to be is placed in first place before there.

Is there sugar on the table? – Is there sugar on the table?

Are there children on the playground? – Are there children on the playground?

The answers to such questions will look like this:

– if the answer is positive – Yes, there is (Yes, there are.)

– if negative – No, there is not (No, there aren’t)

If a sentence uses modal or auxiliary verbs, then they are placed first before the word there, and then the given verb to be will come after it.

Will there be magazines on the shelf tomorrow? – Will there be magazines on the shelf tomorrow?

You can use question words with these phrases, such as what, which, why, how long and when.

When composing a question, first we use these words, and then according to the standard scheme.

What is there in the box? - What's in the box?

How many countries are there in Africa? – How many countries are there in Africa?

Why are there cups on the bed? – Why are there cups on the bed?

Note: When answering a question in the singular, the plural may be used if several items are listed.

What is there in the room? – What is in the room?

There are two chairs and table in the room. - There are two chairs and a table.

Negative form with there is/there are constructions

If you study negative sentences, then the particle no or not appears here. We use it when we want to say that something somewhere is not, has not been or will not be. As a rule, for convenience, such turns are abbreviated there is not – there isn’t, and also there are not – there aren’t.

There is no window in the room. – There is not (isn’t) any window in the room. - There is no window in the room.

There are no animals in the wood. – There are not (aren’t) any animals in the wood. - There are no animals in the forest.

There is there are a rule of use in different tenses

Everything here is quite simple, we only use one verb to be in the appropriate tense.

There are flowers in the vase. - There are flowers in the vase.

There was a pen on the table yesterday. – Yesterday there was a pen on the table.

There has been a shop on this street recently. – Recently there was a store on this street.

There will be new building next to the school. – A new building will appear next to the school.

Here you can take a lesson on the topic: English phrases There is and There are. English phrases There is and There are.

In English there is a special form of expressing the arrangement of things. For these purposes they are used rpm there is And there are. In this lesson we will look at in what cases and how to use these phrases correctly, as well as some of their distinctive features.

In Russian, we literally translate the phrase there is/ there are - there is, but it is believed that sentences starting with such a phrase are better translate from the end omitting the word "there". For example:

There is one chair in the room. - There (is) one chair in the room.
There are some chairs in the room. - There (are) several chairs in the room.

1. The English quite often use the phrase there is/ there are, mainly to mark where and what is located, so the location is present in the sentence. The phrase itself there is/ there are is customary to put at the beginning of a sentence. Let's look at examples:

There is a knife on the table. - There (is, lies) a knife on the table.
There are five balls in the box. - There (are) five balls in the box.

Please note that the phrase there is is used before subjects singular, and there are - in front of the subjects in the plural. Order affirmative proposals next: Subject (There) - Predicate (to be) - Object (Object) - Circumstance (Adverbial modifier).

Often in sentences with the phrase there is/ there are used in addition numerals, articles or indefinite pronouns. For example:

There is a cup of tea on the table. - There (is) a cup of tea on the table.
There is one stove in the kitchen. - There (is) one stove in the kitchen.

There is some furniture in the hall. - There (are) some furniture in the hall.

There are six couples in the game. - There (are, participate in) six pairs in the game.
There are some houses nearby. - There (are) several houses nearby.

As can be seen from the examples, with countable objects in the singular, you can use the numeral one, or the indefinite article a/an; with uncountable nouns (for example, furniture) the indefinite pronoun some is usually used; and with countable objects in the plural - any other numerals, or the indefinite pronoun some (also several - several).

Negative sentences with the phrase there is/ there are formed by adding the negative particle “not” to the verb to be. As a result, we get negative phrases there is not/ there are not, which can be reduced to the forms there isn't/ there aren't. Let's look at examples:

There isn't a door in this room. - There is no door in the room.
There isn't any milk in the refrigerator. - There is no milk in the refrigerator.
There aren't any people at the store. - There are no people in the store.

From the examples it is clear that in negative sentences, the pronoun some is replaced by the pronoun any. The same change occurs in interrogative sentences.

In many sentences with the phrase there is/there are, the word “no” is also often used to give the sentence a negative connotation. However, abbreviations in such phrases are not allowed. For example:

There is no ham on this sandwich. - There is no ham on this sandwich.
There are no palyers in this team. - There are no players in this team.

To create questions with the phrase there is/there are, it is enough to apply inversion, i.e. swap the subject with the predicate. For example:

Is there one TV in the bedroom? - Yes, there is. -No, there isn't. -Is there a TV in the bedroom? -Yes. -No.
Is there any sugar in the tea? -Yes, there is. -No, there isn't. -Is there sugar in tea? -Yes. -No.
Are there any windows in the castle? -Yes, there are. -No, there aren't." - Are there windows in the castle? - Yes. - No.

As can be seen from the examples, short answers to general questions also contain the phrase there is/there in the affirmative or negative form.

With the revolutions there is/ there are you can also build special questions with question words who? what? why? etc. (everything except the word where?). In such questions, interrogative words are put first, and then the sentence is constructed as in a general question. Let's look at examples:

What is there in your bag? - What (is) in your bag?
Why are there so many policemen in the bank? - Why are there so many police officers in the bank?
Who is there in your car? -Who's there in your car?
How many students are there in the classroom? - How many students are there in the class?

2. Special attention should be paid phonetic side there is/there, as it contains some of the most difficult sounds in English to pronounce. These are the sounds /ð/ and /зə/. Try reading the following sentences, paying attention to pronunciation:

There is /ðзəiz/ a leather jacket in the car. - There (is) a leather jacket in the car.
There are /ðзəa:/ some bird feathers on the hat. - The hat (has) several bird feathers.

There isn't /ðзəiznt/ any water in the kitchen. - There is no water in the kitchen.
There aren't /ðзəa:nt/ any toothbrushes in the bathroom. - There are no toothbrushes in the bathroom.

Is there /izðзə:/ a book on the table? - Is there a book on the table?
Are there /a:ðзə:/any glasses in the cupboard? - Are there glasses in the kitchen cabinet?

3. The phrase there is/ there are is also used in past tense. Since the main verb in the phrase is the verb to be, then in the past tense the singular phrase is - there was, and the plural phrase is there were. Let's look at different forms of proposals:

There was a supermarket in this area of the city. - There was a supermarket in this part of the city.
There were some interesting pistures in the gallery. - There were several interesting paintings in the gallery.

There wasn't a computer in the study. - There was no computer in the office.
There weren't any horses in the village. - There were no horses in the village.

Was there any food in the refrigerator? - Was there food in the refrigerator?
Were there any Italian restaurants in the city? - Were there any Italian restaurants in the city?

4. The phrases there is/ there are are often found in English proverbs and sayings.

There are none so blind as those that will not see. - There are none more blind than those who do not want to see.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. - There is more than one way to skin a cat. / Not by washing, but by rolling.
There’s no bad weather, there are bad clothes. - There is no bad weather, only bad clothes.
There's no smoke without fire. - There is no smoke without fire.
There's no place like home. - There is no better place than home./ It’s good when visiting, but at home it’s better.
There's no time like the present. - There is no better time than now. / Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. - There are no free lunches./ Free cheese is only in a mousetrap.

Thus, we have become familiar with one of the most frequently used English phrases, there is/ there are, its general characteristics, as well as some grammatical and phonetic properties. Since the phrase there is/there are is mainly used to indicate the location of various objects, you can practice composing your own sentences. Take a look around. What do you see? Where are the things you are used to? etc. The more examples you have, the better!

- this is one of the cases when in the Russian language there is no direct, one hundred percent equivalent of the English construction, so its use often causes difficulties for beginners.

Meanwhile, turnover there is \there are is used quite often not only in business or scientific language, but also in ordinary everyday speech. This is one of the constructions that you need to use and understand without the slightest difficulty, fully automatically. Fortunately, its use is not difficult; the most important thing is to understand the meaning of this construction.

The meaning of the construction There is \ There are

Literally there is translates as “is/is present here”, and there are as “there are/are present” (plural). But it would be more accurate to say that the phrase there + to be is used to denote the presence or presence of something or someone.

For example:

There is an old church in this town. – There is an old church in this city.

There are ten or eleven kids in the classroom. – There are ten or eleven children in the class.

There is always a way out. – There is always a way out.

There are two ways out of this tunnel. – There are two exits from this tunnel.

What is the difficulty of saying There is \ There are?

The difficulty is that, as can be seen in the examples above, this construction is not translated into Russian in some unique correct way - you need to select a translation according to its meaning. The words themselves there is \there are, as a rule, are not translated literally (“there is here”), their meaning is conveyed by other means.

This can be the verb “to be”, “to appear”, “to be present”.

There is a nice pizza place in this mall. - In this shopping center There is good pizzeria.

There is only one player. Where are the others? - Here present only one player. Where are the others?

But in Russian, verbs like “to be” are often omitted.

Good, now there are all four players. Deal the cards. - Okay, here now (There is) all four players. Deal the cards.

What other door? There is only one door. -What other door? Here (There is) only one door.

In general, you need to remember that if you want to say something about presence/absence object or person in some place, then you can often use the phrase there is \ there are.

There is a chair here. – There is an armchair.

There are many mirrors in this house. – There are many mirrors in this house.

Just don’t confuse presence/absence with possession, with the case when we say that a certain person possesses something. In this case, the meaning of the verb (to have) is appropriate:

I have a chair. – I have an armchair.

I have many mirrors in my house. – I have many mirrors in my house.

Using the phrase There is \ There are in tables with examples

The phrase there is \ there are can be used in the affirmative (as in the examples above), negative and interrogative forms. It can also be used in different tenses: present, past and future. The tables below provide examples of the use of there is \ there are in tenses Simple(Indefinite),

This phrase is also used in tenses Perfect(in Continuous and Perfect Continuous is not used), but much less often than in Simple, especially in colloquial speech. Examples are given in the table at the end of this article, however, this topic refers to “advanced”, and the phrases themselves are rarely used, some are practically not used at all, even in written speech.

Affirmative form

In the affirmative form, the phrase there is \ are is used as follows:

There is \there are in the affirmative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Simple	There is There is a shop here. There is a store here.	There are There are four wires. There are four wires here.
Past Simple	There was There was a statue at this place. There was a statue at this place.	There were There were a few coins on the table. There were several coins on the table.
Future Simple	There will be There will be a car in the backyard. There will be a car in the backyard.	There will be There will be two more TV’s in the room. There will be two more TVs in the room.

Sometimes a sentence lists several items, with the first being singular and the second plural (or vice versa). In this case, the turnover there + to be agrees in number with the noun that comes after it.

For example:

There is a small box and two bigger boxes. – There is a small box and two larger boxes.

The noun comes first in the singular, so the verb is also singular – there is.

There are two big boxes and one bag. – There are two large boxes and one bag.

The first in the list is the plural noun, the verb takes the corresponding form - there are.

Negative form

The negative form can be constructed in two ways:

1. Using the particle not.

In this case, abbreviations are usually used: there is not = there isn’t, there was not = there wasn’t, there were not = there werent’, there will not be = there won’t be.

There isn't a chair here. - There is no chair here.

If after not If there is a plural countable noun or an uncountable noun, then the pronoun is added - not any.

There aren't any chairs here. - There are no chairs here.

There isn't any oil here. – There is no oil here.

After no goes a noun without an article or pronoun any.

There is no chair (chairs) in the room. – There is no chair(s) in the room.

There is no oil here. – There is no oil here.

There is a slight stylistic difference between these variants, which is understandable to native speakers. In addition, some set expressions are used either with no, or with not simply because it is customary.

There is no point in doing this! – There is no point in doing this!

It is generally believed that negation with not more categorical, but in fact everything depends heavily on the context and situation. In my opinion, no matter how you say it, no or not, you will be understood in any case.

There is \there are in negative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Simple	There is no\isn’t There is no(isn’t a) tool in the box. There is no tool in the box.	There are no aren't There are no(aren’t any) beds in the bedroom. There are no beds in the bedroom.
Past Simple	There was no\wasn’t There was no(wasn’t an) engine in the car. The car had no engine.	There were no wasn't There were no(weren’t any) mistakes in his work There were no mistakes in his work.
Future Simple	There will be no(won't be any) help. There will be no help.	There will be no \ There won’t be any There will be no(won’t be any) corrections. There will be no corrections.

Question form

To construct an interrogative form, you need to move the verb to be to the beginning of the sentence.

There is \there are in interrogative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Simple	Is there..? Is there Anyone there? Is there anyone there?	Are there..? Are there two or three exits? Are there two or three exits?
Past Simple	Was there..? Was there a bottle in the fridge? Was there a bottle in the refrigerator?	Were there..? Were there any losses? Were there any losses?
Future Simple	Will there be..? Will there be a new school in the neighborhood? Will there be a new school in the area?	Will there be..? Will there be more guests here? Will there be any more guests here?

Video lesson on the topic There is \ There are

The topic There is \ There are is explained in sufficient detail and very clearly in the video tutorial on Puzzle English. Let me remind you that on this service for learning English you can not only watch free video lessons, but also go through exercises (composing phrases).

Turnover There is \ There are in Perfect tenses (for advanced level)

Attention: this topic is very difficult, advanced and full of nuances. It is by no means for beginners. I provide a general overview of it for informational purposes only.

This phrase is sometimes used in Perfect tenses, although much less often than in Simple tenses, especially in colloquial speech. To complete the picture, I will add a table of the use of there is \ there are in Perfect. It makes sense to study it only if you already know what it is:, and understand the specific features of their meaning.

As in the above types of tense forms, in constructions like There has been we are talking about an action that took place before the moment of speech, the result of which is relevant at the time of speech.

Affirmative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Perfect	There has been There has been fish in the fridge. There was fish in the refrigerator.	There have been There have been some problems lately. There have been some problems lately.
Past Perfect	There had been There had been and wedding that afternoon at the church. In the afternoon there was a wedding in the church.	There had been There had been two weddings that afternoon at the church. During the day there were two weddings in the church.
Future Perfect	There will have been There will have been a lot of money in the safe. There will be a lot of money in the safe.	There will have been There will have been Anna's letters in the mail. There will be letters from Anna in the mail.
Negative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Perfect	There has been no(hasn’t been a) guest here. There was no guest here.	There has been no\hasn’t been There has been no(hasn’t been any) people in my house. There were no people in my house.
Past Perfect	There had been no\hadn’t been There had been no(hadn’t been a) key in the lock. There was no key in the lock.	There had not been There had been no(hadn’t been any) glasses on the table. There were no glasses on the table.
Future Perfect	There will have been no \ There won’t have been There will have been no(won’t have been any) profit in that. There will be no benefit in this.	There will have been \ There will have been no There will have been no(won't have been any) casualies. There will be no casualties.
Question form
	Singular	Plural
Present Perfect	Has there been..? Has there been any progress with this? Is there any progress on this?	Have there been..? Have there been any obstacles? Were there any obstacles?
Past Perfect	Had there been..? Had there been a wall there? Was there a wall?	Had there been..? Had there been any mistakes? Were there any mistakes?
Future Perfect	Will there have been..? Will there have been help? Will there be help?	Will there have been..? Will there have been any new episodes? Will there be new episodes?

Notes:

Some of these forms, e.g. Will there have been..? theoretically possible, but in practice they are extremely rare even in written speech.
In the negative form, as in the case of Simple tenses, variants can be used no\not.
Sentences starting with Had there been... more often they are of the third type, but with a special rearrangement.

If there had been no rain, we would have died. “If it hadn’t been for the rain, we would have died.”
Had there been no rain, we would have died. – If it weren’t for the rain, we would have died (the meaning is the same, but there is “strengthening”).

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Even if you have just started learning English, you have probably come across a sentence that begins with the phrase there is or there are. From our experience, we know that even students with an average level of knowledge have difficulty using there + be. Not because this construction is difficult to understand, but because in Russian there is no direct equivalent to the phrase. This is why students often forget to use it. In this article we will talk about possible use cases there + be, we will give examples and a small test at the end of the article.

What does there + be mean

So, what does RPM mean? there is / there are in English and when should we use them? You know what the word is there translated as “there”, and the verb to be- be. If you combine two words, you get “there is.” This is where the function of this construction follows: when we want to communicate that something is somewhere, we use there + be.

There is a new shopping center in that village. – There is a new shopping center in that village.

There are many books in room 145. – There are many books in room 145.

Please note that the revolutions themselves there is / there are are not translated into Russian. Conventionally, they can be translated into Russian with the words “is”, “is available”, “exists”, “is located”. That’s why we so want to start translating literally from Russian it exists , it there. But you can't do that. And also sentences that start with there+be, we start translating from the end, that is, we first tell the place where something is located.

How to use there is / there are in English

Statement

We can use there + be in all times: present, past and future. Accordingly, for this we need to change the form of the verb be.

There is There is bottle of milk. (there is now, therefore the present tense and form of the verb to be “is”)

There was a bottle of milk in the refrigerator. - In the refrigerator was bottle of milk. (used to be, so the past tense and form of the verb to be “was”)

There will be a bottle of milk in the refrigerator. - In the refrigerator will bottle of milk. (will be in the future, so the future tense and form of the verb to be “will be”)

And also to be is unique in that it can have a singular or plural form. If after there + be there is a singular noun, then take is or was. And if it comes in the plural - are or were. A will be– is universal and can be used with both singular and plural forms.

Now let’s present a plate that clearly shows everything:

There	Be	What/who is	Where is
There	is are was were will be	something	somewhere

Negation

A negative sentence can be composed in two ways: either using a negative pronoun no, or using a negative particle not and pronouns any. And in this way you will say that something is missing somewhere.

There is no table in the room. = There is not(isn't) any table in the room. – There is no table in the room.

There are no souvenirs on the shelf. = There are not(aren't) any souvenirs on the shelf. – There are no souvenirs on the shelf.

Question

The question is easy to construct: take the desired form be and put it at the beginning of the sentence.

Is is there a table in the room? – Is there a table in the room?

Were are there many people at the party? – Were there a lot of people at the party?

Features of using there + be

If we are listing objects and the first word is in the singular, then we should take to be singular ( is/was):

There is a lamp and four tables in the room. – There is a lamp and 4 tables in the room.

If we list objects and start with the plural, then we should take the plural ( there are):

There there are four tables and a lamp in the room. – There are four tables and a lamp in the room.

It is important to pay special attention to countable and uncountable nouns.

There is a lot of sugar in coffee. – There is a lot of sugar in coffee. (sugar is an uncountable noun, it does not have a plural form, so we use the verb is, despite the word “a lot” - a lot)

There are a lot of oranges in the box. — There are a lot of oranges in the box. (we can count oranges, the word has a plural so we use are)

As you can see, from a grammatical point of view, this construction is not difficult to use. It is important not to forget to do this. In conclusion, as always, we invite you to take the test and download our sign. This way you will always have access to this information.

The phrase there is/there are in English is presented with examples.

This phrase in English serves to indicate the presence or absence of something or someone in a certain place. Thus, the phrase there is/there are names an object or person who is or is not located in a certain place. Such sentences have the following structure.

Version there is / there are -> Subject -> Circumstance of place

When translating such sentences, the turnover should be translated as is, is, is available.

Study some examples.

There is a mistake in this text - There is an error in this text.
There are trees in his garden - There are (are) trees in his garden.
There is an interesting story in the book - There is an interesting story in the book.
There is a monument near my house - There is a monument near my house.

It should be remembered that if several subjects are placed after the phrase there is/there are, then the verb to be must correspond to the subject that is placed after it. Study some examples.

There is a park and two shopping centers near my office - There is a park and two shopping centers near my office (since the first subject - park - is singular, the phrase there is should be used).
There are five hospitals and a cemetary in our city - In our city there are five hospitals and one cemetery (since the first subject - five hospitals - is plural, the phrase there are should be used).

Let's consider the phrase there is/there are in the past tense, that is, in the Past Simple. In the past tense, there is/there are is changes to was, and are changes to were. Thus, the phrase takes the form there was/there were. Consider a few examples.

There was a restaurant in this area - There was a restaurant in this area.
There were fifteen chairs in that room - There were fifteen chairs in that room.
There was an airport and two railway stations in our city - In our city there was an airport and two train stations.

Let's consider the phrase there is/there are in the future tense, that is, in Future Indefinite. In the future tense, there is/there are is composed using the auxiliary verb will - there will be.

There will be three referees in the championship - There will be three referees at the championship.
There will be a new fountain here - There will be a new fountain here.

It must be taken into account that if the sentence contains the adverbial adverbial place there - there, then it is placed at the end of the sentence, despite the fact that the phrase there is/ there are is used at the beginning. This is explained by the fact that in the phrase there is/there are, the word there does not have an independent meaning. Study some examples.

There are three visitors there - There (are) three visitors.
There was a candid camera there - There was a hidden camera.

Explore interrogative form turnover there is/there are .

In order to make an interrogative sentence, the verb to be must be placed before the word there. Study some examples of interrogative sentences in the present tense.

Is there a piano in your assembly hall? - Is there a piano in your assembly hall?
Are there hotels in your city? - Are there hotels in your city?

Consider interrogative sentences in the past tense.

Was there a poster in his room? - Was there a poster in his room?
Were there musicians in the restaurant? - Were there musicians in the restaurant?

Consider interrogative sentences in the future tense. Here you should note that will is placed before there, and the verb to be is placed after there.

Will there be your friends there? - Will your friends be there?
Will there be a manager at the meeting? - Will the manager be at the meeting?

If in such sentences the question is posed to the subject, then the interrogative pronoun what or who is used, which is the subject.

What is there in your room? - What is in your room?
Who is there in your room? - Who (is) in your room?

If the question is asked to determine the subject, then interrogative words such as how much, how many, and what are used, which must be placed before the subject.

How many students are there in the auditorium? - How many students are in the audience?
How much water is there in the swimming pool? - How much water is in the pool?
What pictures were in his room? - What paintings were in his room? (in such questions it is not necessary to put there).
There were old and new pictures - Old and new pictures.

Consider negative sentences with the phrase there is/there are. To make negative sentences, you must use the negative particle not.

Study examples of negative sentences in the present tense.

There is not a shop near my house - There is no store near my house.
There are not factories in our city - There are no factories in our city.

As you noticed, in such sentences the particle not is placed after the verb to be.

Study examples of negative sentences in the past tense.

There was not a manual in the box - There was no manual in the box.
There were not cars in the tunnel - There were no cars in the tunnel.
As in the previous examples, the particle not follows the verb to be.

It should be noted that the following abbreviations are used in writing and in colloquial speech: there is not = there isn't, there are not = there aren't, there was not = there wasn't, there were not = there weren't.

Study negative sentences in the future tense.

There will not be many students at the conference - There will not be many students at the conference.
There won't be any journalists at the meeting - There will be no journalists at the meeting.

As can be seen from the above examples, to form negative sentences in the future tense, the auxiliary verb will is used in the negative form - will not, which is placed after the word there. In writing and in colloquial speech its abbreviated form will not = won"t is used.

To compose negative sentences with the phrase there is/there are, you can use not only the particle not, but also the negative pronoun no. It should be remembered that if no is used in a sentence, then the article is not used. This type of negation is mainly used in the case of uncountable abstract and real nouns. Study some examples.

There is no sugar in my cup - There is no sugar in my cup.
There is no time to go there - There is no time to go there.
There is no electric lighting here - There is no electric lighting here.