Suggestions with there to be. Construction there is (are)

Constructions There is And There are are used to indicate the presence of something in a certain place, the location of objects or their quantity. In this construction the word there stands formal subject and does not carry any meaning (it cannot be translated as “ here», « there"), so such sentences are translated from the end.

There is a mouse in the kitchen!- There's a mouse in the kitchen!
There are some cookies in the box.— There are some cookies in the box.

There was a man in the room.– There was a man in the room.
There were men in the room waiting for you.– There were men in the room who were waiting for you.

I think there will be a lot of people at tomorrow’s concert.– I think there will be a lot of people at tomorrow’s concert.

Statement

In affirmative sentences, the formal subject always comes first there, followed by the verb to be in the required form and “ present subject"(object or person). Verb form to be depends on the number of the noun and the tense in the sentence.

There is And there was used for singular objects or concepts or uncountable nouns.

There are And there were used for plural items.

If in the statement after revolutions there is / there was / there will be the countable subject is singular, it is used with the indefinite article a / an. Definite article the practically not used.

There is = There’s (abbreviation)
There's a cat in our garden.- There is (some) cat in our yard.

If this is a set of objects, then a numeral is used, indicating their number or word some(some). Also used before uncountable nouns some.

There are two cats in our garden.- There are two cats in our yard.
There are some cats in our garden.- There (are some) cats in our yard.

There's some milk in the fridge.— There is some milk in the refrigerator.
There was some food in this lunchbox.— There was food in this lunchbox.

In the statement after the construction there is/ there was/ there will be pronouns may be used someone(someone) and something(something).

There was something strange in his room.“There was something strange in his room.”
There was someone asking for your phone number.- Someone asked for your phone number.

Negation

Negative sentence with there is /there are is formed using a negative particle not after the verb to be in the required form.

In denial with there is not/ there wasn't / there will not be singular nouns are used with the indefinite article a/ an(no negative pronouns, since in English there can only be one negative).

There wasn't a cat in our garden.
There won't be a party next week.- There will be no party next week.

In a negative sentence, nouns in plural or uncountable nouns are used with a pronoun any(some, none).

There is not = there isn’t (abbreviation)
There isn't any money in his wallet.

There are not = there aren’t
There aren't any pencils on my desk.

In denial after there is not / there wasn't / there will not be pronouns may be used anybody, anyone(someone, no one) and anything(something, nothing, nothing).

There isn't anyone in the room.- There is no one in the room.
There wasn't anything interesting in that city. “There was nothing interesting in that city.”

Also, a negative sentence can be formed using a negative pronoun no before a noun, regardless of its number. In this case, the particle is not placed not after to be .

There was no cat in our garden.– There was no cat in our yard.
There there are no pencils on my desk.– There are no pencils on my desk.
There is no money in his wallet.- There is no money in his wallet.

In a negative sentence after there is /there was /there will be pronouns may be used nobody,no one(nobody) and nothing(nothing, nothing).

There there is no one in the room.- There is no one in the room.
There was nothing interesting in that city.“There was nothing interesting in that city.”

Question

Interrogative sentence with there is / there are is formed by placing the verb to be in the required form at the beginning of the sentence.

As in negative sentences, questions use singular nouns with the indefinite article a / an.

Is there a cat outside?– Is there a cat on the street?
Will there be a party next week?– Will there be a party next week?

In questions, plural or uncountable nouns are used with a pronoun any(some kind).

Were there any pencils on my desk?– Were there (some) pencils on my desk?
Is there any money in your pockets?– Do you have (some) money in your pockets?

In questions after is there / was there/ will there be pronouns may be used anybody, anyone(someone) and anything(something).

Is there anything I can do for you?– Can I help you with something?

Short answers to general questions also use the construction there is/ there are in the affirmative or negative form at the right time.

Is there a cat outside?– Is there a cat on the street?
Yes, there is.- Yes, I have.
No, there isn't .- No.

Was there anybody in my room?– Was there someone in my room?
Yes, there was.- Yes.
No, there wasn't.- No.

In special questions, the question word comes first, followed by the word order of the general question. After interrogative expressions how many/ how much followed by the noun to which they refer.

Who is there in my room?-Who's in my room?
Why are there so many people?– Why are there so many people there?
How much money is there in your wallet?- How much money is in your wallet?

Features of use

There is / There are can be used with almost all tenses and modal verbs, as well as with the construction to be going to. In this case, only the verb changes to be.

There has been an accident this morning. I hope everything is alright now.– There was an accident this morning. I hope everything is fine now.
She said that there had been nothing to drink at Matt’s party.“She said there were no drinks at Matt's party.”

There must be some money in my pocket.- There must be some money in my pocket.
There may be a dog in their garden.– Perhaps there is a dog in their yard.
There should have been a letter from Craig in my mailbox.“There should have been a letter from Craig in my mailbox.”

There is going to be a charity concert next week.– Next week they are going to hold a charity concert.

Listing items

When listing multiple items after a construct there is / there are the verb to be is put in singular or plural form depending on the number of the noun that follows it.

There is one cat and one puppy in Jack’s house.– There is one cat and one puppy in Jack’s house.
There is a cat and two puppies in Jack's house.– There is one cat and two puppies in Jack’s house.
There are two puppies and a cat in Jack’s house.– There are two puppies and one cat in Jack’s house.

There with other verbs

The verb to be in the construction there is / there are can be replaced by other verbs that express the meaning of presence, such as to exist(to be, to exist), to lie(lie), to live(live), to come(to come, to happen), to stand(stand), etc.

There was a big statue in this park.– There was a big statue in this park.
There stood a big statue in this park.– There was a large statue in this park.

There lives an old woman in this house.– An elderly woman lives in this house.
There came some noise from his room.- There was (some) noise coming from his room.

Turnover ‘there be’ /‘there is/ there are’, …/ (* Further in the text in the examples the abbreviation “THR” is used) from a grammatical point of view is a deviation from the norm. However, like many other deviations in the English language, it is regularly used in speech. It can be equally used both in oral and written speech, both in informal settings and in formal communication.

The use of this phrase is associated with a number of semantic ones, such as, for example, semantic ones: identification with the impersonal sentence ‘it is ...’, or the adverb /there/; grammatical: incorrect use of forms of the verb ‘be’, adding a verbal compliment to the predicate, etc.

Vs. 'there/there'

What is the difference between the phrase ‘there is/ there are’ and the adverb ‘there’?

‘There’ is often a common adverb of place, answering the question “Where?”, “Where?”, for example:

Are you comfortable there? / Are you comfortable there?

The book is there on the table/ The book is there, on the table.

In this case, the semantic emphasis falls on it, because it reflects the main “intrigue” of the statement.

However, ‘there’ can also act as a relative subject rather than as a place indication. This means that it becomes a pronoun, which nominally takes on the role of the subject, while the semantic subject is positioned as the object of the predicate. A semantic subject can be substituted for 'THR' without affecting grammar or overall meaning. The only thing is that some semantic connotation will be lost. In this turn, the pronoun 'THR' is not stressed and is pronounced casually.

Thus, /THR is/THR are/ is used to introduce new information and focus attention on it.

Vs.'it is'

How does the phrase ‘there is/ there are’ differ from the formal pronoun ‘it’ in the impersonal sentence ‘it is’? To do this, you need to briefly consider the topic and rheme. The theme is a background part that does not provide fundamental information; rhema is a key word (phrase) that plays a decisive role and is emphasized. ‘it’ is a fictitious representative of a logically non-existent subject, or existing somewhere in the context, and the rheme here is what happens to it, or what state it is in, what characteristics it has. Whereas ‘THR’ is a “warning” of the subject, which is semantically (logically) equivalent to the object of the predicate, and the rheme is, as a rule, someone or something. That is, the focus is on presence, presence, perhaps numbers.

Not used with Continuous, as an object or in passive voice (Passive V.)

In fact, the phrase 'there is/ there are' in English is a periphrasis of 'smth is', 'many are', where the verb 'be' appears in its semantic meaning - “to take place”, “to be”, “to be”, “to be present”, “to exist”, “to occur”. That is why it is not used with constructions of the Continuous aspect group (respectively, Perfect Continuous), and with the passive voice. For the same reason, it is not customary to use it with personal pronouns - it would sound like /THR am I/I am/, /THR are they/They are/, which is already implied, and therefore does not carry fundamentally new information, and from a semantic point of view is meaningless.

The rule for using the phrase ‘there is/ there are’

It follows from this that the construction can be used with:

Nouns with dependent words;

In the following constructions (only in active voice):

In all four times;

In the indefinite and perfect aspects.

The relative subject ‘There’ can be used in different tense-aspect constructions. in order to shorten the time, it is usually called simply the phrase ‘there is / there are’. The construction scheme for all constructions is as follows: the pronoun ‘There’ opens the sentence. It is followed by the auxiliary verb ‘be’ in one of its forms, depending on the situation; followed by a noun with dependent words (if any), i.e. noun group.

THR is work to be done/ There is work that needs to be done.

THR will be a party tonight / Today there will be a party.

THR was no damage/ There was no danger.

THR have been two telephone calls/ Two telephone calls have been received.

Turnover ‘there is/there are’ in singular and plural

When a noun group after a verb is in, you need to use the plural form of the verb:

THR are many reasons for this/There are many reasons for this.

THR were two men in the room/There were two people in the room.

We also use plural verbs before phrases denoting relative empirical remarks, such as ‘a number (of)’, ‘a lot (of)’, ‘a few (of)’:

THR were a lot of people camped there.

THR are only a few left/ There are only a few left.

If a noun in a group is singular or uncountable, then the verb is used in the same form:

THR is one point we must add here/ There is one point that we must add here.

THR isn’t enough room in here/ There isn’t enough space here.

The verb is also used in the singular if several objects or persons are mentioned in the sentence, but the first noun following the verb is in the singular. number, or is uncountable:

THR was a man and a woman.

THR was a sofa and two chairs/There was a sofa and two chairs.

Cases of use

We use the phrase ‘there be’ (‘there is/ there are’, …) when we say:

About the existence or presence of people and objects:

THR are two people who might know what happened/ There are two people who may know what happened.

About something that happened:

THR’s a meeting every week/Meetings are held every week.

THR was a fierce battle/There was a fierce duel.

About number or quantity:

THR are forty of us, I think.

Modal verbs

The phrase ‘there is/there are’ can also be followed by ‘be’, ‘have been’ (in addition to those for the future and the future in the past):

THR could be a problem.

THR should be a change in government/There must be a change in government.

THR can’t have been anybody outside/ Nobody could be on the street.

THR must have been some mistake.

Abbreviations

The phrase 'there is/there are' in English in colloquial speech or an informal situation allows the contraction of the verb 'be' or modal verb and its adjoining to 'there' through an apostrophe ("'s" - 'is' or 'has', " 're' 'are', ''ll' - 'shall' or 'will', ''ve' - 'have', ''d' - 'had', 'should' or 'would'):

THR's no danger/No danger.

THR'll always be a future for music/There will always be a future for music.

I knew THR’d be trouble/I knew there would be a problem.

THR's been quite a lot of research into it.

I didn’t even know THR’d been a murder/I didn’t even know that a murder had been committed.

‘Appear to be’

Also, in addition to the existential verb 'be' - that is, meaning “to be”, “to happen” - the less unambiguous “seems to be taking place”, “there is a feeling that is happening...” and similar phrases with verbs like 'appear' and 'seem':

THR appears to be a vast amount of confusion on this point.

THR seems to have been some carelessness.

The more you begin to appreciate and love your familiar native Russian language. It seems to us that in Russian there are no confusing tenses, no regular/irregular verbs, no articles. Everything is simple and clear. But this, of course, is not true. And the Russian language has its own complex rules and confusing definitions. In this article we will look at the slightly confusing construction there is/are, which is quite unusual because it is at the beginning of a sentence and is usually not translated in any way.

How and when to use there is/there are?

We use this construction when we need to say about location any item. That is, that something (someone) somewhere located. You need to immediately remember that we always put it at the beginning offers. I think you have already guessed that we use there is when we are talking about one subject, and there are when we are talking about several.

We will literally translate the first sentence as follows: "There there is (is) book on the shelf". Of course, in Russian it sounds ugly, and no one talks like that in real life. But at the first stage it is important to understand meaning what we say .

This literal translation will help you speak correctly and, most importantly, understand the logic of this construction. But when you say this phrase many times and there is no need to translate it word for word, then you can move on to a beautiful literary translation: There are two books on the shelf.

Word order in a sentence
with there is/are

Remember to put “there is/ there are” at the beginning when you talk about the location of something. This will help your interlocutor understand from the very beginning that we are talking about finding something somewhere. In such a sentence, each word is in its specific place. Let's look at the word order in a sentence.

1st place	2nd place	3rd place	4th place
There	be (in the required form)	What (who) is	Where is
There	is	a cat	in the room
There	are	cats	in the street

Negative form c there is/are

The negative form is formed by adding a particle not. It is used when you want to say that something no/wasn't/won't be anywhere. We can cut there is not = there isn't And there are not = there aren't.

Also with the construction there is/ there are the word is often used no (No). But abbreviations in such phrases are not allowed, because not is a particle that can be abbreviated, and no is a word that cannot be abbreviated.

How to ask questions with there is/are?

The construction of questions with this construction follows the standard rules of the English language. To ask a question, just move the words is/are to the beginning of the sentence, before the word there. Let's look at an example of how to turn an affirmative sentence into an interrogative one.

Statement

Question

Positive response will look like this.

At negative answer we add the particle not.

To reinforce this, let's look at another example.

How to ask questions using question words?

With the phrases there is/there are, you can also build sentences using question words. Here are some of them:

what - what,
which - which,
why - why,
how long - how long,
when - when.

In such questions, we put these words first, and then the sentence is built as in a simple question.

There is/are in past and future tenses

If you want to talk about something that was or will be somewhere, then for this it is enough to change form of words is/are (verb be). We will look at how this verb changes in great detail in the next article. For now, just remember that to change the tense using the construction there is/are, you need to change the verb.

Since there is/there are is mainly used to say where is this or that object, then you can easily practice using this construction. Take a look around. What do you see? Where are the things you are used to? So, There is...

Many people, knowing the basics of the English language, can always get confused in the use of the phrase there is / there are or even neglect it. Of course, this limits our combinatorics in constructing new sentences, and it also gives us a chance to misunderstand our interlocutor. So let’s try to abstract ourselves and understand this topic.

Turnover there is / there are typically used to determine the location of objects or if the sentence does not use a verb.

The structure of the sentence is as follows: there is/are + noun + adverbial place.

There is is only used for singular nouns:

There is a cat in the garden - the cat (is) in the garden;
There is a beach down here – There (is) a beach;
There is a new club near the college – There is a new club near the college;

You can also most often hear the abbreviated form there is – there’s:

There’s an apple on the table - there is an apple on the table;
There’s a refrigerator in the kitchen - there is a refrigerator in the kitchen;
There’s a pen on the school desk - a pen (lies) on the desk;

The indefinite article a/an can be replaced by the numerator one:

There is one chair in my room – in my room (there is) one stool;

There are is used for plural nouns:

There are twenty students in the class - there are twenty students in the class;
There are four girls and two boys in her family - in her family (there are) 4 girls and 2 boys;
There are three hospitals in town – there are three hospitals in the city;

Using there at the beginning of a sentence has no effect on using there at the end of that sentence:

There are big gray clouds over there - there (are) big gray clouds;

For clarity, the sentence there is/are is better translated from the adverbial place.

The affirmative sentence there is/are can be converted into an interrogative sentence. To do this, just swap there and is/are:

Is there a train to Moscow? – Is there a train to Moscow?
Is there a good restaurant in the street? – Is there a good restaurant on this face?
Are there a lot of children in the pool? – Are there many children in the pool?
Are there thirty or thirty one days in this month? – Are there thirty or thirty-one days this month?

And how to give a short answer to a similar question:

Is there money in your pocket? – Yes, there is – No, there isn’t
Are there a lot of policemen in the city? – Yes, there are – No, there aren’t

Affirmative sentences with the phrase there is/are can also be converted into negative sentences by adding the negative particle not:

There is not a knife in your bag - there is no knife in your bag;
There isn’t a battery in the phone - there is no battery in this phone;
There are not a instruments in my hangar - there are no instruments in my hangar;
There aren’t handsome guys in the hotel - there are no handsome guys in this hotel;

Or you can add the negative word no:

There is no sugar in this cup of coffee - there is no sugar in this cup of coffee;
There are no wheels in that car - there are no wheels in that car;

Thus, it is worth noting once again the use turnover there is / there are. There is is used only with singular nouns, respectively, there are with plural nouns. Both turns serve to explain, define or make statements about the location of an object. The order of construction of the phrase is first there is/are, then the noun and at the end the adverbial clause. The phrase there is/are can take a negative and interrogative form. And it is advisable to translate sentences from there is/are from the adverbial location.

Perhaps you want to clarify something on this topic. Leave a comment below with a question