There is and there are
Definition
There is and there are introduce a person or thing and say that it exists or is present. Use there is before a singular or uncountable noun and there are before a plural noun.
Examples
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There is a pharmacy near the station.
A singular place is introduced for the first time.
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There are three messages on your phone.
The noun messages is plural, so the verb is are.
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There is some rice in the cupboard.
Rice is uncountable, so it takes the singular form is.
Introducing something vs. locating it
The café is near the station.
The café is already identified; the sentence tells us where it is.
There is a café near the station.
The café is introduced as something that exists in that area.
The café is gives the location of a known café. There is a café introduces the café as new information.
The same pattern works in questions and negatives
The verb moves before there in questions, and not is added after the verb in negatives. Any is common with plural and uncountable nouns in both forms.
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Is there any milk left?
The verb comes before there to form a question.
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There aren't any buses after midnight.
The negative plural form is there aren't.
Common mistakes
There have two windows in the room.
There are two windows in the room.
English uses a form of be, not have, in this pattern.
There is three chairs by the door.
There are three chairs by the door.
A plural noun normally takes there are in careful standard English.
Quick check
Question 1 of 3
Which sentence correctly introduces one new object?
A key is singular, so the correct pattern is There is a key on the table.Which sentence correctly introduces several people?
Four people is plural, so it takes there are. The plural of person here is people.Which question is formed correctly?
With the uncountable noun coffee, the correct question is Is there any coffee? The verb comes before there.Nice work — you've completed the quick check.
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