What is There is / There are?
Use there is / there are to say that something exists or to describe what is in a place. It answers the question “What is in…?” or “How many… are there?”
1 thing (singular)
One item or uncountable.
There is a bank near here.
2+ things (plural)
Two or more items.
There are three parks in my city.
Nothing (negative)
Something doesn’t exist.
There isn’t a cinema here.
Questions
Asking what exists.
Is there a supermarket nearby?
Formula
✅ Positive
There is+a/an + singular noun
There are+number + plural noun
❌ Negative
There isn’t+a/an + noun
There aren’t+any + plural noun
There aren’t+any + plural noun
❓ Question
Is there+a/an + noun?
Are there+any + plural?
Are there+any + plural?
Examples
There is a hospital on Main Street.
1 hospital = there is
There are five students in the room.
5 students = there are
There isn’t a parking lot here.
0 = there isn’t
Are there any good restaurants nearby?
Yes, there are. / No, there aren’t.
✗ Wrong
There are a cat in the garden.
a cat = singular → there is
✓ Correct
There is a cat in the garden.
singular → there is
💡 Memory Hack
Look at the noun AFTER “there is/are”
Don’t think about what comes before — look at what comes after. One thing (a dog, a table)? → there is. More than one (dogs, three tables)? → there are. The noun decides everything.