English phrases There is and There are. English phrases There is and There are

In English, the phrase there is/are is very common. This construction has no analogue in the Russian language, which makes it difficult to understand and use. What makes it special?

How and when to use there is/ there are? You can be sure that you have asked yourself this question more than once. Let's figure out what the difficulties of using this phrase are.

Semantic side

Construction there is (there are) reports the location of a particular object or person, information about which is still unknown. The rule of phonetics says that the phrase must be pronounced together, the main emphasis in the sentence should be on the subject.

There is a man in the window. There (is) a person in the window.
There are flowers in the garden. There (are) flowers in the garden.

Let’s give two sentences that are identical in meaning at first glance and look at what the main difference is:

The cup is on the table. The cup (is) on the table. – This proposal emphasizes place, where the object is already known to the interlocutor.

There is a cup on the table. There (is) a cup on the table. – This proposal emphasizes precisely item, located in a certain place already known to the interlocutor (on the table).

Thus, turnover there is/there are used for transmission new information about an object located in a known place.

Translation

Sentences according to the rule with the construction there is/there are are translated from the end, that is, from the adverbial place or time. Moreover, the word there is omitted, but in some cases it can be used twice if it makes sense to indicate the meaning “there”.

There are some mistakes in the test. – There are several errors in the work.

There are nobody there. - There is nobody there.

Subject

1. Before a countable noun in singular. The article a is used in number.

2. Before an uncountable noun or noun. in plural number is used some, any, many, a lot, much, few, little, two, three.

There are some roses in the garden.

There isn't any juice in the box.

There were many pupils in the camp.

Constructing a sentence with turnover

There + to be + subject + adverbial of time or place.

There + is + a book + on the table.

There + are + many happy days + in summer.

Are or Is?

Are used if the subject - noun is in the plural:
Is used if the subject - noun is singular:

There are chairs at the table. - There are chairs near the table.

There is a chair at the table. - There is a chair near the table.

Tense forms of the verb to be in there is/there are!!!:

Present Indefinite: there is/there are – there is, located;

Past Indefinite: there was/there were – was, was;

Future Indefinite: there will be (one form for plural and singular) – will be located;

Present Perfect: there has been/there have been – was, was;

Past Perfect: there had been (one form for plural and singular) - was, was;

There were many people in the meeting. — There were a lot of people at the meeting.

There have been a lot of pears in the garden this year. – There were a lot of pears in the garden this year.

Different types of sentences with the construction there are/there is.

The phrase we are studying is often used in question phrases. various types. The construction of a negative sentence with this construction also has a special feature. Let’s consider each separately.

General question:

To be + there + subject + adverbial of time or place?

Is + there + a phone + in mother’s room? – Is there a telephone in mom’s room?

Short answers with there is/there are

a) Yes/No, there + is/isn’t.

Is + there + a phone + in mother’s room? – No, there isn’t

b) Yes/No, there + auxiliary verb (was, were, will, has, have, had)/ auxiliary. verb+ not

Were there many people in the class? – Yes, there were.

Special question:

Special question word (what) + to be + there + circumstance of time or place?

What are there on the bed? -What's on the bed?

Separated question:

To be + there + subject + or + alternative subject + adverbial of time or place?

Is there tea or milk in the cup? Is there tea or milk in the cup?

Negative sentence:

1. There + to be + not + subject + adverbial of time or place.

There aren’t any photos in the box. – There are no photographs in the box.

There isn’t a pen in the pencil-case. - There is no pen in the pencil case.

2. There + to be + no + subject + adverbial of time or place (this is a more common option).

There are no people in the street. - There are no people on the street.

There was no juice in the bottle. - There is no juice in the bottle.

Substitutes to be

Instead of to be, other verbs can be used that do not change the meaning of the construction, but give a different meaning to the entire sentence. Substitutes can be modal or intransitive verbs, close in meaning to to be (live, exist, stand, lie, come):

There mustn’t be any mistakes in your work. – There should be no mistakes in your work.

There lived a model in the village. — A model lived in the village.

If you use this element correctly English grammar, then your speech will be more lively and interesting. Follow the rule there is (there are) and you will easily master all the features of this design.

The phrase there is/there are is a speech construction that begins to be studied as early as initial stage teaching English. If you need to talk about the location of an object or person, then you will need to use this phrase. The phrase there is/there are in English means “there is, is located.” But for a correct translation into Russian, you need to study some rules for handling this construction.

General concept

So, the phrase there is/there are is used quite often in English, since we constantly need to indicate the position of this or that object. And this phrase helps to do this in the best possible way. For example, you need to say that there are three doctors in a certain room.

With the help of turnover we get the following sentence: There are three doctors in the room. In this case, we draw your attention to the order of words in the sentence.

There is (thr is) There are (thr are)

location

We see that the phrase begins with a phrase, then an object is indicated, and only at the end the place where this object (or person) is located is noted.

Why does the turnover look this way? What is the difference between thr is and thr are? The answer is simple. The first option is used to describe one object or person, and the second to describe two or more objects.

• Thr is a dog on the bed. - A dog is sitting on the bed.
• Thr are dogs on the bed. - There are dogs sitting on the bed.

There is/there are: translation into Russian

It is important to understand that the sentence in which this phrase is used cannot be translated literally. The correct way to do this is to start at the end of the sentence. This will make you sound beautiful in your native language.

• Thr is a book on the table. - A book is on the table.
• Thr are dogs in the yard. - There are dogs running in the yard.

I would like to note that the phrase there is/there are has several translation options. It all depends on the specific object and situation. When translating, the main thing is to maintain correctness and plausibility, and not to deviate from the norms of the literary language.

Temporal features

The next thing to say when discussing the phrase there is/there are is different shapes the verb “to be” when using the phrase in different times. As you know, the strong verb to be has many forms, and in our case, a different form is used in each time period.

Present tense
Past tense
Future

All of these forms can be part of this construction, since the phrase there is/there are can be used both in the present tense and in the past or future.

• Thr is a kitten in the corner. - There is a kitten sitting in the corner.
• Thr are students in the hall. - There are students in the hall.
• Thr was a car near the shop. - There was a car near the store.
• Thr were green trees in the center of the square. - There were green trees in the center of the square.
• Thr will be a lot of pupils in the bus. - There will be many students on the bus.

We see from examples how the form of the verb changes and how the phrase changes. The translation style is also clearly visible: we change the meaning of the verb depending on the specific situation.

Questions, answers and denials

The phrase there is/there are, the rules of formation of which we discuss here, can be used not only in declarative sentences. We can also use it to pose questions, answer them and use it in negative constructions. Let's look at all these options in turn.

The construction of the question occurs by simple rearrangement of words. Depending on the type of question, the verb is placed in first or second place:

• General question: Is thr a dog in the park? - Is there a dog in the park?
• Special question: What is thr in the river? - What is there in the river?
• Alternative question: Is thr a book or a pen in the bag? - Is there a book or pen in the bag?
• Dividing question: Thr is a boy on the bench, is not there? - It's the boy on the bench, isn't it?

The answer to general or divisive questions using this phrase will be the option Yes, there is or No, there isn’t (depending on the speaker’s intention) or Yes, there are / No, there aren’t, if the form was used in the sentence plural.

Negative sentences can be constructed in two ways:

• use of the negative particle not,
• use of the pronoun no.

If we choose the first option, then in addition to the negative particle, we must use the pronoun any, which means the absence of something or someone.

• Thr is not any dress in my room. - There is not a single dress in my room.
• Thr are not any houses in this place. - There are no houses in this place.

By using the second option, we can do without unnecessary additional words, and the negative pronoun itself will relate more to the noun than to the verb:

• Thr is no phone in my pocket. - There is no phone in my pocket.
• Thr are no birds in this forest. - There are no birds in this forest.

Important points in using there is/there are

Translation into Russian of such a phrase is not the only feature that should be taken into account. There are a few more points that should not be forgotten when using this phrase. There are variants of proposals when we need to indicate the location of not one object, but several, that is, apply an enumeration. In this case, the following rule will apply: when listing several objects or people, you need to take into account the word that is located immediately after the phrase itself. The choice of verb form will depend on it:

• Thr is a book, 2 pens and a bag on the sofa. - On the sofa there is a book, two pens and a bag.
• Thr are 2 pens, a book and a bag on the sofa. - There are two pens, a book and a bag on the sofa.

This is easy to understand and remember, since in Russian this construction also looks different (lie, lie).

It is also worth remembering about nouns that can be countable and uncountable. If a word cannot have a plural form, then only the form suitable for the singular should be placed in front of it, regardless of the accompanying words:

• Thr is a lot of water in this glass. - There is a lot of water in this glass (water does not have a plural).
• Thr are a lot of glasses on the table. - There are many glasses on the table (glasses can be used in the plural).

Training

In order to always write and speak correctly, you need to practice using the phrase there is/there are. The exercises for this topic are simple and aimed at developing automatic memorization, as well as training to quickly select the correct form. For example:

• Put the correct form of the verb. Thr...a kite in the sky. - A kite is flying in the sky.
• Put a question to the sentence. Thr are a lot of girls at the party. - There are a lot of girls at the party.
• Translate the sentence. On the table there is a computer, many books and notebooks.

Every person learning English encounters the phrase there is/there are. And already at the very basic level. Often this phrase causes difficulty, since there is no analogue in the Russian language. It is worth understanding that the structure of sentence construction in English differs from the grammar of the Russian language. To use the there is/are construction correctly, you don’t need to try to construct an English sentence “in Russian.” You need to start thinking in English. If you change your thinking, this turnaround will not be difficult.

Why is this turnover needed?

The construction is used if you need to indicate the presence or absence of any person or object in certain place. In other words, if you need to say that something or someone is located, exists in a place you know, or happens at some time, you use there is or there are. For example:

There is a dog in the doghouse.
There (is) a dog in the kennel.

There are some trees near the house.
There (are) several trees near the house.

Please note that turnover is used when we are talking about some new (unknown) object that is located in a place already known to us.

Here are two similar proposals:

1. There is a map on the wall.
2. Map on the wall.

In the first sentence, in a place known to us (on the wall) there is an object unknown to us (a map). Therefore in English it will sound like this:
There is a map on the wall.

In the second case, we report where (in what place) an object known to us (map) is located. In English we will say:
The map is on the wall.

If you understand this difference, then using there is/there are will no longer be a problem.

Construction of a sentence

You, most likely, have already noticed that the construction there is/there are is at the beginning of the sentence, contrary to the rules of construction English sentences. The subject in this case is placed after this phrase. Schematically, this can be depicted as follows:

The order of words in such a sentence cannot be changed.

It is worth noting that the circumstance may be missing in the sentence:

There are two armchairs.
Here (here) are two chairs.

There is some milk.
Here (here) is milk.

If the subject is a countable noun in the singular, then the article is placed before it - a.

WITH uncountable nouns and plural nouns use the pronouns some, any, a lot, many (with countable nouns), much (with uncountable nouns). And also cardinal numbers.

How to translate a sentence

The meaning of the phrase there is/there are corresponds to the Russian “there is”, “is located”, “lies”, “is available”. It is better to translate the sentence from the end, that is, from the circumstances of revenge or time. The word there is most often not translated into Russian. For example:

There is a plant near the window.

We begin to translate from the circumstances: where? - by the window. Then we translate the subject: what? - plant. We get the following translation:

There (is, is) a plant near the window.

Is orare

Let's take a closer look at when to use there is and when there are. If the subject is singular and uncountable, we put – is. If the subject is plural, then you need to use – are. Everything is simple here.

But what if after the turn there are several subjects, that is, objects are being listed? In this case, the verb to be usually agrees with the subject that immediately follows it.

There is a cat and three kittens on the couch.
There is a cat and three kittens on the sofa.

There are three kittens and a cat on the couch.
There are three kittens and a cat on the sofa.

Various temporary forms

The phrase there is/there are can be used in temporary forms Indefinite and Perfect. The verb to be will always take the third person form:

Present Indefinite: there is/there are

Past Indefinite: there was/there were

Future Indefinite: there will be

Present Perfect: there has been/there have been

Past Perfect: there had been

Future Perfect: there will have been

For example:

There was a letter here. Where is it?
There was a letter here. Where is it?

There will be snow tomorrow.
It will snow tomorrow.

Formation of the question

For education general issue the verb to be in the appropriate form must be placed before the word there:

Is there a movie theater in this town?
Is there a cinema in this city?

Were there many visitors in the café yesterday?
Were there a lot of people in the cafe yesterday?

A short answer can be given to these questions:

Yes, there is/are. - Yes.
Yes, there was/were. - Yes.

No, there isn’t/aren’t. - No.
No, there wasn’t/weren’t. - No.

With the turnover there is/there are you can build and special questions. In this case, the question word is placed first in the sentence, and then the word order is the same as in a general question.

When posing a question to the subject, interrogative pronouns are used: What? or Who?

What is there for dinner today?
What's for dinner today?

A question to determine the subject can begin with question words: How many? How much? What? Which?

How many apple trees are there in your garden?
How many apple trees are in your garden?

Negative form

A negative sentence with the phrase there is/there are can be formed in two ways.

Firstly, using the negative particle not, which must be placed after the verb to be. IN colloquial speech Usually the shortened negative form is used:
in the present tense there isn’t or there aren’t.
in the past tense there wasn’t or there weren’t.

IN negative sentence before singular countable nouns it is placed indefinite article, and before plural nouns and before uncountable nouns - the pronoun any.

There isn’t an air bag in my car.
My car doesn't have (any) airbag.

There weren’t any messages for me yesterday.
There were (no) messages for me yesterday.

Secondly, negation can be expressed using the pronoun no. It is placed before the noun and is its definition:

There's no milk in this store.
There is no milk in this store.

There are no trains to Moscow today.
There are no trains to Moscow today.

The phrase there is/there are is used quite often in English. To make your speech competent, lively and interesting, it is important to learn how to use this turn of phrase in colloquial speech. For practice in English the channel “English – speak freely!” has been created. in a programme . On this channel you will meet like-minded people learning English and will be able to put your knowledge into practice.

The further you delve into learning English, 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 enough of 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 first 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.

Order of words 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.

1 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 is subject to standard rules in English. 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 affirmative proposal make a question.

Statement

Question

A 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...

By opening any English textbook for entry level and after reading its contents, you will find the topic "There is (there are)". Indeed, this topic is covered at the very beginning of the study, but often it is not properly grasped. Therefore, this article will be useful not only for beginners, but also for anyone who feels that they do not fully understand this topic.

The first problem with the construction there is (there are) is that it does not translate into Russian. This is not entirely true, because it can be translated, but it will not sound very “Russian”. Word "there", used in the construction, translates as " there". Verb " is" (or " are"for plural) can be translated as" There is" or " located".

There is... - There is / There is... (about one subject):

There are... - There are/There are... (several items):

The second problem with the structure in question is that many do not understand why it is needed at all. Let's look at two similar sentences that can be said in the same situation:

The book is on the table.- The book is on the table.	There is a book on the table. - There's a book on the table.
Where is the book? The book is on the table. About what this proposal? About the book or about the table? This sentence is about a book and describes its location.	What's on the table? There is a book on the table. What is this proposal about? About the table or about the book? This sentence is about the table, describing what exactly is on the table.
The flowers are on the book. - Flowers on a book.	There are flowers on the book. - There are flowers on the book.
Where are the flowers? Flowers on a book. What is this proposal about? About flowers. The sentence describes their location.	What's on the book? There are flowers on the book. What is this proposal about? About the book. Describes what is on the book.

So, we see that the there is / there are construction is used to describe a place. Sentences that do not use a construction serve to describe an object, not a place.

So, first rule, which you need to remember:

Construction there is (there are) used to indicate that something is/is/exists in a certain place.

Of course, when we translate sentences from there is into Russian, we do not use the word "there", we usually start the translation from the place:

There is a man in the room. - There is a person in the room.

There is a car in the garage. - There's a car in the garage.

There are trees in the park. - There are trees in the park.

There are animals in the zoo. - There are animals in the zoo.

There is a book on the table. - There is a book on the table.

There are flowers on the book. - There are flowers on the book.

Let's consider another option for using the structure. Often we want to say sentences like:

There are many good writers.
There are many English textbooks.
There is one problem.

As you can see, these sentences do not specify a specific place, but rather imply it. We can add "in the world", "in our country", "in my life" and so on, but this will be inappropriate, because the interlocutors already understand what they are talking about we're talking about. To translate such sentences into English and preserve the meaning, you simply cannot do without the construction there is (there are) :

Second rule uses:

The construction there is (there are) is used when you want to indicate that something exists in general, in some situation, but without specifying a specific place.

Now let's talk about forms. The construction there is (there are), in addition to the affirmative, has a negative and interrogative form:

Note the abbreviations: there is an abbreviation there's, and the statement there are has no abbreviation. But in negations, both forms can be contracted.

Negative form used when you want to say that something is not in a certain place:

Interrogative form used to ask whether something is in a certain location:

As with statements, the specific location may not be specified, but may be clear to interlocutors based on the context or situation:

Short answers for questions about the design there is (there are) must also contain the word there :

The construction there is (there are) has forms of other tenses, in particular, past and future tenses.

The construction there is (there are) is used to indicate that something is in a certain place. After the mention you need to use it is or they are :

To practice using the design there is (there are) choose a place (for example, your apartment, your office, your desk) and make as many sentences as possible about what is in this place (There is/are), and about what is not there (There is not/are not). You can then ask questions using the question form. (Is/are there?)

The construction there is (there are) is often used with words and their derivatives.

Use the knowledge you have gained and communicate in English fluently. I wish you success!

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