Knowing how to use ‘there is’ and ‘there are’ can be tricky! Let’s look at some examples on using ‘there is’ and ‘there are’ properly as well as the negative forms ‘there are not’ and ‘there is not’. I’ve also got some free downloadable there are and there is worksheets in this post to give you some practice with these phrases. Let’s get to it!
The Grammar of There is and There are
You need to learn how to use these phrases in both the affirmative cases and the negative cases. Let’s first go over the affirmative cases of ‘there is’ and ‘there are’.
Using the Phrases in the Affirmative
We use there is for singular nouns and to say something exists or is in a place.
There is a girl at the table.
There is a slide at the playground.
We use there are for plural nouns.
There are three cats in the yard.
When speaking people will often say ‘there’s’ instead of ‘there is’, but there is no shortened form of ‘there are’.
There is a mat to wipe your feet. >>>> There’s a mat to wipe your feet.
There are three children. >>>> There’re three children.
When people are speaking casually, they will often use ‘there is’ in place of ‘there are’ even if it isn’t grammatically correct.
There’s a slide, merry-go-round, and monkey bars at the playground.
Instead of
There are a slide, merry-go-round, and monkey bars at the playground.
Using the Phrases in the Negative
The negative phrases for ‘there is’ are: there is not, there’s not, and there isn’t (there is not).
There isn’t any ice cream left (isn’t any + some uncountable noun)
There isn’t a dog at this house. (isn’t a + singular noun)
There is not any food in the cupboard.
There’s not a person on the street.
For the negative of ‘there are’, we use: there aren’t, there is no, or there are not for plural cases.
There aren’t any dogs at the park. (there aren’t + plural noun)
There are no pets allowed in the hotel. (there are no + plural noun)
There is no food. (there is no + uncountable noun)
Questions using Is There and Are There
When asking a question, we say ‘Is there’ for singular nouns or uncountable nouns and ‘Are there’ for plural.
Is there a bathroom nearby?
Are there kids in this neighborhood?
To answer a question, you would say ‘Yes, there is…’ or ‘No, there isn’t’ or ‘Yes, there are’ or ‘No, there aren’t.’
Is there a bathroom nearby? Yes, there is.
Are there kids in this neighborhood? No, there aren’t. Or No, there are not.
Here is a chart to summarize all the uses in one place for you.
Now that you know the rules for using there is, there are, there isn’t, and there aren’t, let’s practice! I’ve included several worksheets for you to download and practice using these phrases. These would be great for your students to practice with! You can download them here.
This is the first worksheet:
This is a multiple choice worksheet for you or your students to practice choosing the correct forms of there is, there are, are there, is there, and more!
This is a worksheet meant to be done with a partner. Partners take turns asking each other question that must be answered using there is, there are, or a negative form of the phrase. Or, you can cut the questions into strips and students can take turns drawing a question and reading it to his or her partner.
For this worksheet, students use the picture to answer the questions. They can answer them orally or write them on a separate piece of paper.
Looking for errors is a great way to practice a new grammar skill, so that is what students will be doing in the worksheet above. Students will spot the error and then rewrite the corrected sentence on the line provided.
For the last there is there are worksheet, students use the picture to fill in the blank with the correct phrase.
I hope you’ve found this information helpful. You can download the worksheets for your personal or classroom use here.