There is/There are/There isn't/There aren't

​"There is" or "There's" vs
"There are"

By Catherine McCaw

We use "there is"t o say that something exists or is in a place.

- There is a bridge in the park.

We use "there is" for singular nouns and "there are" for plural nouns.

- There is a restaurant in the station.

- There are two cafés in the shopping centre.

We can say "there's" instead of "there is". We often say this when we speak. It is less common to abbreviate "there are" , but "there're" can be used.

- There is a restaurant in the station. > There's a restaurant in the station.

- There are two cafés. > There're two cafés.

​For negatives, we use "there isn't" or "there's not" (= there is not) for singular and "there aren't" (= there are not) for plural.

- There isn't a pharmacy near the hotel.
- There aren't any restaurants near the hotel.

We often use there isn't a + singular noun, there isn't any + uncountable noun and there aren't any + plural noun.
- There isn't a café near here.
- There isn't any milk.
- There aren't any toilets in the park.

To show that the negative is important, we also often use there is no + uncountable noun and there are no + plural noun.
- There's no milk.
- There are no toilets in the park.

Multiple Choice

______ two banks on the high street.

• There is

• There are

Multiple Choice

____ a beach very near the city centre.

• There's

• There are

Multiple Choice

____ opinions that say luck was the most important factor in improving life expectancy.

• There is

• There are

Multiple Choice

_____ enough food to go around.

• There is'nt

• There aren't

Multiple Choice

_____ any lakes near here.

• There isn't

• There aren't

Multiple Choice

How many parks ____ in your city?

• is there

• are there

Multiple Choice

____ three restaurants on my street

• There is

• There are

Multiple Choice

______ a café at the station?

• Is there

• Are there

Multiple Choice

_____ schools in my neighbourhood.

• There isn't any

• There are no

Multiple Choice

_____ two airports in Beijing.

• There is

• There are