There Is and There Are

Using There Is and There Are

In English, we use the phrases there is and there are to talk about things around us. We use there is to say that something exists, or that something is in a specific place. Here are some examples:

There is a dog.

There is a new house on my street.

There are two blue houses on my street.

There is a Chinese restaurant near my house.

There are many great cafes in my city.

There is milk in the refrigerator.

There are two women at the door.

Singular and Plural

The difference between there is and there are is simple. There is is for singular nouns (only one). There are is for plural nouns (more than one). Here are some more examples:

There is a ball.

There are two balls.

The pattern is simple. There is with singular things. There are with plural things. But one thing is a little different. In most situations, the noun is before the verb:

The cat is gray.

The dogs are white.

But with there is and there are, the noun comes after the verb is or are:
There is a gray cat.
Thete are two white dogs.

There is a gray cat.

There are two white dogs.

Negative Statements with There is and there are

To make a negative sentence with there is and there are, we can use not or no. All of these sentences are correct:

There is not any milk.

There is no milk.

There are not any eggs.

There are no eggs.

Contractions

Contractions are words that combine two words together into a new word, usually with an apostrophe. We very frequently combine there and is into the contraction there’s. Study at these examples:

There's milk in the fridge.

There's a good cafe on the corner.

There's a man at the door.

It is also possible to combine there and are into the contraction there’re, but this very informal and much less common than there’s.

Questions

To form a question with there is or there are, we usually just change the order of the words to is there and are there:

Is there a hospital near here?

Are there any eggs in the fridge?

We can also add question words before is there and are there:

Why is there a man at the door?

Where is there a bathroom I can use?