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 to convey new information about an object located in a known location.
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 turnover we are studying is often used in interrogative phrases of 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 of English grammar correctly, 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.
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The construction there is / there are is used to report the location of objects and persons. Remember a simple rule: if a Russian sentence begins with an adverbial place (the first word of a Russian sentence answers the question “where?”), then we begin an English sentence with there is / there are. For example: “There is a mouse in the box” - There is a mouse in the box. In this case, the very circumstance of place (in the box) must be placed at the end of the sentence. English sentences with the construction there is / there are are translated from the end (while There is... there are is not translated). For example: There is a bench in the garden - There is a bench in the garden.
If the sentence begins with a subject (“who?” or “what?”), this construction is not used, we translate it as it is: the car is in the street.
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Let us compare two sentences “there is a vase on the table” and “a vase on the table”. The first begins with the adverbial place, and the second with the subject, respectively, to translate the first sentence we use There is a…. - “there is a vase on the table”, and we translate the second sentence without this construction - “the vase is on the table”. If the subject (the thing referred to in the sentence) is singular, then there is is used, and if it is plural, then there are.
- Please note that (is, are) in such sentences can be translated as “lies”, “stands”, “hangs”, “grows”, “is located”: There are toys in the box - In the box lie toys, there is a big tree in front of my house - In front of my house growing a big tree.
- When listing items, There is used is, if the first item listed is singular (There is a copy book, three pencils and a ruler on the table) and there are, if the first item listed is in the plural (There are three pencils, a copy book and a ruler on the table).
Word order in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences with the construction there is / there are
Prepositions of place are function words that connect members of a sentence and are closely related to the use of the construction there is / there are, so we consider them in this post. First, let’s remember the prepositions of place and direction in English
- On – on: there is an apple on the plate – there is an apple on the plate
- In – inside: there are pens in the bag – there are pens in the bag
- Above/over – above: there is a picture above the fireplace – a picture hangs above the fireplace
- At - at: at the wall - at the wall
- Near - near, around, nearby: near my house - near my house
- Under - under: under the table - under the table
- Below - below, under: below the window - below the window
- Behind - behind: behind the tree - behind the tree
- To - indicates movement towards an object: to school - to school, to work - to work, to a friend - to a friend
- Into - inside: into the room - into the room
- From - indicates movement from an object: from school - from school, from work - from work, take the cup from that boy - take the cup from that boy, take the book from the table - take the book from the table
- Out of - from (from within): out of the bag - from the bag
- In front of - in front of: in front of my house - in front of my house
- Between - between: between the cupboard and the sofa - between the closet and the sofa
- Up - up: up the street - up the street
- Through - through, through: through the window - through the window
- Across - across (crossing): across the street - across the street
- Beside/next to - next to (next in a row): sit next to me - sit next to me
- We recommend paying attention to the difference between the prepositions in and into. Phrases with the preposition in answer the question “where?” - in the cupboard - in the closet, in the bag - in the bag, in the box - in the box. Phrases with the preposition into answer the question “where?” - into the cupboard - into the closet, into the bag - into the bag, into the box - into the box.
More about the preposition into watch in our video:
- Remember the exceptions: on a tree - in the tree, on the street - in the street, in a picture - in the picture.
Prepositions in the English language perform many functions; they act as case endings, which are absent in the English language; they are an integral part of countless expressions and should never be neglected.
Turnover there + be ( there is / there are) is used when it is necessary to indicate the presence or absence of a person/object in a certain place. There is / There are translated into Russian as “is available”, “is”, “is located”, “exists”.
Scheme of construction of turnover
Sentences with the phrase there is/there are are constructed according to the following scheme:
There is (are) + subject + adverbial place
Sentences with the grammatical phrase there+be mainly indicate the presence/absence of a phenomenon or object in a certain place.
The turnover is used in the following cases
When they want to emphasize the presence or absence of an object, rather than the place in which it is located:
There are many games for children. - There are many games for children.
When they want to emphasize the location of an object in space
There is a student in the classroom. - There is a student in the classroom.
The word there is a theoretical element of this grammatical phrase, and it is not necessary to translate it into Russian. A revolution is considered an introductory particle. If in a sentence the adverbial adverbial place is expressed by the pronoun “there”, then the sentence is translated into English as follows:
There were many children there. - There were a lot of children there.
The phrase there is/there are is not used in answers to the question “where?”, since the answer concerns the location of the object, and not the object itself:
Where is my book? Where's my book?
It is in my bag. It's in my bag.
But if the sentence sounds like:
There is some book in my bag;
then we use turnover -
There is a book in my bag.
Modal verbs with there is / there are
The construction of the phrase also uses modal verbs together with the verb to be:
There must be many interesting books in the library. The library should have many interesting books.
There can be problems for him. He might have problems.
The phrase there + be translates Russian sentences that begin with the words “exist” or “exist” and words that do not indicate space:
There are different school subjects. There are different school subjects.
There are different books for children. There are different books for children.
Also can be used in circulation and other words instead of to be:
to happen,
to exist,
to remain
to come,
to appear
There comes our train. Here comes our train.
There exist different animals. There are different animals.
Construction of interrogative sentences with turnover
If there is a revolution, the verb to be comes first, and after there comes the subject:
Are there books in your bag? Are there books in your bag?
If the word any is used in such a question, then the answer to it will contain the words some (affirmative answer), not any or none (negative answer):
Are there any books in your bag? Are there any books in your bag?
Yes, there are some.
No, there are not any/none.
Negative sentences with a turn are made using the word no, using the negative particle not or the pronoun any.
There is no food for you. There is no food for you.
There isn`t any money in his pocket. There is no money in his pocket.
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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 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 follows the standard rules of the English language. 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 turn an affirmative sentence into an interrogative one.
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...
Turnover there is / there are sentences begin that report the presence or existence (or absence) in a certain place or period of time of a person or object (persons, objects) still unknown to the interlocutor.
The sentence begins with a turnover there is/are, followed by a subject noun (with related words) indicating the name of that thing or person. Next, as a rule, follows the circumstance of place or time.
There is/are + subject + circumstance
In Russian, the phrases there is / there are are literally translated as “there is”, but it is believed that sentences beginning with such a phrase are better translated in reverse order [by inversion], while omitting the word “there”. For example:
- There is one table in the room. - There (is) one table in the room.
- There are some boxes in the room. - There (are) several boxes in the room.
Native speakers often use the phrase there is/ there are, mainly to mark where and what is located, so the location is present in the sentence. The phrase there is/ there are is usually placed at the beginning of the sentence:
- There is a spoon on the table. - There (is, lies) a spoon on the table.
- There are two beds in the room. - The room (has) two beds.
It should be remembered that the phrase there is is used before subjects in the singular, and there are - before subjects in the plural.
Order affirmative sentences with phrases there is/ there are next: Subject (There) - Predicate (to be) - Object (Object) - Circumstance (Adverbial modifier).
Often in sentences with the phrase there is/ there are, numerals, articles or indefinite pronouns are used in addition:
- There is a bottle of juice on the table. - There (is) a bottle of juice on the table.
- There is one table in the kitchen. - There (is) one table in the kitchen.
- There are three couples in the game. - There (are, participate in) three pairs in the game.
- There is some armchairs in the hall. - There (are) several chairs in the hall.
- There are some buildings nearby. - There (are) several buildings nearby.
With singular countable objects, you can use the numeral one, or the indefinite article a/an; with uncountable nouns (for example, bread) the indefinite pronoun some is usually used; and with countable objects in the plural - any other numerals, or the indefinite pronoun some (also several - several).
1. Negative form there is/ there are:
Negative sentences can be constructed in two ways:
a) With the help of the negative particle not, which with to be always forms the abbreviated forms isn’t, aren’t, wasn’t, ... Moreover, after not there is a countable noun in singular. number is used with the indefinite article, and countable in the plural and uncountable - with the pronoun any:
- There isn't a telephone in this room. - There is no telephone in this room.
- There aren't any books in the desk. - There are no books on the table.
There wasn't any water in the bottle. - There was no water in the bottle.
If the verb to be is used in a complex form, then the particle not is placed after the auxiliary verb, forming with it the abbreviated forms hasn’t, haven’t, won’t, etc.:
- There won't be a party tonight. - There won't be a party tonight.
b) Using the pronoun no, which is placed before the noun. The noun after no is used without an article and without the pronoun any. Use no more common than not. The particle not is used when they want to strengthen the negation.
- There is no ink in my pen. - There is no ink in my pen.
- There was no car in the garage. - There was no car in the garage.
- There are no chairs in the room. - There are no chairs in the room.
2. Interrogative form of the constructions there is/ there are is formed by using , which is placed before there. If the verb to be is used in a complex form, then the auxiliary verb comes first:
- Is there one TV in the kitchen? - Yes, there is. - No, there isn't.
Is there a TV in the kitchen? - Yes. - No. - Are there any windows in the cave? - Yes, there are. - No, there aren't.
Are there windows in the cave? - Yes. - No. - Is there any sugar in the coffee? - Yes, there is. - No, there isn't.
Is there sugar in coffee? - Yes. - No.
Please note that short answers to general questions also contain the phrase there is/ there.
With the question words Who? What? Why and turns there is/there are can be used to form questions. The beginning of a special question in this case will have the construction: question word + verb to be + there is/are ..:
- What is there in your pocket? - What (is) in your pocket?
- Who is there in your flat? - Who's there in your apartment?
- Why are there so many men in the bank? - Why are there so many people in the bank?
- How many girls are there in the room? - How many girls are in the room?
Please note that special questions are not formed combined with the word Where.
3. Use of the constructions there is/ there are in the past tense. Since the main verb in the phrase is the verb to be, then in the past tense the singular phrase is - there was, and the plural phrase is there were. Let's look at different forms of proposals:
- There was a museum in this area of the city. - There was a museum in this part of the city.
- There wasn't a book in the study. - There was no book in the office.
- There weren't any cows in the village. - There were no cows in the village.
- Was there any food in the bag? - Was there food in the bag?
- Were there any Spanish restaurants in the city? - Were there any Spanish restaurants in the city?
4. Using there is/ there are with modal verbs:
Verb to be after there can also be used in combination with modal verbs can, must, may, ought etc.:
- There must be some icecream in the refrigerator. - There should be ice cream in the refrigerator.
5. At the same time, substitutes for to be are used:
Turnover there can be used not only to be, but also with some other intransitive verbs, which in meaning will be close to to be, for example this: to live live, to come come, happen,to stand stand, to exist exist, to lie lie and etc.:
- There lies a big elephant there. - There lies a big elephant.
- There came a knock at the door. - There was a knock on the door.
- There lived an young doctor in the village. - There lived a young doctor in the village.
- There seems to be no difference between them. - There seems to be no difference between them
- There lived a man who had three daughters. - Once upon a time there was a man who had three daughters.
6. Pronunciation:
Both elements of turnover type there is/ there are are unstressed and pronounced together. The first stressed word is the semantic subject or its left definition.
- There is a leather jacket in the car. - There (is) a leather jacket in the car.
- There isn't any water in the glass. - There is no water in the glass.
- Is there a newspaper on the sofa? - Is there a newspaper on the sofa?
- Are there any bottles in the cupboard? - Are there bottles in the kitchen cabinet?
7. There is/ there constructions are found in large numbers in proverbs, sayings, nursery rhymes.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. - There is more than one way to skin a cat. / Not by washing, but by rolling.
There are none so blind as those that will not see. - There are none more blind than those who do not want to see.
There’s no bad weather, there are bad clothes. - There is no bad weather, only bad clothes.
There's no smoke without fire. - There is no smoke without fire.
There's no time like the present. - There is no better time than now. / Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
There's no place like home. - There is no better place than home./ It’s good when visiting, but at home it’s better.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. - There are no free lunches./ Free cheese is only in a mousetrap.
Children's counting rhyme
There is a mouse in the house. (There is a mouse in the house)
There is a cat in the flat.
There is a fox in the box.
There is a bee in the tree.
Is there a mouse in the house?
Is there a cat in the flat?
Is there a fox in the box?
Is there a bee in the tree?