Grammar / A1 Grammar lessons and exercises /There is, there are / there was, there were
There is, there are / there was, there were
There is, there are – Use
We use there is and there are to say that something exists.
- There is a lot of noise.
Where something is
We often use there is, there are to say where something is.
- There is a good restaurant at the end of the street.
- There are some keys in that box.
When something happens
We can also use there is and there are to say when something happens.
- There is a concert tonight.
- There are a lot of storms in summer.
A, some, any
We often use there is, there are with a, some, any.
There is + singular / There are + plural
We use there is + singular noun, and there are + plural noun.
- There is a new teacher in the school.
- There are some problems that we need to solve.
- We use there is + a list of things if the first noun after there is is singular.
- In the room, there is a bed, a wardrobe and two chairs.
There is, there are, there was, there were: Form
Present and past
The past forms of there is, there are are there was, there were.
There is a car in the street. → There was a car in the street.
There are some cars in the street. → There were some cars in the street.
Short forms
The short form of there is is there’s, but we don’t use a short form of there are. There’s is not used in short answers.
There’s a new secretary in the office.
There are two bathrooms in this house.
In negative sentences, we often use short forms:
- There isn’t any bread left.
- There aren’t any cookies in the jar.
- There wasn’t any milk.
- There weren’t any students.