Practicing “there is” and “there are” comes down to one core skill: matching the verb to whatever noun follows it. Below you’ll find a clear explanation of the rules, then several exercise sets with answer keys so you can test yourself immediately.
The Basic Rule
In sentences starting with “there,” the word “there” is not the subject. The real subject comes after the verb. Since “there” is just a placeholder, the verb (is or are) must agree with the noun that follows it.
- There is pairs with singular nouns and uncountable nouns: “There is a cat on the roof.” “There is milk in the fridge.”
- There are pairs with plural nouns: “There are three cats on the roof.”
Uncountable nouns (water, information, furniture, money, traffic) always take “there is” because they are treated as singular. When a list of items follows the verb, the verb typically agrees with the first noun in the list: “There is a book and two pens on the table.” In casual speech, many people use “there’s” before plural nouns, but in writing and formal contexts, “there are” is the correct choice for plurals.
Questions and Negatives
To form a question, flip the verb in front of “there”: “Is there a pharmacy nearby?” or “Are there any seats available?” For questions about quantity, use the pattern “How many + plural noun + are there”: “How many students are there in your class?”
For negatives, add “not” after the verb. Common contractions are “there isn’t” and “there aren’t.” To express zero quantity, use “any”: “There aren’t any tickets left.” This works with uncountable nouns too: “There isn’t any sugar in my coffee.”
Exercise 1: Fill in the Blank
Choose “there is” or “there are” for each sentence.
- 1. ______ a hospital on Main Street.
- 2. ______ seven days in a week.
- 3. ______ some water in the bottle.
- 4. ______ two dogs in the park.
- 5. ______ a problem with the computer.
- 6. ______ many reasons to exercise daily.
- 7. ______ some furniture in the living room.
- 8. ______ 30 students in this class.
- 9. ______ a lot of traffic today.
- 10. ______ three messages on your phone.
Answer Key
- 1. There is (singular: a hospital)
- 2. There are (plural: seven days)
- 3. There is (uncountable: water)
- 4. There are (plural: two dogs)
- 5. There is (singular: a problem)
- 6. There are (plural: many reasons)
- 7. There is (uncountable: furniture)
- 8. There are (plural: 30 students)
- 9. There is (uncountable: traffic)
- 10. There are (plural: three messages)
Exercise 2: Questions and Negatives
Rewrite each sentence as instructed.
- 1. There are some eggs in the fridge. (Make it negative.)
- 2. There is a bank near here. (Make it a question.)
- 3. There are students in the library. (Ask “how many.”)
- 4. There is some milk in the cup. (Make it negative.)
- 5. There are cheap flights available. (Make it a question.)
Answer Key
- 1. There aren’t any eggs in the fridge.
- 2. Is there a bank near here?
- 3. How many students are there in the library?
- 4. There isn’t any milk in the cup.
- 5. Are there any cheap flights available?
Exercise 3: Error Correction
Each sentence contains a mistake. Find it and correct it.
- 1. There are a beautiful garden behind the house.
- 2. There is many cars parked outside.
- 3. Is there any chairs in the room?
- 4. There aren’t some bread on the table.
- 5. How many water is there in the glass?
- 6. There are a lot of information on the website.
Answer Key
- 1. There is a beautiful garden behind the house. (Singular: a garden.)
- 2. There are many cars parked outside. (Plural: many cars.)
- 3. Are there any chairs in the room? (Plural: chairs.)
- 4. There isn’t any bread on the table. (Uncountable nouns use “isn’t any,” not “aren’t some.”)
- 5. How much water is there in the glass? (“How many” is for countable nouns. Water is uncountable, so use “how much.”)
- 6. There is a lot of information on the website. (Uncountable: information.)
Exercise 4: Complete the Conversation
Fill in each blank with the correct form: there is, there are, is there, are there, there isn’t, or there aren’t.
A: I’m looking for an apartment downtown. ______ (1) any available right now?
B: Yes, ______ (2) a few options. ______ (3) a one-bedroom on Oak Street, and ______ (4) two studios near the park.
A: Great. ______ (5) parking included?
B: For the one-bedroom, yes, ______ (6) a garage spot. But for the studios, ______ (7) any parking.
A: How many bedrooms ______ (8) in the Oak Street place?
B: Just one, but ______ (9) plenty of closet space. ______ (10) also a balcony.
Answer Key
- 1. Are there
- 2. there are
- 3. There is
- 4. there are
- 5. Is there
- 6. there is
- 7. there isn’t
- 8. are there
- 9. there is
- 10. There is
Quick Reference for Tricky Cases
A few noun types cause consistent confusion. “News,” “money,” “advice,” “homework,” and “luggage” are all uncountable in English, so they take “there is.” Collective amounts like “a lot of” depend on the noun that follows: “There is a lot of noise” (uncountable) vs. “There are a lot of people” (countable plural). And when you list mixed items after the verb, match the verb to the first item: “There is one teacher and twenty students” follows standard written grammar, even though the total group is plural.