Existence: There is & There are

We recommend learning well the combinations "There is" (singular) and "There are" (plural). This structure will help you express the presence, quantity or number, and volume of objects or people effectively.

Expressing the Presence or Existence of Something

Use "There is" and "There are" to indicate the presence or existence of something in singular and plural, respectively.

Excuse me waiter, there is a fly in my soup! There are stars in the sky.

To form a question, simply swap these two words.

Is there a problem officer? Are there chemicals in a can of coke?

Number and/or Quantities

With these combinations we can express the number of a particular object.

There are four wheels in a car. There is a problem with your tail-light.

Even if we do not know the exact number, we can simply say:

There are many people at the concert. There are several beers in the fridge.

Negations

To negate the existence of something, use "There isn't" (singular) and "There aren't" (plural).

Excuse me waiter, there isn't any sugar on the table. There aren't stars in the sky tonight.

Short Answers

To respond briefly to questions about the existence of something, use:

Yes, there is. No, there isn't. Yes, there are. No, there aren't.