Many people have trouble identifying when to use there is versus there are.
This is a situation that occurs even at higher levels and at Funtalk we are aware of it. Do you want to know when to use each one?
We recommend you read on.
When to use there is and there are in English?
First of all, we use there is and there are to express the existence of something, that is to say, its use is very similar to the use we make of the verb haber in Spanish.
Here are a couple of examples: There’s somebody at the door.
They are also used to ask about the existence of something, as in: Are there any questions? ([Hay] any questions?). In these situations we cannot use the verb “to have” as the equivalent of “hay” in Spanish.
The other difference we can find is that in English there are two forms “there is” and “there are”, depending on whether the direct complement, i.e. the object, is in the singular or, on the contrary, in the plural.
What rules to take into account?
Present
We have to keep in mind that, independently of whether the sentences are affirmative, negative or interrogative, the use of “is” or “are” depends on whether the object is in singular or plural: There’s an error in your homework (Tienes un error en los ejercicios).
There are two errors in your homework (Tienes dos errores en los ejercicios).
Past
When we talk about events that take place in the past, as you can imagine, sentences are constructed with the corresponding form of the verb “to be”, singular or plural SingularTherewas a snake in my room.
There was a snake in my room. PluralTherewere three people eating.
There were three people eating.
Future and speculative forms
As in the past, we can speak in the future or through speculative forms using “will be”, “be going to” or “might be”.
In many occasions “will” and “going to” are interchangeable, so we must take this into account in order not to make mistakes.
Are there exceptions and variants?
Of course, we can find a number of variations and exceptions such as short forms.
That is, when we contract the form of “there is not”.
For example, with the expression: No hay problema We can say There isn’t a problem and we could also say There’s not a problem Both forms are correct and equivalent.
Besides, it is a quite common expression to use.
However, we can also say: There’s no problem and we would not be committing any kind of mistake.
On the other hand, in plural, with the sentence: No hay peces en este río We can say There aren’t any fish in this river and we can also say There are no fish in this river.
Again, both expressions are equivalent and correct.
We hope you liked this post and now you have a little clearer when you should use there is versus there are in English.
Thank you very much for reading. See you next time!