There Is, There Are, Some, Any, A, An

In English we use “there is” or “there are” to talk about things we can see and things that exist.(In Spanish “hay”)

We use “there is” for singular and uncountable nouns (CONTRACTION: there’s)

We use “there are” for plural countable nouns. (NO CONTRACTION there’re)

“There are five people in the bar.” (plural countable noun)

“There’s a carpet in the living room.” (singular countable noun)

“There’s some milk in the fridge.” (uncountable noun)

SOME

With plural countable nouns we can say the quantity (“five people”) or use “some” if we don’t know the exact quantity.

“There are five people in the bar.” (We can see five people exactly)

“There are some people in the bar.” (We don’t know exactly how many people)

·         With uncountable nouns we also use “some”.

“There is some milk in the fridge,” (I don’t know the exact quantity.)

“There’s some money on the desk.” (I don’t know exactly how much money.)

·         With singular countable nouns we use a/an.

“There is a woman in the garden.”

“There is an armchair in my bedroom.”

 ANY

“ANY” is used in negative and questions with plural and uncountable nouns.

“There isn’t any money in my wallet.” (uncountable noun)

“There isn’t any water in the house.” (uncountable noun)

“There aren’t any students in the classroom.” (countable plural noun)

“There aren’t any pictures on the walls.” (countable plural noun)

BUT: “There isn’t a freezer in the kitchen.” (singular, countable noun)

“There isn’t a television in the living room.” (singular, countable noun)

*  For uncountable nouns, use “any” after the negative “isn’t”, and for plural countable nouns use “any” after “aren’t”.

*  Do not use “any” with singular countable nouns.

·         To make a question, change the word order from subject-verb to verb-subject:

There is a + singular noun à Is there a + singular noun?

There is some + uncountable noun à Is there any + uncountable noun?

There are some + plural noun à Are there any + countable plural noun?

“Is there a toilet on the first floor?” singular noun

“Is there a shelf in his bedroom?” singular noun

“Is there any money in your wallet?” uncountable noun

“Is there any beer in the fridge?” uncountable noun

“Are there any flowers in the balcony?” countable plural noun

“Are there any people in the bar?” countable plural noun

Short answer form:

Yes, there is. / No there isn’t.

Yes, there are. / No, there aren’t.


NOW...PRACTICE!

1. There __ people in the restaurant.

are any

are some

is some

2. There __ wine in the cupboard.

are some

is some

isn't some

3. There __ money on the table.

is a

is any

is some

4. __ cheese in this sandwich?

Are there any

Is there a

Is there any

5. Yes, __

there are

there cheese

there is

6.   __   big tree in my garden.

There's a

There's any

There's some

7 . __ books on the shelf?

Are there any

Is there

Is there any

8. No, __

there any

there are

there aren't

9. There __ students in the classroom.

aren’t any

isn’t a

aren’t some

10. __ microwave in the kitchen?

Is there any

Is there a

Are there any

SEE correct ANSWERS IN COMMENT 1    :-)