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There is / There are (Present & Past)

How to say that something exists in the present and in the past.

LEARNING GOALS
  • check_circleI can use 'there is' and 'there are' to describe what is here now
  • check_circleI can use 'there was' and 'there were' to describe what existed in the past
  • check_circleI can ask questions and make negative sentences about existence
A110 min
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PART 01

Discover

Meet today's English in a real situation — no rules yet. Read it once and try to guess the pattern in the words in bold. Underlined words open a short definition.

Mike: Did you like the hotel in London?

Jenny: Yes, it was great! There is a beautiful park right across the street.

Mike: Was there a pool in the hotel?

Jenny: No, there wasn’t a pool, but there were two big restaurants inside.

Mike: Nice! Are there many shops near the hotel now?

Jenny: Yes! Ten years ago, there weren’t any shops, but now there are a lot of places to buy clothes and souvenirs.

Mike: Sounds perfect. Is there a train station close by?

Jenny: Yes, there is. It’s very easy to travel from there.

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PART 02

Learn

Now the rules behind what you just saw — explained simply, with examples. Underlined words open a short definition — hover on desktop, tap on a phone.

In English, when we want to say that something exists in a place, we use there + to be. The verb changes depending on if the thing is singular or plural, and if we are talking about the present or the past.

Present: There is / There are

We use there is for singular nouns and uncountable nouns. We use there are for plural nouns.

Singular & Uncountable

  • (+) There is a cat on the sofa.
  • (-) There isn’t a bank near here.
  • (?) Is there any milk?

Plural

  • (+) There are two bedrooms in the house.
  • (-) There aren’t any chairs.
  • (?) Are there any questions?
lightbulbTIP
In speaking, we usually contract there is to there’s. However, we don’t usually contract there are (there’re).

Past: There was / There were

To talk about the past, we simply change the verb to be into its past forms: was (singular) and were (plural).

Singular & Uncountable (Past)

  • (+) There was a loud noise last night.
  • (-) There wasn’t much time.
  • (?) Was there a problem?

Plural (Past)

  • (+) There were a lot of people at the party.
  • (-) There weren’t any apples left.
  • (?) Were there any messages for me?
warningWARNING
In Spanish, people use hay for both singular and plural. In English, you must always separate them: There is one car. There are two cars. Do not say There is two cars.

Quick Reference

boltQUICK REVIEW
  • Present singular: There is / There isn’t / Is there?
  • Present plural: There are / There aren’t / Are there?
  • Past singular: There was / There wasn’t / Was there?
  • Past plural: There were / There weren’t / Were there?
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PART 03

Practice

Try it yourself. You'll see right away whether you got it right, plus a short explanation of why.

0 / 5 correct
1. Which sentence is correct for the present?
2. _____ a big storm last night.
3. _____ any questions before we finish?
4. Yesterday, _____ a lot of people at the beach.
5. I'm hungry, but _____ any food in the fridge.
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PART 04

Use It

Now make the language yours in a real task. Use the prompt below — the editor keeps a simple word count, and nothing is saved or graded.

PROMPT
Describe your street today (using there is/are) and describe it ten years ago (using there was/were).
0 words
checklistCHECK YOURSELF

Before you finish — be honest. Can you do these now?