Grammar » A1 Grammar lessons and exercises » There is, there are – there was, there were » Page 2
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  • There is, there are – there was, there were

    Exercise 2

    Choose the correct forms of there is, there are, it is, they are, to complete these sentences.

    Page 1 of 2

    1 In my street, _____ a bakery, a supermarket and two restaurants.
    a.
    b.
    c.
    2 'Is there a new printer in the office?' 'Yes, ____.'
    a.
    b.
    c.
    3 When I opened the door, _____ a police officer standing in front of me.
    a.
    b.
    c.
    4 You can go now. _____ any danger.
    a.
    b.
    c.
    5 _____ any people in the restaurant last night?
    a.
    b.
    c.

     

  • There is, there are – Use

    We use there is, there are to say that something exists.

    • There is a lot of noise. 

    Where something is

    We often use there is, there are to say where something is.

    • There is a good restaurant at the end of the street. 
    • There are some keys in that box. 

    When something happens

    We can also use  there is, there are to say when something happens.

    • There is a concert tonight.
    • There are a lot of storms in summer.

    A, some, any

    We often use  there is, there are + a, some, any.

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    There is + singular / there are + plural

    We use there is + singular noun, and there are + plural noun.

    • There is a new teacher in the school. 
    • There are some problems that we need to solve.

    We use there is + a list of things if the first noun after there is is singular.

    • In the room, there is a bed, a wardrobe and two chairs. 

     

    There is, there are, there was, there were – Form

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    Present and past

    The past form of there is, there are is there was, there were.

    • There is a car in the street. ⇒  There was a car in the street.
    • There are some cars in the street. ⇒  There were some cars in the street.

    Short forms

    The short form of there is is there’s, but we don’t use a short form of there are. There’s is not used in short answers.

    • There’s a new secretary in the office.
    • There are two bathrooms in this house.  

    There are no short forms for there was/there were.

    In negative sentences, we often use the short forms there isn’t/there aren’t and there wasn’t/weren’t.

    • There isn’t any bread left. We need to buy more.
    • There aren’t any cookies in the jar.

     

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