There is / There are

There is / There are

There is ,there are is a common phrase in English used to indicate

that something? exists?  or is in a certain location.

* "there is" to talk about one thing
* "there are" to talk about two or more thing.

Example :  There is a book on the table.
    
                 There are many books on the table.

There is/ There are can also be used to answer question.

Example : Is there a hotel dowtown?     =  Yes, there is.

                Are there any pens on the table?  = No,there aren't

Other forms of be? can also be used with there is/ there are.

Example : There will be a party at Bill's house on Saturday.

                There were four witnesses at the crime scene.

               There  have been two robberies in the last five month.

Contraction are possible,but they are mostly used informally in speech.

Example : There 's a fly in my soup.

                There're  plenty of oranges left.

                There 'll be a lot of people in attendance.

There 's is by far the most common contraction, and it is sometimes used inadvertently

with  plural subjects by native speakers.

Example : There's ten people outside!

Common mistakes.

Sine the expession there is/ are usually has no equivalent in other languages, students

sometimes use have instead.

Example: Have a lot of food on the table.  <Incorrect>

               It have a lot of  food on the table.<Incorrect>

              There have a lot of food on the table<Incorrect>

              There is a lot of food on the table <Correct>

              
           
Read the sentence,decide on the answer.

1.There ..........many people visiting the animals to day.

2.There...........many children,too.

3.There...........a gorilla in the tree.

4. There..........some grass under the tree.

5. There..........bananas in the tree with the gorilla.

6. There.............many birds near the gorilla.

7.There..............a rock near the tree.

8.There..............many sharks in the aquarium.

9.There..............an eel in the aquarium,too.

10.There.............lots of water for the fish.

Reference

1.http://www.eslgold.com/grammar/there_is_are.html

2.blog.eduzones.com/reno/3198