Study the table, then complete the rules.

SINGULAR				PLURAL
There is a/an…		affirmative		There are some…
There isn’t a/an…		negative		There aren’t any…
Is there a/an…?		interrogative		Are there any…?
Yes, there is. No, there isn’t.		Short answers		Yes, there are. No, there aren’t.

 

We use there ….. in the singular.

There is a bed in the bedroom.

We use there ….. in the plural.

There are two beds in the bedroom.

We use there ….. if the first noun is in the singular.

There is a table and five chairs round it.

We use there ….. if the first noun is in the plural.

There are five chairs and a table in the kitchen.

We use some in the plural in the affirmative.

There are some chairs in the kitchen.

We use ….. in the plural in the negative and interrogative.

There aren’t any chairs in the kitchen.

Are there any chairs in the kitchen?

V. What things can you see in the picture below? Describe the picture using there is/there are.

Model: There is a bed in the room.

There are four pictures on the wall.

VI. Choose is or are.

1. There … a piano in the corner of the room.

2. There … two armchairs, a wall-unit and a sofa in the room.

3. There … nice curtains on the window.

4. There … a sofa and three chairs in the hall.

5. There … three rooms and a kitchen in my flat.

6. There … a fridge, a table and four chairs in the kitchen.

7. There … tea in my glass.

8. There … a book, a pen on the writing table.

9. There … a blackboard, four tables and five chairs in our classroom.

10. There … a text-book and two exercise-books on my table.

11. How many cinemas … there in the centre of Moscow?

12. What … there in your classroom?

13. What kind of books … there on the table?

VII. Put in there is / there isn’t / is there / there are / there aren’t / are there.

1. Kenham isn’t an old town. ………. any old buildings.

2. Look! ………. a photograph of your brother in the newspaper!

3. “Excuse me, ………. a bank near here?” “Yes, at the end of the street.”

4. ………. five people in my family: my parents, my two sisters and me.

5. “How many students ………. in the class?” “Twenty.”

6. “Can we take a photograph?” “No, ………. a film in the camera.”

7. “………. a bus from the city center to the airport?” “Yes. Every 20 minutes.”

8. “………. any problems?” “No, everything is OK.”

9. ………. nowhere to sit down. ………. any chairs.

 

VIII. What things can you see in the picture below? Put tick (ü) or a cross (û) for each, then talk about the room, as in the examples.

Dining-table…, armchair …, pictures …, posters …, rug …, sofa …, chairs …, cupboards …, vase …, mirror …, curtains …, beds …., flowers …, pillows …

There is a dining-table but there isn’t an armchair.

There are some pictures but there aren’t any posters.

 

IX. This is Sally’s living-room. Ask and answer questions using the prompts below.

“Are there any pictures on the wall?”

“Yes, there are. There are some pictures on the wall.”