Blue Level

Lesson Six

There

Singular
There is a black cat.
cat
There is a boy behind the tree.
boy
There is a student in the classroom.
student

Questions:

  • Is there a boy behind the tree?
  • Is there a student in the classroom?
Plural
There are three football players.
footballers

There are two people and two dogs.

 

walking dogs

There are two little girls playing with blocks.

 

two girls

Questions:

  • Are there three football players?
  • Are there two little girls playing with blocks?

Remember: The word “there” can be singular or plural. It depends on the words that follow it.

  • There is a book on the table. (singular)
  • There are three books on the table. (plural)

When using “there” you must think ahead to the noun that follows it. This noun is the subject. “There” is a dummy subject.

“There” is used for information and facts. Sometimes “there” is singular, and sometimes “there” is plural.

Examples:

  • There is a clock on the wall. (singular)
  • There’s a rabbit in the backyard. (singular)

There is = There’s. Most Americans use the contraction, there’s

  • There are seven days in a week. (plural).
  • There are some flowers on the table. (plural)

There are = (no contraction) Some Americans say “there’s” even when the subject is plural. You shouldn’t do that.

write: write by hand

1. _________ ________ a restaurant on this street.

2. _________ ________ a lot of people here.

3. _________ ________ some water on the floor.

4. _________ ________ a police officer over there.

5. _________ ________ some flowers on the table.

(Answers: 1. There is; 2. There are; 3. There is; 4. There is; 5. There are)

Here is an additional writing exercise for “there.”