There is or there are?

Use there is for one thing and for uncountable nouns, and there are for plural nouns: There is a chair. There is some water. There are four chairs. The noun that comes after the verb decides the form, so you always look forward in the sentence.

The rule

This structure says that something exists in a place. The word there is not a place here; it simply starts the sentence. The real subject is the noun that follows.

For a negative, add not after the verb: There is not any milk. There are not many people. For a question, put the verb first: Is there a bank near here? Are there any buses today?

Form

Examples

• There is a park near my house.
• There is some bread on the table.
• There are two banks on this street.
• There are not many people here today.
• Is there a bus stop near the hotel?

Common mistakes

• ❌ There is three books on the desk. → ✅ There are three books on the desk. The plural noun after the verb decides the form, even though the sentence still begins with there.
• ❌ There have a shop near here. → ✅ There is a shop near here. Several languages use a verb like have for this meaning, but English uses a form of be.
• ❌ There is not any chairs. → ✅ There are not any chairs. A negative does not change the agreement rule: a plural noun still needs are.
• ❌ Yes, there have. → ✅ Yes, there is. Short answers use is or are too, never have.