Beginner Lesson 4
Creation - Day 3 (Part 1)

Grammar Exercise

God's creation day 3

"There Is" and "There Are"

There Is

We use there is to talk about one thing we can see, and one thing that exists.

There is nothing in this place. (Luke 9:12)
There is a boy here who has five small loaves of barley bread and two fish. (John 6:9)
There is room in our hearts for you. (2 Corinthians 6:11)

There Are

We use there are to say that many things exist or are in a place.

There are many who don’t respect authority. (Titus 1:10)
There are as many of them [children of Abraham] as there are stars in the sky. (Hebrews 11:12)
There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything. (Luke 18:27)

Making a Contraction

We can say there’s instead of  there is. This is called a contraction. There is no contraction for there are.

There’s one thing you still need to do. (Mark 10:21)
There’s not enough oil for all of us! (Matthew 25:9)
“Maybe there’s something I can do to help,” Elisha said. (2 Kings 4:2)

A Very Common Thing That Is Not Grammatically Correct

Sometimes when we are speaking in a casual way, we can say there’s when we should say there are. It’s not correct, but many people speak this way because there is no contraction for there are.

There’s three bus stops on my street. (Incorrect, but common)
There are three bus stops on my street. (Correct)

There’s a lot of trains that pass my house. (Incorrect, but common)
There are a lot of trains that pass my house. (Correct)

Make it Negative

When you want to say something does not exist or is not in a place, just add the word “not” to your sentence.

Use Contractions

Instead of saying is not, we say isn’t.
Instead of saying are not, we say aren’t.

There isn’t enough time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. (Hebrews 11:32)
There isn’t one person who does right. (Romans 3:12)

There aren’t any apples in the refrigerator.
There aren’t enough hours in a day to do all my work.

Ask a Question

To ask a question, we change the word order from there is to is there.
We change there are to are there.

To answer, say “Yes, there is” or “No, there isn’t.”
“Yes, there are,” or “No, there aren’t.”

Sample Questions and Answers

Are there any restaurants in your neighborhood?
Yes, there are. / No, there aren’t.
Yes, there is one. / No, there aren’t any.
Yes, there are three. / No, there are no restaurants in my neighborhood.

Is there a bicycle I can ride?
Yes, there is. / No, there isn’t.
Yes, there is a bike you can ride. / No, there isn’t one.

Other Verb Tenses

You can use there is and there are in other verb tenses. In today’s verse, we see there will be, which is the future tense for both singular and plural.

…so there will be dry ground. (Genesis 1:9)

Future simple:
there will be (one)
there will be (plural)

Past simple:
there was (one)
there were (plural)

Practice Makes Perfect!

When you learn new grammar, practice by using it as much as possible. Do this worksheet about there is and there are in the present simple tense.

Worksheet about "There Is" and "There Are"

Now click the button to go to the writing exercise.

Go to the Writing Exercise