there is vs there are

Articles with Countable and Uncountable Nouns

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In English, there are both countable and uncountable nouns. When using them, it is important to know which articles to use with them.[1]https://7esl.com/articles-with-countable-and-uncountable-nouns/

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Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are concepts, materials, and information that cannot be counted.

A few examples include:[2]https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns-countable-un.htm

  • Currency
  • Money
  • Electricity
  • Gas
  • Power
  • Water
  • Butter
  • Sugar
  • Rice
  • Milk
  • Music
  • Love
  • Art
  • news

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are places, people, and objects that can be counted.

For example:

  • 8 kids
  • 4 men
  • 12 apples
  • 6 oranges
  • A car
uncountable nouns

Articles with Uncountable Nouns

The

You can use the article “the” with uncountable nouns to talk about specific things.

For example:

  • The water
    is very cold.
  • I am listening to the news.
  • I love the
    art in the museum.

No Article

You can use no article in front an uncountable noun when you are talking about something in general.

For example:

  • He loves listening to music.
  • Milk
    is an important part of this recipe.

Articles with Countable Nouns

Number

You can use numbers in front of countable nouns.

For example:

  • I have 2
    kids.
  • We have 3
    dogs, 2 cats, and 6 fish as pets.

A/An

You can use “a/an” in front of singular non-specific countable nouns. This means that you are talking about something in general/nonspecific.

For example:

  • She has a
    cat.
  • Can I have a
    book please?
  • Joe is an
    English teacher.

The

You can use “the” in front of singular and plural specific countable nouns.

  • I like the
    book.
  • I like the
    books.

No Article

You can use no article in front of countable nouns when you mean all or any of it.

For example:

I am eating with my friends. (this can mean with some of my friends or all of my friends)

I like dogs. (this means that I like all dogs in general)

She hates cats. (this means that she hates all cats in general)

Practice Exercises

 10%

Question 1 of 10

1. I am ___ English teacher.

Question 1 of 10

Question 2 of 10

2. ___ weather is very humid.

Question 2 of 10

Question 3 of 10

3. ___ dog has brown fur.

Question 3 of 10

Question 4 of 10

4. I prefer ___ milk.

Question 4 of 10

Question 5 of 10

5. ___ children like to play on ___ playground.

Question 5 of 10

Question 6 of 10

6. ___ guitar is my favorite instrument.

Question 6 of 10

Question 7 of 10

7. There is ___ rice on the floor.

Question 7 of 10

Question 8 of 10

8. ___ water is very hot.

Question 8 of 10

Question 9 of 10

9. ___ dog is ___ good pet.

Question 9 of 10

Question 10 of 10

10. ___ car is red.

Question 10 of 10


 

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References[+]

The Ultimate Guide to There is and There are

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In English, “there is” and “there are” are used to talk about things that exist. It uses the verb “to be” with the word “there”. However, what is the difference between there is vs there are?

there is vs there are

There is vs There are

“There is” is used for singular countable and uncountable nouns.

Singular Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are individual places, people, and objects which can be counted. Don’t forget to use a/an + noun.[1]https://7esl.com/countable-and-uncountable-nouns/

  • There is a
    dog in the kitchen.
  • There is
    a letter on the desk.
  • There is
    a car parked in front of the office.

Singular Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are information, concepts, and materials which cannot be broken down into individual objects to be counted.

  • There is milk
    in the refrigerator.
  • There is cheese
    on the plate.
  • There is
    water in the pool.

Plural Nouns

“There are” is used for plural nouns.

For example:

  • There are
    three cars in the garage.
  • There are
    20 children in the class.
  • There are
    50 states in the USA.

Some

We can also use the word “some” with singular uncountable nouns and plural nouns.

Singular Uncountable Nouns

  • There is some
    chocolate on the table. (This means that we don’t know how much chocolate there
    is exactly)
  • There is some
    money in the bank. (We don’t know how much money is in the bank)

Plural Nouns

  • There are some
    cars in the parking lot. (We don’t know how many cars are in the parking lot)
  • There are some
    t-shirts in the drawer. (We don’t know how many t-shirts are in the drawer)

Contractions for There is vs There are

“There is” becomes “there’s” when it is a contraction.

For example:

  • There’s milk in the refrigerator.
  • Do you think that there’s a letter on the desk.
  • There’s a car parked in front of the office.

However, you don’t contract “there are” (there’re)

Negatives

There are two ways to form a negative with “there is” and “there are”.

Add the word not

  • There is not
    (isn’t)     a dog in the house. (singular countable noun)
  • There is not
    (isn’t)     a cat in the house. (singular countable noun)

Add the word no

  • There is no
    dog in the house. (singular countable noun)
  • There is no
    cat in the house. (singular countable noun)
  • There are no
    kids in the classroom. (plural noun)

Any

We can also use the word “any” with negative uncountable singular nouns and plural nouns when we are using the word “aren’t”.

For example:

There is not any milk in the refrigerator. (uncountable noun)

There aren’t any kids in the classroom. (plural noun)

Questions

To form a question, change the word order from Subject-verb to verb-subject.

For example:

  • There is (singular noun) = Is there a + singular
    noun?

Is there a dog in the house?

  • There is some (uncountable noun) = Is there any
    + uncountable noun?

Is there any milk in the refrigerator?

  • There are (plural noun) = Are there any + plural
    noun?

Are there any cars in the parking lot?

Short Response to Questions

Instead of answering in a complete sentence, you can answer with a short response when the context is understood.

For example:

Singular

Yes, there is.

No, there is not.

Plural

Yes, there are.

No, there are not.

Practice Exercises

Please go to The Ultimate Guide to There is and There are to view this quiz

Conclusion

How did you do? If some questions were tricky a private lesson can help you master this topic quickly.

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References[+]