There is - There are

We use there is and there are to say that

something exists.
Positive Sentences
We use there is for singular and there are for plural.
 There is one table in the classroom.
 There are three chairs in the classroom.
 There is a spider in the bath.
 There are many people at the bus stop.

We also use There is with uncountable nouns:

 There is milk in the fridge.
 There is some sugar on the table.
 There is ice cream on your shirt.
Contractions
The contraction of there is is there's.
 There's a good song on the radio.
 There's only one chocolate left in the box.

You cannot contract there are.

 There are nine cats on the roof.
 There are only five weeks until my birthday.
Negative Form
The negative is formed by putting not after is or are:
 There is not a horse in the field.
 There are not eight children in the school.
 There is not a tree in the garden.
 There are not two elephants in the zoo.

We almost always use contractions when speaking.

The Negative contractions are:
 There's not = There isn't
 There are not = There aren't
There aren't with ANY
When we want to indicate that a zero quantity of something exists
we use there aren't any.
 There aren't any people at the party.
 There aren't any trees in my street.

We also use this structure with uncountable nouns:

 There isn't any water in the swimming pool.
 There isn't any sugar in my coffee.
Questions
To form a question we place is / are in front of there.
 Again we use any with plural questions or those which use uncountable nouns.

We also use there is / are in short answers.

 Is there a dog in the supermarket? - No, there isn't.
 Are there any dogs in the park? - Yes, there are.
 Is there a security guard in the shop? - Yes, there is.
 Are there any polar bears in Antarctica? - No, there aren't.
 Is there any ice-cream in the freezer? - Yes, there is.
 How Many with Are There
If we want to find out the number of objects that exist we use How
many in the following form:
How many + plural noun + are there (+ complement).
 How many dogs are there in the park?
 How many students are there in your class?
 How many countries are there in South America?
 How many Star Wars films are there?
 Countable and Uncountable Nouns
In English grammar, countable nouns are individual people,
animals, places, things, or ideas which can be counted.
Uncountable nouns are not individual objects, so they cannot be
counted. Here, we’ll take a look at countable and uncountable
nouns and provide both countable noun examples and
uncountable noun examples.
Although the concept may seem challenging, you’ll soon discover
that these two different noun types are very easy to use.
 Countable Noun Examples
Anything that can be counted, whether singular – a dog, a house, a friend, etc. or
plural – a few books, lots of oranges, etc. is a countable noun. The following countable
noun examples will help you to see the difference between countable and uncountable
nouns. Notice that singular verbs are used with singular countable nouns, while plural
verbs are used with plural countable nouns.

 There are at least twenty Italian restaurants in Little Italy.

 Megan took a lot of photographs when she went to the Grand Canyon.
 Your book is on the kitchen table.
 How many candles are on that birthday cake?
 You have several paintings to study in art appreciation class.
 There’s a big brown dog running around the neighborhood.
 Uncountable Noun Examples
Anything that cannot be counted is an uncountable noun. Even though
uncountable nouns are not individual objects, they are always singular and
one must always use singular verbs in conjunction with uncountable nouns.
The following uncountable noun examples will help you to gain even more
understanding of how countable and uncountable nouns differ from one
another. Notice that singular verbs are always used with uncountable nouns.

 There is no more water in the pond.

 Please help yourself to some cheese.
 I need to find information about Pulitzer Prize winners.
 You seem to have a high level of intelligence.
 Please take good care of your equipment.
 Let’s get rid of the garbage.
 .

Uncountable nouns can be paired with words expressing plural

concept. Using these words can make your writing more specific. Here
are some examples of how to format interesting sentences with
uncountable nouns.

 • Garbage There are nine bags of garbage on the curb.

 • Water Try to drink at least eight glasses of water each day.
 • Advice She gave me a useful piece of advice.
 • Bread Please buy a loaf of bread.
 • Furniture A couch is a piece of furniture.
 • Equipment A backhoe is an expensive piece of equipment.
 • Cheese Please bag ten slices of cheese for me.
 Countable and Uncountable Nouns Exercises
Is the underlined noun countable or uncountable?
 1 The children fell asleep quickly after a busy day of fun.
 2 Be careful! The water is deep.
 3 The parade included fire trucks and police cars.
 4 We like the large bottles of mineral water.
 5 My mother uses real butter in the cakes she bakes.
 6 How many politicians does it take to pass a simple law?
 7 Most kids like milk, but Joey hates it.
 8 Most pottery is made of clay.
 9 Michael can play several different musical instruments.
 10 I was feeling so stressed that I ate an entire box of cookies.