There is / There are

Introduce the existence of something.

Examples

• There is a pen on the desk.
• There are two chairs.

Key rules

• Use there is with singular and uncountable nouns, there are with plural nouns
• Negative: there isn't / there aren't
• Question: Is there a bank? Are there any shops?
• Use there is to say something exists; use have for possession

Common mistakes

• There have two cats → There are two cats
• There is three books → There are three books