ESEN
Which one to use?Intermediatestructurestructure
There is / There arevsIt is
'There is/are' introduces the existence of something; 'it is' introduces time, distance, temperature, or impersonal situations.
Side-by-side comparison
There is / There are
structure"It" is used to talk about weather, time, dates, temperature, or to introduce a sentence where the real subject comes later: "It is raining", "It is hard to say".
There is a great bakery near the station that makes fresh croissants every morning.
There are three new students in the class this term, they all seem really nice.
Is there a pharmacy nearby? I need to pick up some medicine before it closes tonight.
It is
structure"There" is used to announce the existence of something: "There is a problem". It does not describe weather or introduce sentences with a delayed subject.
It is cold outside today, you should take a coat if you are planning to go out.
It is already half past ten, we should head home before it gets too late tonight.
It is a long way from here to the coast, at least three hours by car on a good day.
Common mistake
- •"Is raining" is wrong: English always requires the subject IT.
- •"It is raining." And "There is important to attend" is wrong: for "it is important" use IT: "It is important to attend." The difference: THERE IS/ARE = something exists; IT IS = weather, time, or impersonal subject.
Trick to remember it
- •Does something exist? "There is/are a problem".
- •Is it about weather, time, or distance? "It is".
- •In Spanish "llueve" = in English always "IT is raining" (the IT is mandatory even though it represents nothing real).
Quick rule
- •"There is/are" = existence (something exists).
- •"It is" = impersonal subject for weather, time, or when a clause is the real subject.
- •Never: "is raining" without IT.
Did you know?
The English impersonal subject IT is what linguists call an "expletive subject", it exists for GRAMMATICAL REASONS (English requires an explicit subject), not because it represents any real entity. French and German have similar constructions: French "il pleut" (it rains), German "es regnet" (it rains). Typological linguists classify languages that allow omitting the grammatical subject as "null subject languages" (pro-drop), and those requiring explicit subjects as "non-pro-drop." Spanish is pro-drop; English is non-pro-drop. This fundamental typological difference explains why "is raining" (without IT) is one of the most persistent and systematic errors of Spanish speakers, even at advanced levels.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
_____ is raining heavily outside. Take a raincoat.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
_____ is a new café on the corner. I think we should try it.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
How muchvsHow many
'How much' asks about uncountable nouns; 'how many' asks about countable nouns.
ThevsZero article
'The' specifies a known or unique thing; zero article is used for generalizations and non-specific references.
There isvsThere are
"There is" is used with singular and uncountable nouns; "there are" is used with plural countable nouns.
AvsAn
'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy