"There is" is used with singular and uncountable nouns; "there are" is used with plural countable nouns.
Existential construction: indicates the existence or presence of something singular or uncountable. "There is a problem" = singular. "There is some water" = uncountable. "There is no time" = uncountable. Common contraction: "there's" = "there is". In colloquial speech, "there's" is sometimes used even with plurals, but it is incorrect in formal English.
There is a new coffee shop on the corner — I heard they make excellent espresso.
There is not enough information available yet to make an informed decision.
Is there a pharmacy nearby? I need to pick up some medication.
Existential construction: indicates the existence or presence of two or more countable things. "There are three meetings today" = plural. "There are many options" = plural. "Are there any questions?" = plural. The verb agrees with the NOUN that follows, not with "there" (which is only an expletive, not the real subject).
There are five candidates for the position — the interviews will take place over two days.
There are several ways to approach this problem — let me walk you through each one.
Are there any questions before we move on to the next section of the presentation?
Common mistake
Most common error: "There is many people" or "There is five meetings" = INCORRECT. With PLURAL nouns = THERE ARE. "There ARE many people." "There ARE five meetings." Second common error: "There are a problem" = INCORRECT. With SINGULAR noun = THERE IS. "There IS a problem." Trick: look at the noun that comes AFTER. Singular or uncountable = IS. Plural = ARE. In fast colloquial speech, "there's meetings" is common, but in formal written English always use the correct agreement.
Trick to remember it
Look at the word that comes IMMEDIATELY after "there is/are". If that word (or the noun following it) is SINGULAR or UNCOUNTABLE = IS. If it is PLURAL = ARE. "There ___ a book" = singular = IS. "There ___ books" = plural = ARE. "There ___ information" = uncountable = IS. "There ___ files" = plural = ARE. Number trick: can you put "two" in front? "Two books" = yes, plural = THERE ARE. "Two information" = does not exist, uncountable = THERE IS.
Quick rule
There is + singular or uncountable noun. There are + plural noun. The verb agrees with the noun that follows, not with "there".
Did you know?
Grammatically, "there" in "there is/are" is not a place adverb — it is what linguists call an "expletive" or "anticipatory subject": an element that occupies the grammatical subject position but has no referential meaning of its own. The real subject of "there is a book on the table" is "a book", not "there". This existential structure exists in French ("il y a"), German ("es gibt"), and many other languages, though with different grammatical mechanisms. In Old English, the equivalent construction was "her is" (here is), which over time evolved into "there is".
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
_____ three new employees starting on Monday — HR has asked us to prepare their workstations today.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
_____ a lot of traffic on the highway right now — you should take the secondary road instead.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
There is + singular or uncountable noun. There are + plural noun. The verb agrees with the noun that follows, not with "there".
Most common error: "There is many people" or "There is five meetings" = INCORRECT. With PLURAL nouns = THERE ARE. "There ARE many people." "There ARE five meetings." Second common error: "There are a problem" = INCORRECT. With SINGULAR noun = THERE IS. "There IS a problem." Trick: look at the noun that comes AFTER. Singular or uncountable = IS. Plural = ARE. In fast colloquial speech, "there's meetings" is common, but in formal written English always use the correct agreement.
Look at the word that comes IMMEDIATELY after "there is/are". If that word (or the noun following it) is SINGULAR or UNCOUNTABLE = IS. If it is PLURAL = ARE. "There ___ a book" = singular = IS. "There ___ books" = plural = ARE. "There ___ information" = uncountable = IS. "There ___ files" = plural = ARE. Number trick: can you put "two" in front? "Two books" = yes, plural = THERE ARE. "Two information" = does not exist, uncountable = THERE IS.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy