1. Asking about existence or reporting absence: identify your purpose first
There is / there are helps us talk about the presence of someone or something. A question checks whether the needed thing is available; a negative reports that it is absent. This is useful in a hotel, shop, office or home.
In this construction, there does not separately mean in that place. You can name the location separately: here, nearby, in the room. Even if a place is prominent in your intended message, a useful English starting point is Is there…? or There isn't….
Do not confuse checking whether something exists with locating a known item. Is there a bank here? differs from Where is the bank?: the second question already assumes the bank exists.
Is there a bank near here?
Is there a bank near here?
First we check whether a bank is nearby, not its address.
There isn't a bank near here.
There isn't a bank near here.
The speaker is already reporting a negative fact about this location.
Where is the bank?
Where is the bank?
This is a correct question, but it asks for the location of an already identified bank; it should not be labelled an error.
2. One item, several or a substance: choose is or are
Use is with one countable item: a chair, a key, a shop. Use are with plurals: chairs, keys, shops. Uncountable substances such as water, milk and sugar also take is.
Look at the head noun, not simply the last word before the location. In bottles of water, the head is bottles: we are counting bottles, so use are. In water in the bottles, the head is water: we are talking about water, so use is.
Any, clean, free and the location do not determine the form of be by themselves. In free chairs, the verb agrees with chairs. This lesson does not cover long lists of different objects or complex quantity expressions.
Is there + a/an + singular…? / Is there + (any) + uncountable…? / Are there + (any) + plural…?
Is there a chair in the room?
Is there a chair in the room?
A chair names one item, so use is.
Are there any clean chairs?
Are there any clean chairs?
Chairs is plural; clean only specifies the kind of chairs needed.
Is there any water? Are there any bottles of water?
Is there any water? Are there any bottles of water?
Water requires is; bottles of water requires are because its head is bottles.
3. An ordinary question: be before there
To turn an ordinary statement into a yes/no question, place is or are before there. The rest of the sentence can remain in place. In writing, end the question with a question mark.
Do not add do or does to is/are: be already provides the required question form. Do not change singular to plural just because the sentence becomes a question.
In conversation, you may hear There is a pool? as a surprised echo of someone else's words. This is a possible question with statement word order, not an unconditional grammatical error. The main learning target here is an ordinary enquiry about unknown availability using Is there…? / Are there…?.
There is a shop. → Is there a shop? / There are two chairs. → Are there two chairs?
Is there a lift in the hotel?
Is there a lift in the hotel?
Is comes before there; do is unnecessary.
Are there two cups on the table?
Are there two cups on the table?
Two cups remains plural; the number is preserved when the form changes.
A: There is a pool. B: There is a pool?
A: There is a pool. B: There is a pool?
B repeats what they heard in surprise; this is a different communicative situation from an initial neutral enquiry.
4. Negatives: not after is/are
To report absence, keep there first and add not after is or are. In ordinary conversation, is not commonly contracts to isn't and are not to aren't.
There is not, there isn't and there's not can express the same negative with a singular or uncountable noun. The main plural patterns here are there are not and there aren't. If an exercise asks for a full or contracted form, that is a separate visible learning requirement, not a prohibition on other forms in English.
State clearly what is absent. There aren't any free chairs does not mean there are no chairs at all: they may be occupied. Location also limits the claim: no printer in one office does not mean no printers in the building.
There + is/are + not + noun phrase. / There isn't… / There aren't…
- NP / noun phrase —
- A noun phrase: a noun with its dependent words, such as the new student; the pattern treats it as one group of words.
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
There is not a printer in my office.
There is not a printer in my office.
Full is not denies the presence of a single item.
There's not any juice.
There's not any juice.
There's not is a correct alternative to there isn't; juice is uncountable.
There aren't any free chairs.
There aren't any free chairs.
We deny the presence of free chairs specifically, not all chairs.
5. A, any, some and no: do not add any automatically
A/an is often enough with a singular noun: Is there a shop? There isn't a shop. Do not put any before a/an. With uncountables and plurals, questions and negatives often use any: any water, any cups.
Any is a useful basic pattern but not compulsory in every question. You can ask Are there two chairs? or Are there shops nearby? Some also occurs in questions, for example when a positive answer is expected. Do not automatically correct Is there some tea? as ungrammatical.
For complete absence, there is also no + noun with an affirmative verb: There is no milk. / There are no cups. This often conveys the same basic fact as isn't any / aren't any. The finer distinctions between some and any are a neighbouring topic; here they support correctly asking about presence and denying it.
There isn't a shower in this room.
There isn't a shower in this room.
Any is unnecessary before a shower.
Is there any tea? Is there some tea?
Is there any tea? Is there some tea?
Both questions are possible; some may signal an expectation that tea is available.
There aren't any cups. There are no cups.
There aren't any cups. There are no cups.
Two ways to express complete absence. The no pattern needs no extra not for this meaning.
6. Short answers: keep there
Answer Is there…? with Yes, there is. or No, there isn't. Answer Are there…? with Yes, there are. or No, there aren't. In this short pattern, do not replace there with it or they: we are answering about presence, not describing an already named thing.
Affirmative final is/are is not contracted in a standard short answer: Yes, there is., not Yes, there's. With a continuation, however, There's a kitchen. is a normal complete sentence.
Negative short answers can use full forms: No, there is not. / No, there are not. In everyday conversation, Yes or No alone is sometimes enough. If the exercise requests a short answer with there, practise that specific pattern.
Is there…? → Yes, there is. / No, there isn't. | Are there…? → Yes, there are. / No, there aren't.
A: Is there a kitchen? B: Yes, there is.
A: Is there a kitchen? B: Yes, there is.
Final affirmative is stays in its full form.
A: Are there any eggs? B: No, there aren't.
A: Are there any eggs? B: No, there aren't.
Plural eggs determines are in the short answer too.
A: Is there any milk? B: No, there is not.
A: Is there any milk? B: No, there is not.
The full negative is also correct; milk takes is.
7. Use the form in conversation
Before building the sentence, decide whether you are asking or already know the needed thing is absent. Then name the object and check its number. Only then choose Is there / Are there or There isn't / There aren't.
Take the answer into account in conversation. If there is no milk, ask about another drink. If there is no shop inside the hotel, ask about shops nearby. This is a new useful enquiry rather than a repetition of information already received.
Your own responses may use natural alternatives such as lift/elevator or shop/store, and full or contracted negatives. The sample shows one option. You may invent a situation when the task requests your own; when the prompt supplies facts, preserve them.
A: Is there a shop in the hotel? B: No, there isn't. A: Are there any shops nearby?
A: Is there a shop in the hotel? B: No, there isn't. A: Are there any shops nearby?
After the negative answer, we change the search location rather than simply repeat the question.
There isn't any milk. Is there any juice?
There isn't any milk. Is there any juice?
The first sentence reports a known fact; the second checks another possibility.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Are there a pharmacy nearby?
Correct:Is there a pharmacy nearby?
A pharmacy is singular; replace only Are with Is.
Incorrect:Do is there any coffee?
Correct:Is there any coffee?
Auxiliary do is unnecessary in a question with is there; remove it.
Incorrect:There not is a lamp on the desk.
Correct:There is not a lamp on the desk.
Not follows is. Swap those two words.
Incorrect:There aren't any water in the bottle.
Correct:There isn't any water in the bottle.
Water is uncountable here and requires is even when the bottle has a specific size.
Incorrect:Yes, there's.
Correct:Yes, there is.
In a standard affirmative short answer, final is is not contracted. There's a kitchen., with a continuation, is a different correct construction.