How a sentence is built · CEFR A1 · Starting

There is / There are — English sentence structure

Use there is or there are to say something exists. Is or are matches the thing that follows, not the word there.

The shape

There is + one thing · There are + many things

Say that something exists, or that a place has something in it.

In Hindi

कोई चीज़ मौजूद है, यह बताने के लिए there is या there are। is या are उस चीज़ से मिलता है जो बाद में आती है।

CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.

The mistake to fix first

The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.

Commonly said	Correct English
There is many people outside.	There are many people outside. People is plural, so it takes are.

Commonly said

Correct English

There is many people outside.

There are many people outside.

People is plural, so it takes are.

There is / There are examples

Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.

There is a table in the room.
कमरे में एक मेज है।
There is a book on the table.
मेज पर एक किताब है।
There is water in the bottle.
बोतल में पानी है।
There is food in the kitchen.
रसोई में खाना है।
There are children in the park.
पार्क में बच्चे हैं।
There is milk in the shop.
दुकान में दूध है।
There are two chairs in the room.
कमरे में दो कुर्सियाँ हैं।
There is a car outside the house.
घर के बाहर एक कार है।
There is some money in the bag.
बैग में कुछ पैसे हैं।
There are a lot of people on the road.
सड़क पर बहुत लोग हैं।

Questions people ask

What is the there is / there are used for?: Use there is or there are to say something exists. Is or are matches the thing that follows, not the word there. In practice: say that something exists, or that a place has something in it.
How do you form the there is / there are?: There is + one thing · There are + many things.
What is the most common mistake with the there is / there are?: Saying “There is many people outside.” instead of “There are many people outside.”. People is plural, so it takes are.

Where there is / there are fits

Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.

There is / There are is a CEFR A1 structure — the starting band — and it belongs to how a sentence is built. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.

Reading it is not the same as saying it.

CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.

Practise the there is / there are →

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