eng5-2.4· UNIT 3. Where’s home?· ~13 min

There is / There are: questions & short answers

Asking whether something is in a room, and answering in three words.

To ask whether something exists somewhere, put 'is' or 'are' in front of 'there'. For one thing: 'Is there a closet?' 'Is there a picture on the wall?' For more than one: 'Are there any books?' 'Are there any cats in the bedroom?' Notice what changes and what does not. The statement is 'There is a closet'; the question is 'Is there a closet?' — the same two words, swapped. Notice 'any' as well: in a question or a negative about more than one thing, English puts 'any' before the plural noun. 'Are there any books?' 'There aren't any cars.' The answers are short and fixed, and you must not repeat the whole sentence. If the question began with 'Is there', answer 'Yes, there is.' or 'No, there isn't.' If it began with 'Are there', answer 'Yes, there are.' or 'No, there aren't.' Whatever the question asked about, the short answer always keeps the word 'there' — never 'Yes, it is' and never 'Yes, there is a closet'.

Key terms

Is there …? — The question for ONE thing: 'Is there a closet?'
Are there …? — The question for MORE THAN ONE thing: 'Are there any books?'
short answer — The three-word reply that repeats 'there' and the verb: 'Yes, there is.' / 'No, there aren't.'
any — The word used before a plural noun in questions and negatives: 'Are there any windows?' / 'There aren't any cars.'
isn't / aren't — The short negative forms of 'is not' and 'are not', used in negative short answers.
word order — A statement is 'There is a bed'; the question turns the first two words around: 'Is there a bed?'
Questions and their short answers
QuestionYesNo
Is there a picture on the wall?Yes, there is.No, there isn't.
Is there a closet?Yes, there is.No, there isn't.
Are there any books?Yes, there are.No, there aren't.
Are there any cats in the bedroom?Yes, there are.No, there aren't.
Is there a table in the kitchen?Yes, there is.No, there isn't.
Are there two chairs in the living room?Yes, there are.No, there aren't.

The first word of the question tells you the first verb of the answer.

From statement to question
StatementQuestionWhat moved
There is a bed.Is there a bed?is and there swap places
There is a window in my room.Is there a window in my room?is and there swap places
There are some books.Are there any books?are and there swap; some becomes any
There are two chairs.Are there two chairs?are and there swap; a number stays

With a number you keep the number; with no number, plural questions take 'any'.

Building a question word by word
SlotSingularPlural
1st wordIsAre
2nd wordtherethere
3rd worda / anany (or a number)
thenthe nounthe plural noun
thenwhere it iswhere they are
exampleIs there a closet in the bedroom?Are there any windows in the kitchen?

Every question on this page fits these slots.

✎Putting the words in order
  1. 1The jumbled words: bed / there / a / kitchen / Is / in / the / ?
  2. 2Step 1: one bed, so start with Is: 'Is …'
  3. 3Step 2: there comes next, then a + noun: 'Is there a bed …'
  4. 4Step 3: finish with the place: 'Is there a bed in the kitchen?'
✎Answering without repeating the question
  1. 1The question: 'Are there any windows?'
  2. 2Step 1: look at the first word: 'Are' → the answer will use 'are'.
  3. 3Step 2: is it true?: Yes, the room has two windows.
  4. 4Step 3: answer in three words: 'Yes, there are.' Not 'Yes, there are two windows' and not 'Yes, they are.'
🚫Common mistake

Do not answer with 'it' or 'they'. The question asked with 'there', so the answer keeps 'there': 'Yes, there is.' — not 'Yes, it is.'

🚫Common mistake

Do not mix singular and plural: 'Is there any books?' is wrong. Plural needs 'Are there any books?'

⚠️Caution

'Is there a …?' is answered 'Yes, there is.' and 'Are there …?' is answered 'Yes, there are.' Mixing the two is the most common error here.

💡Note

In plural questions and negatives, use 'any' before the noun: 'Are there any cats?' 'There aren't any cars.' In a positive statement you would say 'some': 'There are some books.'

💡Note

A number replaces 'any' when you know how many: 'Are there two chairs in the living room?'

Rules

  1. 1Singular question: Is + there + a + noun? — 'Is there a bed in the kitchen?'
  2. 2Plural question: Are + there + any + noun? — 'Are there any windows?'
  3. 3Answer 'Is there …?' with 'Yes, there is.' or 'No, there isn't.'
  4. 4Answer 'Are there …?' with 'Yes, there are.' or 'No, there aren't.'
  5. 5Keep the word 'there' in the short answer. 'Yes, it is' is a different structure.
  6. 6Do not repeat the noun in a short answer: 'Yes, there is.' — not 'Yes, there is a closet.'

Practice

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Up to 10 random questions per test

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