PE-7: There is / There are
How to say that something exists — the English answer to 'bor' and 'yoʻq', with the agreement rule, negatives, questions and the there/it difference.
PE-7: There is / There are
You want to describe your room. In Uzbek it is easy: Xonamda stol bor. Word by
word into English that becomes In my room a table is — and no English speaker says
that. English opens the sentence with a special phrase instead: There is a table in my
room. This one structure will serve you for the rest of your life.
In this lesson you will learn
- When to use there is and when to use there are
- The list rule: which noun the verb agrees with
- Negatives and questions: there isn't any / Are there any…?
- The difference between there is and it is
1. is or are? Look at the noun that follows
There is not the real subject here — it is a placeholder, exactly like the empty it you met in PE-6. The verb agrees with the noun that comes after it.
There is a big park near our school.
Maktabimiz yonida katta bogʻ bor.
There are thirty pupils in our class.
Sinfimizda oʻttizta oʻquvchi bor.
Plural noun → are. Singular or uncountable → is.
Uncountable nouns (PE-2!) always take is: There is some water in the bottle. There is a lot of traffic today.
2. The list rule
When you list several things, English is lazy: the verb agrees only with the first noun in the list, because that is the one the speaker reaches first.
There is a table and four chairs in the kitchen.
Oshxonada stol va toʻrtta stul bor.
First noun = a table (singular) → is, even though chairs follow.
There are four chairs and a table in the kitchen.
Oshxonada toʻrtta stul va stol bor.
Reverse the order and the verb changes too. Both sentences are correct.
3. Negatives and questions
- Negative: add not to the verb, and use any with plurals and uncountables — There isn't a shop here. There aren't any tickets left.
- Question: swap there and the verb — Is there a bank near here? Are there any questions?
- Short answers: Yes, there is. / No, there isn't. / Yes, there are. / No, there aren't.
Two more useful negatives mean the same thing: There isn't any milk = There is no milk. The second sounds a little stronger.
4. "There is" vs "It is" — a pair worth 10 marks
Use there is to say that something exists, for the first time. Use it is to say something about a thing you have already introduced.
There is — introduces
There is a new café in our street.
There is a problem.
It is — describes
It is very cheap and quiet.
It is not serious.
There is a letter on your desk. It is from your school.
Stolingizda xat bor. U maktabingizdan kelgan.
Sentence 1 announces the letter; sentence 2 talks about that same letter.
5. Where does the place go?
The place phrase normally comes at the end. Putting it first is possible but sounds literary, and the verb order still cannot be Uzbek order.
In my room is a big window.
There is a big window in my room.
6. Common mistakes
There are a lot of furnitures in the room.
There is a lot of furniture in the room. (uncountable)
Have many people in the bazaar.
There are many people in the bazaar.
There is five days in a school week.
There are five days in a school week.
Is there some milk? / There aren't some eggs.
Is there any milk? / There aren't any eggs.
It is a mistake in your homework.
There is a mistake in your homework.
Practice
1 is / are: There ? a sofa, two armchairs and a carpet in the living room.
Show answer
is — the list rule: the verb agrees with the first noun, a sofa, which is singular.
2 Make it negative: There is some sugar in the tea.
Show answer
There isn't any sugar in the tea. (or There is no sugar…)
Some becomes any in negatives and questions.
3 There is or It is? ___ a good film on TV tonight. ___ about a young doctor.
Show answer
There is … It is. The first sentence announces that the film exists; the second describes that same film.
4 Translate: Bizning maktabimizda kutubxona yoʻq.
Show answer
There isn't a library in our school. (also correct: There is no library in our school.)
Yoʻq = there isn't / there aren't.
5 Ask a question and answer it: … any milk in the fridge? (no)
Show answer
Is there any milk in the fridge? — No, there isn't.
Milk is uncountable → is, and the short answer repeats there + verb, never the noun.
Key words — Kalit soʻzlar
- There is / arebor
- There isn'tyoʻq
- To existmavjud boʻlmoq
- Placeholderoʻrinbosar soʻz
- To agree (verb)moslashmoq
- Anyhech qanday / biror
- To introducetanishtirmoq, kiritmoq
- Furnituremebel
- Fridgemuzlatgich
- Left (remaining)qolgan
🎯 Remember this
- There is + singular / uncountable · There are + plural.
- In a list, the verb agrees with the first noun.
- Negative: isn't/aren't any (= is no). Question: Is/Are there…?
- There is introduces something new; it is describes it afterwards.
- Never start with the place:
In my room is…→ There is … in my room.