by Patricia Galien Make sure you are in slideshow view before you start this presentation.

SingularPlural there arethere is Present Tense Past Tense there wasthere were

The first time you write about a subject, use there + the BE verb when you write about There is a sofa near the window. There are three plants on the shelf next to the door. When write using spatial order, you describe a location,time, ways, reasons, etc. location, so there + the BE verb is very useful. location

There is afireplace There isonebathroomin my apartment. There isn’taswimming pool in my living room. in my building. There + BE Singular Word Noun Location

There are twochairs There area fewtrain linesin my neighborhood. There areseveralchildren in my living room. in my building. There + BE Plural Word Plural Word Noun Location

1. __________ a porch in front of my house. 2. _________ three smoke detectors in my apartment. 3. _________ a number on my apartment door. There is There are There is

There is/there are are not usually used in other languages, so sometimes students use have instead. Are the following sentences correct or incorrect? (Food is a noncount noun and takes a singular verb.) Have a lot of food on the table. incorrect It has a lot of food on the table. incorrect There have a lot of food on the table. incorrect There is a lot of food on the table. correct

There is a book. This sentence needs a location. There is a book on the table. There are two plant on the shelf. Plant should be plural. There are two plants on the shelf.