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There Is, There Are, Some, Any

English Grammar: There Is, There Are, Some, Any

In English grammar we use "there is" or "there are" to talk about things we can see and things that exist.

We use “there is” for singular and uncountable nouns, and we use “there are” for plural countable nouns.

“There are five people in the office.” (plural countable noun)

“There's a television in the living room.” (singular countable noun)

or “There's some milk in the fridge.” (uncountable noun)

Using "some"

With plural countable nouns we can either give the quantity (“five people”) or use “some” if we don't know the exact quantity.

“There are five people in the office.” (We can see five people exactly)

“There are some people in the office.” (We don't know exactly how many people)

With uncountable nouns we also use “some”.

“There's some milk in the fridge,” (I don't know the exact quantity.)

“There's some money in my wallet.” (I don't know exactly how much money.)

Remember: with singular countable nouns we use a/an, the, or another determiner or pronoun – not “some”.

“There's a woman in the shop.”

“There's the woman who works in the hospital.”

“There's my sister in the photo.”

Negative form and using "any"

There are two ways to form the negative.

1. Add not or n't to the end of the verb. See our page on the verb to be for more information on forming negatives and questions.

"There isn't a freezer in the kitchen." (singular, countable noun)

"There isn't any money in my wallet." (uncountable noun)

"There aren't any students" in the classroom. (plural noun)

For uncountable nouns, use “any” after the negative “isn't”, and for plural countable nouns use “any” after “aren't”.

Remember: Do not use "any" with singular countable nouns.
"There isn't a single biscuit left in the packet." (Not "There isn't any single biscuit left in the packet.")

2. Use "no" after "there is" or "there are".

"There is no freezer in the kitchen." (singular countable noun)

"There are no students in the classroom." (plural noun)

"There's no coffee left." (uncountable noun)

However, it's more common to use "isn't + a" for singular countable nouns, "isnt + any" for countable nouns and "aren't + any" for plural nouns.

If you need more help with English grammar, see our page on some and any for more information.

Question form

To make a question, change the word order from subject-verb to verb-subject:

There is a + singular noun = Is there a + singular noun?

There is some + uncountable noun = Is there any + uncountable noun?

There are some + plural noun = Are there any + uncountable noun?

"Is there a toilet on this train?"

"Is there any time to go shopping?"

"Are there any trains to London this morning?"

Short answer form

Yes, there is. / No there isn't.

Yes there are. / No there aren't.

Click here to see a video about  how to use some  and any

Click here to see a video about how to use there is  or there are

Exercise 1: There is, There are, Some and Any 

Exercise 2: There is, There are, Some and Any 

Quantifiers; how many and how much

How much? - How many?

English Grammar

When we want to know the quantity or amount of something, we ask questions starting with How much and How many.

HOW MUCH ...? - (Quantity)

How much is used with uncountable nouns.

HOW MUCH + UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

• How much time do we have to finish the test?
• How much money did you spend?
• How much sugar would you like in your coffee?
• How much paper will I need?
• How much milk is in the fridge?
• How much traffic was there on the way to work?

If the verb To Be is used with an uncountable noun, it is in singular form (= IS or WAS etc.)

HOW MUCH ...? - (Price)

How much can also be used when we want to know the PRICE of something.

In this case, we can use How much with countable nouns (both singular and plural nouns).

• How much is that painting?
• How much are those shoes?
• How much did your jacket cost?
• How much is the dress on display in the window?
• How much will it cost me?
• How much does it cost ?

HOW MANY ...? - (Quantity)

How many is used when we want to know the QUANTITY of something.

It is only used with plural countable nouns.

HOW MANY + PLURAL NOUN

• How many days are there in January?
• How many people work in your company?
• How many cousins do you have?
• How many books did you buy?
• How many countries are there in the world?
• How many students are in the class right now?
• How many chairs are there in this room?
• How many pieces of chocolate would you like?

Omitting the noun

Often the noun is omitted in the question when it is obvious what we are talking about.

A: I would like to buy some cheese. B: How much (cheese) would you like?

The noun cheese is not necessary after how much since we already know we are talking about cheese. In fact, it is normally omitted to avoid sounding repetitive.

More examples:

• A: I need some coins. - B: How many do you need?
• A: I need some sugar. - B: How much do you need?

Click here to see a video about how many and how much

Click here to see a video about quantifiers

Exercise 1: how much and how many

Exercise 2: Quantifiers