There is and There are – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Neighborhood Description
You are talking to a new foreign friend about the neighborhood where you live. You want to tell them about the places and amenities in your area. Choose the correct option to complete each sentence.
1 I really like my neighborhood. ______ a beautiful green park near my house.
(a) There is
(b) There are
(c) It has
2 On the main street, ______ many small shops and local cafes.
(a) there is
(b) there are
(c) they are
3 My town is very small and quiet. ______ a subway station here.
(a) There aren’t
(b) There isn’t
(c) There doesn’t
4 ______ any big shopping malls in my village. We only have small markets.
(a) There isn’t
(b) There aren’t
(c) There don’t
5 Excuse me, ______ a hospital near your apartment?
(a) are there
(b) do there
(c) is there
6 Yes, ______. The hospital is just two blocks away from here.
(a) there is
(b) it is
(c) there are
7 ______ two large supermarkets next to the bus stop, so shopping is easy.
(a) There are
(b) There is
(c) There have
8 I love living in this area because ______ a lot of trees and flowers.
(a) there is
(b) there are
(c) there have
9 In the city center, ______ an old library and a national museum.
(a) there is
(b) there are
(c) it is
10 Are there any sports centers in your town? – No, ______.
(a) there isn’t
(b) they aren’t
(c) there aren’t
11 ______ an airport in your city, or do you have to travel far to catch a flight?
(a) Is there
(b) Are there
(c) Does there
12 Be careful when you cross the road. ______ a lot of traffic on my street in the morning.
(a) There are
(b) There is
(c) There have
13 How many bus stops ______ near your house?
(a) are there
(b) is there
(c) there are
14 ______ some really nice places to take photos by the river.
(a) There is
(b) There has
(c) There are
15 Unfortunately, ______ a public swimming pool in my neighborhood.
(a) there aren’t
(b) there isn’t
(c) there not is
16 At the end of the street, ______ a police station and two banks.
(a) there are
(b) there is
(c) it has
17 I sleep very well here because ______ much noise at night.
(a) there aren’t
(b) there don’t
(c) there isn’t
18 ______ any friendly neighbors in your new apartment building?
(a) Is there
(b) Are there
(c) Have there
19 In my hometown, ______ a famous historical bridge over the river.
(a) there is
(b) there are
(c) there has
20 ______ many tourists in your town during the summer?
(a) Do there
(b) Is there
(c) Are there
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (a) There is
- Why it is correct: “A beautiful green park” is a singular noun. We use “There is” to say that one thing exists in a place.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for plural nouns. (c) “It has” is a common translation mistake; we use “There is” to state existence, not possession by the neighborhood.
2 (b) there are
- Why it is correct: “Many small shops and local cafes” is a plural noun phrase. We use “There are” for two or more things.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular nouns. (b) “they are” means “chúng là” (identifying), not “có” (existing).
3 (b) There isn’t
- Why it is correct: “A subway station” is singular. The negative form of “There is” is “There isn’t” (There is not).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural nouns. (c) uses the wrong auxiliary verb (“does”).
4 (b) There aren’t
- Why it is correct: “Any big shopping malls” is plural. The negative form is “There aren’t” (There are not).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular nouns. (c) uses the wrong auxiliary verb.
5 (c) is there
- Why it is correct: To make a question about a singular noun (“a hospital”), we invert the words to “Is there…?”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural questions. (b) is grammatically incorrect.
6 (a) there is
- Why it is correct: The correct short answer to “Is there…?” is “Yes, there is.”
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “it is” does not match the question structure. (c) is for plural.
7 (a) There are
- Why it is correct: “Two large supermarkets” is plural.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for singular. (c) “There have” is a common A1 mistake; we never combine “there” with “have” to show existence.
8 (b) there are
- Why it is correct: “A lot of trees and flowers” is plural. (“A lot of” can be used with both singular uncountable and plural countable nouns, but here trees/flowers are countable plurals).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular. (c) is a structural error.
9 (a) there is
- Why it is correct: Rule of proximity! When listing multiple things (“an old library and a national museum”), the verb matches the very first item in the list. Because “an old library” is singular, we use “There is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is a strong distractor because there are two things in total, but it breaks the first-item rule. (c) is incorrect.
10 (c) there aren’t
- Why it is correct: The question asks “Are there…?”, so the matching negative short answer is “No, there aren’t.”
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is singular. (b) “they aren’t” does not match the “there” structure.
11 (a) Is there
- Why it is correct: “An airport” is singular, so we start the question with “Is there”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for plural. (c) uses the wrong auxiliary verb.
12 (b) There is
- Why it is correct: “Traffic” is an uncountable noun in English (you cannot say “one traffic, two traffics”). We always treat uncountable nouns as singular, so we use “There is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural countable nouns. (c) is grammatically incorrect.
13 (a) are there
- Why it is correct: In a “How many…?” question, the noun is plural (“bus stops”), so we use the question form “are there”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for singular. (c) “there are” is an affirmative statement, not a question word order.
14 (c) There are
- Why it is correct: “Some really nice places” is plural.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular. (b) is a structural error.
15 (b) there isn’t
- Why it is correct: “A public swimming pool” is singular, so we use the negative “there isn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural. (c) is incorrect word order.
16 (b) there is
- Why it is correct: This is the Rule of proximity again! The list is “a police station and two banks”. The first item (“a police station”) is singular, so we use “There is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “there are” would only be correct if the list started with the plural item (e.g., There are two banks and a police station). (c) is incorrect.
17 (c) there isn’t
- Why it is correct: “Noise” is an uncountable noun. We must treat it as singular, so the negative is “there isn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural nouns. (b) “there don’t” is a direct translation mistake.
18 (b) Are there
- Why it is correct: “Friendly neighbors” is plural, so the question starts with “Are there”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular. (c) is a structural error.
19 (a) there is
- Why it is correct: “A famous historical bridge” is singular.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for plural. (c) is structurally wrong.
20 (c) Are there
- Why it is correct: “Many tourists” is plural, so we form the question with “Are there”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) and (b) use incorrect auxiliary verbs for this plural noun.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When you want to tell someone about the places in your city, town, or neighborhood, use There is and There are. It is the most natural way to say in English.
- For ONE thing (Singular): Use There is + a/an + place.
- There is a hospital near here.
- There isn’t a subway.
- Is there a park?
- For TWO OR MORE things (Plural): Use There are + number/some/many/a lot of + places.
- There are three schools.
- There aren’t any big hotels.
- Are there any cafes?
- For UNCOUNTABLE things (Traffic, noise, pollution): Always use the singular There is.
- There is a lot of traffic. / There isn’t much noise.
- The List Rule: When you talk about a list of different places, look at the first place you mention to choose “is” or “are”.
- There is a bank and two shops. (Uses “is” because “a bank” is singular).
- There are two shops and a bank. (Uses “are” because “two shops” is plural).
- Common Trap: Never say “My neighborhood has…” or “There have…”. Always stick to “There is / There are”!