There is and There are – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Changing Plans due to Traffic or Crowds (Condition-based Advice)
You are outside with your friends. You see a problem (a traffic jam, a crowded place, or bad weather) and you want to advise them to change their plans. Choose the correct option to describe the situation.
1 Look at the main street! ______ a lot of cars waiting in the traffic jam.
(a) There is
(b) There are
(c) It has
2 We can’t eat at this restaurant. ______ a long line of people outside.
(a) There is
(b) There are
(c) They are
3 Let’s take the subway today. ______ too much traffic on the road right now.
(a) There is
(b) There are
(c) There has
4 ______ many people inside the supermarket. We should come back later.
(a) There is
(b) There are
(c) It has
5 We need to find another way. ______ a big accident on the bridge.
(a) There are
(b) There is
(c) There be
6 I don’t want to go to the festival tonight. ______ too much noise there.
(a) There are
(b) There is
(c) There have
7 Let’s walk to the park instead. ______ any buses running today because of the holiday.
(a) There aren’t
(b) There isn’t
(c) They aren’t
8 We cannot park the car here. ______ any space left in this parking lot.
(a) There aren’t
(b) There isn’t
(c) It isn’t
9 Let’s choose a different coffee shop. ______ any empty tables in this one.
(a) There aren’t
(b) There isn’t
(c) There no
10 Are there any cheaper hotels in this area? – No, ______. Let’s drive to the next town.
(a) there isn’t
(b) there aren’t
(c) they aren’t
11 We should run to the train station! ______ much time before the train leaves.
(a) There aren’t
(b) There isn’t
(c) There don’t
12 Is there a faster road to the airport? – Yes, ______. Let’s use the highway.
(a) there is
(b) it is
(c) there are
13 Please don’t drive today. ______ a lot of heavy rain and strong winds outside.
(a) There is
(b) There are
(c) It has
14 ______ a police officer at the corner, so we cannot turn left here.
(a) There are
(b) There have
(c) There is
15 Let’s wait for the next train. There ______ no empty seats left on this one.
(a) is
(b) are
(c) have
16 We must cancel the boat trip. There ______ a lot of dark clouds in the sky.
(a) are
(b) is
(c) has
17 Let’s get off the bus now. There ______ any fresh air in here, and I feel sick.
(a) aren’t
(b) isn’t
(c) doesn’t
18 I recommend going to the local market because there ______ usually fewer tourists.
(a) are
(b) is
(c) have
19 Look at the map app. There ______ a broken traffic light and two stopped cars ahead. Let’s turn right instead.
(a) are
(b) is
(c) have
20 There ______ no reason to wait here. The restaurant is closed!
(a) isn’t
(b) are
(c) is
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) There are
- Why it is correct: “A lot of cars” is a plural noun phrase. We use “There are” to talk about plural things.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular nouns. (c) “It has” is a common direct translation error. We use “there are” to show existence, not possession.
2 (a) There is
- Why it is correct: “A long line” is a singular noun phrase. Even though the line is made of people, the word “line” itself is singular.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for plural nouns. (c) “They are” is used to identify who someone is, not to say that something exists.
3 (a) There is
- Why it is correct: “Traffic” is an uncountable noun. In English, we always treat uncountable nouns as singular, so we use “There is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for plural nouns. (c) “There has” is structurally incorrect.
4 (b) There are
- Why it is correct: “People” is the irregular plural form of “person”. Because it is plural, we use “There are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular nouns. (c) is a translation error.
5 (b) There is
- Why it is correct: “A big accident” is a singular noun.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural nouns. (c) uses the unconjugated base verb “be”, which is wrong.
6 (b) There is
- Why it is correct: “Noise” is an uncountable noun. We must use the singular “There is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural nouns. (c) is structurally incorrect.
7 (a) There aren’t
- Why it is correct: “Buses” is plural. The negative form is “There aren’t” (There are not).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for singular or uncountable nouns. (c) “They aren’t” does not fit the structure to express existence.
8 (b) There isn’t
- Why it is correct: “Space” is an uncountable noun. The negative form is “There isn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural countable nouns. (c) is grammatically incorrect for this context.
9 (a) There aren’t
- Why it is correct: “Empty tables” is plural, so we use “There aren’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for singular nouns. (c) “There no” is missing the verb “are”.
10 (b) 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 for singular. (c) does not match the question word “there”.
11 (b) There isn’t
- Why it is correct: “Time” is an uncountable noun. We use the singular negative “There isn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural nouns. (c) uses the wrong auxiliary verb.
12 (a) there is
- Why it is correct: The question asks “Is there…?”, so the positive short answer is “Yes, there is.”
- Why the others are wrong: (b) does not match the “there” structure. (c) is for plural.
13 (a) There is
- Why it is correct: “Rain” is an uncountable noun. Even with “a lot of”, we still treat it as singular and use “There is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is a common mistake because students think “a lot of” always takes “are”. (c) is a translation error.
14 (c) There is
- Why it is correct: “A police officer” is singular.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural nouns. (b) is a structural error.
15 (b) are
- Why it is correct: “Seats” is plural. The sentence already contains the negative word “no”, so we use the affirmative verb “are” (There are no seats = There aren’t any seats).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular. (c) cannot be combined with “there”.
16 (a) are
- Why it is correct: “Dark clouds” is plural, so we use “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for singular. (c) is a structural error.
17 (b) isn’t
- Why it is correct: “Air” is an uncountable noun. We must use the singular negative “isn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural countable nouns. (c) uses the wrong auxiliary verb.
18 (a) are
- Why it is correct: “Tourists” is plural, so we use “are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for singular nouns. (c) is incorrect.
19 (b) is
- Why it is correct: The Rule of Proximity (Quy tắc tiếp cận)! When listing multiple obstacles (“a broken traffic light and two stopped cars”), the verb must agree with the first item in the list. “A broken traffic light” is singular, so we use “is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a common trap because the total number of problems is plural, but it breaks the proximity rule. (c) is a structural error.
20 (c) is
- Why it is correct: “Reason” is a singular noun. Since the sentence has the word “no”, we use the affirmative singular verb “is”. (There is no reason).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “isn’t no” is a double negative and is incorrect in English. (b) is for plural nouns.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When you want to warn your friends about a problem (like traffic, bad weather, or crowds) so they can change their plans, using “There is / There are” is the most natural way to describe the obstacle.
- For Countable Plural Nouns (People, cars, buses, tourists, clouds):
- There are a lot of cars on the road.
- There aren’t any empty tables. / There are no empty tables.
- For Uncountable Nouns (Traffic, noise, space, time, rain, air, music):
- ALWAYS treat them as singular!
- There is too much traffic.
- There isn’t any space. / There is no space.
- Warning about a List of Problems (The Proximity Rule): If you point out several different things, look at the first word after the verb to choose “is” or “are”.
- There is a police car and two buses blocking the road. (Uses “is” because “a police car” is singular).
- There are two buses and a police car blocking the road. (Uses “are” because “two buses” is plural).
- The Golden Rule to Avoid Mistakes: Never say “The road has a lot of traffic” or “There have many people”. Stick to “There is” and “There are” to point out conditions!