There is and There are – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Inventory Check for Planning (Cooking or Eating Out?)
You and your roommate are opening the fridge and the kitchen cupboards to see what food is left. You need to decide whether to cook dinner at home or go out to eat. Choose the correct option to describe what ingredients you have (or don’t have).
1 Let’s open the fridge. Look, ______ two red apples on the shelf.
(a) there is
(b) there are
(c) it has
2 ______ a big pizza in the freezer. We can heat it up for dinner.
(a) There is
(b) There are
(c) It is
3 We can’t make a large omelet because ______ only three eggs left in the carton.
(a) they are
(b) there is
(c) there are
4 ______ a bottle of orange juice on the table for us to drink.
(a) There is
(b) There are
(c) There has
5 Are we ready to cook? ______ some potatoes in the basket.
(a) Is there
(b) There is
(c) There are
6 Great, ______ some milk in the fridge, so we can make pancakes.
(a) there are
(b) there is
(c) it is
7 I want to make garlic bread. ______ any butter in the fridge?
(a) Do there
(b) Are there
(c) Is there
8 Oh no, we can’t make fried rice. ______ any rice in the cupboard.
(a) There aren’t
(b) There isn’t
(c) There doesn’t
9 I wanted to make a salad, but ______ any tomatoes.
(a) there aren’t
(b) there isn’t
(c) there no
10 Let’s check the vegetables. ______ any onions left in the bag?
(a) Is there
(b) Have there
(c) Are there
11 Are there any carrots for the soup? – No, ______.
(a) there isn’t
(b) there aren’t
(c) they aren’t
12 Is there any chicken in the freezer? – Yes, ______.
(a) there is
(b) it is
(c) there are
13 We can’t make homemade pizza today. There ______ no cheese in the fridge.
(a) isn’t
(b) are
(c) is
14 ______ any water in the bottle, so I need to go to the supermarket to buy some.
(a) There aren’t
(b) There isn’t
(c) It hasn’t
15 Look! ______ a lemon and two oranges on the kitchen counter.
(a) There are
(b) There is
(c) There have
16 For breakfast tomorrow, ______ three sausages and a piece of ham.
(a) there is
(b) they are
(c) there are
17 I want to bake a sweet cake, but ______ enough sugar in the jar.
(a) there isn’t
(b) there aren’t
(c) there don’t
18 ______ a lot of meat in this bowl. We can definitely grill it tonight!
(a) There are
(b) There is
(c) There have
19 We can’t cook a healthy meal tonight because there aren’t ______ fresh vegetables.
(a) any
(b) some
(c) a
20 ______ no bread for sandwiches, so let’s just go out to eat!
(a) There isn’t
(b) There are
(c) There is
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) there are
- Why it is correct: “Two red apples” is a plural noun, so we use “there are” to show they exist.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular nouns. (c) “It has” is a common translation mistake; we use “there are” to point out things in a space (like a fridge).
2 (a) There is
- Why it is correct: “A big pizza” is a singular noun.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for plural nouns. (c) “It is” is used to identify something, not to state its existence in a location.
3 (c) there are
- Why it is correct: “Three eggs” is plural.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “They are” means “Chúng là”, not “Có”. (b) is for singular nouns.
4 (a) There is
- Why it is correct: “A bottle” is singular.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for plural. (c) “There has” is a structural error (never combine ‘there’ with ‘has’ to show existence).
5 (c) There are
- Why it is correct: “Some potatoes” is a plural noun phrase.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is the question form. (b) is for singular/uncountable nouns.
6 (b) there is
- Why it is correct: “Milk” is an uncountable noun (you cannot count “one milk, two milks”). We always treat uncountable nouns as singular and use “there is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural countable nouns. (c) is incorrect for this context.
7 (c) Is there
- Why it is correct: “Butter” is an uncountable noun. To ask a question about an uncountable noun, we use “Is there…?”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) uses the wrong auxiliary verb. (b) is for plural nouns.
8 (b) There isn’t
- Why it is correct: “Rice” is an uncountable noun, so we use the singular negative “There isn’t” (There is not).
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural countable nouns. (c) uses the wrong auxiliary verb.
9 (a) there aren’t
- Why it is correct: “Tomatoes” is plural, so the negative form is “there aren’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for singular/uncountable nouns. (c) is a structural error.
10 (c) Are there
- Why it is correct: “Onions” is plural, so the question must start with “Are there”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for singular nouns. (b) uses the wrong auxiliary verb.
11 (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) “They aren’t” does not match the grammar of the question.
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 (c) is
- Why it is correct: “Cheese” is uncountable, so we use the singular verb “is”. Because the sentence already has the negative word “no” (no cheese), we must use the affirmative verb “is”. “There is no cheese” = “There isn’t any cheese”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) “isn’t no” is a double negative and is grammatically incorrect. (b) is for plural nouns.
14 (b) There isn’t
- Why it is correct: “Water” is an uncountable noun. We must use the singular negative “There isn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is for plural. (c) is a translation error (“Nó không có”).
15 (b) There is
- Why it is correct: The Rule of Proximity (Quy tắc tiếp cận)! When listing multiple items (“a lemon and two oranges”), the verb must agree with the first item in the list. “A lemon” is singular, so we use “There is”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a common trap because the total number of fruit is three, but it breaks the proximity rule. (c) is a structural error.
16 (c) there are
- Why it is correct: The Rule of Proximity. The first item in the list is “three sausages” (plural), so we must use “There are”.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) would only be correct if the list started with the singular item (e.g., There is a piece of ham and three sausages). (b) is incorrect.
17 (a) there isn’t
- Why it is correct: “Sugar” is an uncountable noun. Therefore, we use the singular negative “there isn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: (b) is for plural nouns. (c) uses the wrong auxiliary verb.
18 (b) There is
- Why it is correct: “Meat” is an uncountable noun. Even though there is “a lot of” in front of it, we still treat uncountable nouns as singular.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) is a common mistake because students think “a lot of” always means plural. (c) is a structural error.
19 (a) any
- Why it is correct: In negative sentences with “there aren’t”, we use the word “any” to mean zero quantity (“bất cứ… nào”).
- Why the others are wrong: (b) “Some” is used in affirmative sentences. (c) “A” is only used for singular countable nouns.
20 (c) There is
- Why it is correct: “Bread” is an uncountable noun in English, so we use the singular verb “is”. “There is no bread” is the correct way to say the bread is completely gone.
- Why the others are wrong: (a) creates a double negative (“isn’t no”). (b) is for plural nouns.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
When you open your fridge or cupboards to check what food you have, “There is / There are” is the perfect structure to use.
- For Countable Plural Nouns (Things you can count: apples, eggs, tomatoes, potatoes):
- (+) There are some eggs.
- (-) There aren’t any tomatoes. (or There are no tomatoes.)
- (?) Are there any onions?
- For Uncountable Nouns (Things you cannot count: milk, water, rice, butter, cheese, meat, sugar, bread):
- ALWAYS treat them as singular!
- (+) There is some milk.
- (-) There isn’t any rice. (or There is no rice.)
- (?) Is there any butter?
- The “Any” vs “No” Rule:
- Use any with negative verbs: There isn’t any bread.
- Use no with affirmative verbs: There is no bread.
- The Listing Rule (Proximity): If you list different types of food, match the verb to the first food you mention!
- There is an apple and two eggs. (Uses “is” because “an apple” is singular).
- There are two eggs and an apple. (Uses “are” because “two eggs” is plural).