Grammar: A2 - ✨ Grammar Essentials: 🏗️ Sentence Structure - Expanding - Lesson 4: Questions & Negatives with "There is / There are"

Grammar: There is / There are

A2 Lesson 18: Questions & Negatives

What you will learn: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to ask questions and make negative statements using "There is" and "There are".

Form	Structure	Example
Question (Singular)	Is there...?	Is there a post office nearby?
Question (Plural)	Are there...?	Are there any good restaurants?
Negative (Singular)	There is not (isn't)...	There isn't a swimming pool here.
Negative (Plural)	There are not (aren't)...	There aren't any tickets left.

Note: A very common negative uses no. For example, "There aren't any tickets" is the same as "There are no tickets."

Let's see how these forms are used when checking into a hotel in Siem Reap.

Tourist: Hello. Is there a restaurant in the hotel?

Receptionist: No, there isn't. But there are many good restaurants on the next street.

Tourist: Great! And are there any tuk-tuks available now?

Receptionist: Yes, there are. They are waiting outside.

Tourist: Perfect. One last question: is there an ATM close by?

Receptionist: I'm sorry, there isn't an ATM on this street.

Change the statement into the form shown in the parentheses ( ).

There is a post office. (Question)
→ Is there a post office?
There are some empty seats. (Negative)
→ There aren't any empty seats. / There are no empty seats.
There is a lot of traffic. (Question)
→ Is there a lot of traffic?
There is a direct flight to Bangkok. (Negative)
→ There isn't a direct flight to Bangkok.

Imagine you are calling a guesthouse in Kampot. Write two questions using "Is there...?" or "Are there...?" to ask about the things it has.

Invert (Verb) | ប្តូរ
To change the order or position of two things. In grammar, we invert the subject and verb to make a question.