How to translate there were. The secret of the design There is. Choice of verb form

The construction there is (are) in the present tense. Rule. Example

Location construction there is (are) refers to the most common constructions of English grammar.

There is (are) construction used when we want to say that a certain object is in a particular place.

EXAMPLE. There is a cat on the table.

AT English language This phrase has the following meaning:

On the this the table lies some cat.

(i.e. the table is specific (this one, mine), and I see the cat for the first time 🙂

General view of the construction there is (are) in the present tense

Pay attention to the articles highlighted in blue:

article a means that I have not seen this OBJECT before (some kind of cat)

article the means that this PLACE is familiar to me (this table, my table, etc.)

1. Affirmative sentences with the construction there is (are):

There is+ a + n. (singular) + place (its location)
There are+ n. (plural) + place (their location)

EXAMPLES
There is a cat in the tree. - On the this tree (have) some cat.
There are two cats in the tree. - On the this tree two some cats.

Design there is (are) translates as is, is

• Verb is (are) in this construction, you can NOT translate or use other verbs denoting location when translating, for example: sitting, hanging, lying etc.

EXAMPLE. There is a cat in the tree. - can be translated as On this tree sits cat.

• In this construction, the word there lost its original meaning there.

2. Translation of a sentence from there is (are)

The translation of a sentence with this construction must begin with a word that answers the question where?(usually placed at the end of a sentence).

EXAMPLE

3. Interrogative sentences with the construction there is (are)

EXAMPLE
There is a problem. - Is is there a problem?

EXAMPLES
1) — Is there a problem? - There is a problem?

Yes, there is.- Yes.

— no, there isn't. No.

2) Are there books in your bag? Are there any books in your portfolio?

Yes, there are. - Yes.

or
- No, there aren't. - Not.

3) What is there in the room? - What is in this room?

— There is furniture in the room. - AT this the room has furniture.

4. Negative sentences with the construction there is (are)

Most often in negative sentences no(translated into this case how No).

EXAMPLE

Note 1.
If after construction there is there are two or more words, then the verb is a link BE usually agrees with the first of them.

EXAMPLES
There is a lamp and some pencils on the table.
There are some pencils and a lamp on the table.

Note 2.
If a plural noun is preceded by a lot of, then the verb is used in the plural.

EXAMPLES
There are a lot of books on the table.

5. Forms of construction there is (are) in simple tenses

1. There is (are)- in present time
2. There was (were)- in the past time
3. There will be- in future tense

6. A poem with the construction there is (are):

This is the Key of the Kingdom.
in that Kingdom there is a city;
in that city there is a town;
in that town there is a lane;
in that lane there is a yard;
in that yard there is a house;
in that house there is a room;
in that room there is a table;
On that table there is a basket;
In that basket there are some flowers.
Flowers in the basket, Basket on the table,
Table in the room, Room in the house,
House in the yard, Yard in the lane
Lane in the street, street in the town,
Town in the city, City in the Kingdom.
Of that Kingdom this is the Key.

7. Exercises for practicing the construction there is (are) in the present tense

In an affirmative sentence there is (are) construction has one of three options:

1. There is an apple on the apple tree.
2. There are three (many/some) apples on the apple tree.
3. There is some milk in the glass.

In design there is / are a noun may be preceded by a DETERMINANT (functional word, for example, the indefinite article (an, a), (three), quantity indicators (many, some) and their derivatives).

EXPLANATION

1. Before a noun in singular put the indefinite article a (an): an apple

2. Before a noun in the plural is placed cardinal number / many / some: three apples - three apples , many apples - a lot of apples, some apples - several apples.

3. An uncountable noun is preceded by indefinite number pointer some: some milk - a little milk.

Exercise 1. Paraphrase the sentences using the construction there is or there are

SAMPLE The cherries are in the basket. => There are some cherries in the basket.

1. The newspapers are on the table. =>
2. The flowers are in the vase =>
3. The cheese is in the fridge. =>
4. The story by A. Christie is in the book. =>
5. The kitten is under the bed. =>

Grammar comment.

Question. How the sentences differ: There is a bird in the tree. and The bird is in the tree? — Answer. Translation.

There is a bird in the tree. - Please note that when using the construction there is, we are talking about a certain subject ( a bird), which is located in a specific place (in the tree) and the translation will be - Sitting on (this) tree ( some) bird.

But if we rephrase the sentence, then its meaning will change!

The bird is in the tree. - This sentence refers to a specific bird ( the = this), which is located in a specific place (in the tree) and the translation will be - This bird on the tree.

Now it remains to understand what is the difference between the words "some" and "this" ...

Exercise 2. Translate into English using the construction there is or there are

1. There's tea in a cup. => There is some tea in the cup.
2. Candy in a vase. =>
3. There are gifts in the box. =>
4. There is food on the table. =>
5. There is porridge in a bowl. =>

In English, there is / there are often causes difficulties in construction, translation and use. Study the theory of this article, discuss it in class with the teacher, analyze the tables, do the exercises with there is / there are and you will remember this construction forever and will not make mistakes either when building sentences with there is / there are, or when translating Russian / English sentences.

The turnover there is/there are expresses

presence or existence in certain place person or object.

There is points

for the presence in a certain place of some one object (person).

There are points

for availability in a specific location several (many) objects (persons).

In other words, if you want to say that SOMETHING SOMETHING (SOMEONE)
located, use there is/there are.

It is WHERE SOMETHING (SOMEONE), and not vice versa - something (someone) somewhere.

Example 1: Phone in the bag. — There is a telephone in the bag.

In this sentence, we say that in some place - SOMEWHERE - "in the bag", there is SOMETHING - "phone". All conditions are met, that is, we apply the turnover there is / there are.

Example 2:
Phone in a bag. — The telephone is in the bag.

In this sentence, we indicate that SOMETHING ("phone") is SOMEWHERE ("in a bag"). This is a completely different construction of the Russian sentence, it begins with the subject (subject), and not with the place (circumstance). Therefore, the turnover there is / there are is not used here, but we simply translate in order - according to the rule for constructing English sentences - subject + predicate (with the verb to be in this case).

It is important to understand this difference.

Translating sentences from there is/there are

Translation into Russian of English sentences with the construction there is / there are should begin from the end of the sentence, more precisely, with circumstances.

For example: There is somemilk on the floor . - There is milk on the floor.

Sentence structure with there is/there are:

1. There is/there are
2. subject
3. circumstance of place or time

For example:

(1) There are (2) a lot of flowers (3) in the garden. There are many flowers in the garden.

What else you need to know about there is/there are

• The word there (there) in the turnover there is / there are does not have an independent meaning and is an inseparable whole with is / are. If, according to the meaning, it is necessary to express the circumstance of the place with the word “there” - “there”, then we repeat there at the end of the sentence.

For example:

There are some new chairs. — There are a few new chairs there.

For example:

— There wasn't any wine in the glass. There was no wine in the glass.

Will there be any people in the hall?

Brief answers to the question with the turnover there is/there are

Is there an apple on the plate? - Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.

- Is there an apple on the plate? - Not really.

— Were there any cups near the forks? - Yes, there were. / No, there weren’t.

— Were there cups near the forks? - Yes. / Not.

Will there be a meeting tomorrow? - Yes, there will. / No, there won't.

Will there be a meeting tomorrow? - Yes. /Not.

How to build a negative sentence with there is / there are

1. use NOT
2. use NO

For example:

There isn't any money in the wallet. (strengthening the denial) — There is no money in the wallet.

There is no money in the wallet. (more convincing form) - There is no money in the wallet.

INTRODUCTORY CONSTRUCTION THERE IS/ARE

As a rule, it stands at the beginning of a sentence and means "there is something somewhere, lies, hangs, is, stands" or, conversely, "there is no something." Word order in English sentence with a similar construction usually like this:
1. Yes.
2. What/who.
3. Where (nothing/whom where).

When translating sentences with an introductory construction into Russian, in most cases it is better to start with the circumstances (s) of the place (or time), i.e. where when? is/will be that/who.

!! Do not confuse the introductory construction with the adverb there- there. A fairly common mistake: they try to translate sentences with such a construction into Russian in the same word order and use the word there:
There are many places of interest in London. - (Incorrect: There are many attractions in London) There are many attractions in London.

look! There is a cafe over there. - Look! There's a cafe over there.

At the beginning of a sentence, the word There is part of the present singular introductory construction There is. At the end of the sentence there is an adverb, a circumstance of the place: over there - over there:

Who is there? - Who's there? (there - adverb)
What is there in the fridge? - What is (is) in the refrigerator?

There is part of the introductory singular construction. present time There is in interrogative form, i.e. is there.

The interrogative-negative form expresses surprise: Aren't there any shops here? - Aren't there shops here?

Compare:
Is there any paper in the table? - Is there paper in the table?
Isn't there any paper in the table? - Isn't there paper in the table? What, there's no paper on the table?

Currently, the structure is used There is/are… For the past tense, the construction will be There was/were…
In the future tense use the form There will be…

!! They are not different designs. it different forms of the same construction.

Behind the introductory construction of any time (in the affirmative sense) singular. the indefinite article often follows, unless, of course, the noun following it can be used with this article (see the topic “Article”):

There is a combo in your bag. - There is (is) a comb in your bag;
There are flowers in the vase. - There are flowers in a vase;
There was a young man in the room. - There was (was, stood, sat) a young man in the room;
There was milk (you can say some milk) in the jug. - There was milk in the jug;
There will be fine weather tomorrow. - The weather will be fine tomorrow.

Variants of the negative form of the introductory construction:
There is no - there is not any = there isn't any(for units)
There are no = There aren't any(for plural)

In the interrogative form, the components of the introductory construction are interchanged: Is there…? Was there…? Are there…? Were there…? Will there be…?

There is a carpet on the floor in his room. - There is a carpet on the floor in his room;
Are there any pictures on the walls? - Are there paintings on the walls?
There is no ticket in my pocket. - I don't have a ticket in my pocket,
Were there any problems with the documents? - Were there any problems with the documents?
There isn't any water in the glass, is there? - There is no (no) water in the glass, is there?
There are some chairs in the room, aren't there? - Yes, there are. - There are some chairs in the room, right? - Yes there is;
Was there a shelf on this wall? Was there a shelf on this wall?
Will there be dancers at the party? - Will there be dancers at the celebration (at the party)?
There is no snow in the street - There is no snow on the street (there is no snow);
How many people are there in the house? - How many people (are) in the house?
How much money is there in the folder? - How much money (is) in the wallet?
There is not a single cloud in the sky. - There is not a cloud in the sky (not one, not a single one);
What is there in her bag? - What (is, lies) in her bag?

Source: English cheat sheet / E. Gritsay.

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The construction there is and there are may seem complicated, especially for beginners, simply because there is no equivalent in Russian. The situation is also complicated by the fact that in some cases this construction is not translated in any way. We suggest that you deal with this turnover once and for all and learn how to use it correctly.

To make learning more interesting, and you can see the practical use of this construction, we have added movie clips.

Why do you need there is / there in English

This construction means that something exists or is located in a particular place. Theoretically, it can be translated as “there is”, “there exists”, “there is”, but in practice it usually remains without translation. Let's look at an example:

The Englishman says:

There is a pencil on the table, you can take it.

We'll say:

There is a pencil on the table, you can take it.

As you can see, the sentence is not translated literally. Translation word for word would look very clumsy:

There is a pencil on the table, you can take it.

Now let's literally try to translate from Russian into English:

A pencil lies on the table.

It would seem that everything is correctly translated "the pencil is on the table." The only problem is that in English, when they say that an inanimate object is somewhere, they don’t use the word “lies” (lie).

As long as there is life, there is hope.

Or imagine a situation where you ordered a pizza and asked to add mushrooms to it. They bring you pizza, but without mushrooms, for which you paid extra. To complain to the waiter, you will need the construction that we are considering today. Here's what you can say:

We've ordered pizza with mushrooms, but there aren't any mushrooms in our pizza.

We ordered pizza with mushrooms, but our pizza has no mushrooms.

Of course you can say:

No mushrooms are in our pizza. / Mushrooms aren't in our pizza.

It's just that this one will sound like "no mushrooms on my pizza." That is, you will sound like a person who knows English very, very poorly. Such sentences will look unnatural, and the interlocutor will have to try very hard to solve your “puzzle” and understand what you mean from this set of words.

Or imagine that you want to say that there is a certain group of people. For example, you are discussing your dream job with someone. You say that you would like to make money traveling. And a person objects to you that this is not a job.

As an argument, you can cite the fact that there are many examples of people who make money by traveling. And for this you also need the there + be construct:

There are many examples of people who make a living as travelers.

There are many examples of people who make a living as travelers.

There are good people here.

How sentences are built with the construction there + be

From the examples above, above, you probably already guessed that we put “is” when we talk about an object in the singular, and “are” - when in the plural.

The structure of the affirmative sentence would look like this:

There is / there are + subject + circumstance of place or time.

There are two cats in the yard. There are two cats in the yard.

There is a bottle of milk in the fridge. — There is a bottle of milk in the refrigerator.

The construction is shortened as follows:

There is - there's

There are - there're

By the way, in informal speech you can sometimes find there's in cases when it comes to the plural. This is not very competent, but in a conversation with a friend it is permissible. Of course, you should never use there is with the plural in formal communication.

There is also used with uncountable nouns:

There is some water in that bottle. There is some water in that bottle.

Negation:

To form a negative sentence, it is enough to simply add a particle not after there is / there are a before the subject to put the pronoun any.

T here aren't any pencils on the table. There are no pencils on the table.

There isn't any milk in the fridge. — There is no milk in the fridge.

Okay, if there's no hope, why don't you leave?

The second way is to add a negative "no" before the subject.

There is no pencil on the table. — There is no pencil on the table.

• No exceptions.

Interrogative sentences with there is and there are

For building interrogative sentences we simply put the verb "be" in the correct form (is, are) at the beginning of the sentence:

Is there a pencil on the table? — Is there a pencil on the table?

Are there many people at the office? Are there many people in the office?

Okay, any questions?

If the question contains question words like what / how many, etc., then the sentence template will look like this:

Interrogative word + be + there + circumstance of place or time.

For example:

How many pencils are there on the table? How many pencils are on the table?

What is there behind the door? - What's behind the door?

There + be in different times

Of course, we can apply this construction in other times as well. To do this, you just need to put the verb "be" in the form of the tense in which we want to use the construction.

For example, for the past tense, the construction would look like this

Was there a doctor at the party? Was there a doctor at the party?

Was there someone?

There were many interesting people at the conference.

There were many interesting people at the conference.

For the future tense, we put an auxiliary before the verb "be" will verb. In negations, the particle not is added to it, in questions it is brought forward.

There will be consequences!

will be there a boy who do you like? Will there be a boy you like there?

1. There will be no more games.

There is with modal verbs:

You can also use this construct with modal verbs. For example, you decide to make an omelette in the evening, and a friend tells you in the store that you forgot to take the milk. And you remember that you still had enough milk left at home. Then you can answer:

There should be some milk in the fridge.

There must be milk in the refrigerator.

There shouldn't be any problems, right?

There might be a mistake. - There may be a mistake.

Small but important features

Please note that with the definite article (the) this construction is practically not used.

Don't say:

There is the pencil on the table. This pencil "exists" on the table.

It would be correct to say:

The pencil is on the table. This pencil is on the table.

If we want to list multiple items, and start with plural- then we say there are.

There are two pencils and a pen in the box.

The box contains two pencils and a pen.

If, on the contrary, we start first talking about an object in the singular, and then we add objects in the plural - we use there is.

There is some milk and two eggs in the fridge.

There is some milk and two eggs in the refrigerator.

Although the construction of there is and there are may seem a little confusing at first glance, but with constant practice, you can easily bring it to automatism. The main thing is to remember the basic rules, read and listen a lot in English, and, of course, try to speak correctly.

Constructions There is and There are are used to indicate the presence of something in a certain place, the location of objects or their quantity. In this construction, the word there speaks formal subject and does not carry any meaning (it cannot be translated as " here», « there”), so such sentences are translated from the end.

• There is a mouse in the kitchen!- There's a mouse in the kitchen!
• There are some cookies in the box.- There are some cookies in the box.

• There was a man in the room.- There was a man in the room.
• There were men in the room waiting for you. There were men in the room waiting for you.

• I think there will be a lot of people at tomorrow's concert. I think there will be a lot of people at tomorrow's concert.

Statement

In affirmative sentences, the formal subject always comes first. there, followed by the verb to be in the correct form and " present subject"(object or person). Verb form to be depends on the number of the noun and the tense in the sentence.

There is and there was used for items or concepts in the singular or uncountable nouns.

There are and there were used for plural items.

If in the statement after revolutions there is / there was / there will be the countable object is in the singular, it is used with the indefinite article a / an. Definite article the practically not used.

• There is = There's (abbreviation)
• There's a cat in our garden.- In our yard (some) cat.

If this is a set of objects, then a numeral is used indicating their number or word some(several). Also used before uncountable nouns some.

• There are two cats in our garden.- There are two cats in our yard.
• There are some cats in our garden.- In our yard (there are some) cats.

• There's some milk in the fridge.– There is some milk in the fridge.
• There was some food in this lunchbox. There was food in this lunch box.

In the statement after construction there is/ there was/ there will be pronouns can be used someone(someone) and something(something).

• There was something strange in his room. There was something strange in his room.
• There was someone asking for your phone number. Someone asked for your phone number.

Negation

Negative offer with there is /there are formed by a negative particle not after the verb to be in the correct form.

in denial with there is not/ there wasn't / there will not be singular nouns are used with the indefinite article a/ an(no negative pronouns, since there can only be one negative in English).

• There wasn't a cat in our garden.
• There won't be a party next week.- On the next week there will be no party.

In a negative sentence, nouns in plural or uncountable nouns are used with a pronoun any(any, none).

• There is not = there isn't (abbreviation)
• There isn't any money in his wallet.

• There are not = there aren't
• There aren't any pencils on my desk.

In denial after there is not / there wasn't / there will not be pronouns can be used anybody, anyone(someone, no one) and anything(something, nothing, nothing).

• There isn't anyone in the room.- There is nobody in the room.
• There wasn't anything interesting in that city. There was nothing interesting in that city.

Also, a negative sentence can be formed using a negative pronoun no before a noun, regardless of its number. In this case, the particle is not placed not after to be .

• There was no cat in our garden. There was no cat in our yard.
• There are no pencils on my desk. There are no pencils on my desk.
• There is no money in his wallet. There is no money in his wallet.

In a negative sentence after there is /there was /there will be pronouns can be used nobody,no one(no one) and nothing(nothing, nothing).

• There is no one in the room.- There is nobody in the room.
• There was nothing interesting in that city. There was nothing interesting in that city.

Question

Interrogative sentence with there is / there are is formed by placing the verb to be in the correct form at the beginning of the sentence.

As in negative sentences, singular nouns are used with the indefinite article in the question. a / an.

• Is there a cat outside?- Is there a cat outside?
• Will there be a party next week? Will there be a party next week?

In questions, plural nouns or uncountable nouns used with pronoun any(someone).

• Were there any pencils on my desk? Were there (some) pencils on my desk?
• Is there any money in your pockets? Do you have (any) money in your pockets?

In questions after is there / was there/ will there be pronouns can be used anybody, anyone(someone) and anything(something).

• Is there anything I can do for you?- Can I help you?

Brief answers to general questions also use the construction there is/ there are in the affirmative or negative form at the right time.

• Is there a cat outside?- Is there a cat outside?
• yes, there is.- Yes there is.
• no, there isn't.- Not.

• Was there anyone in my room? Was there someone in my room?
• yes, there was.- Yes.
• no, there wasn't.- Not.

In special questions, the question word comes first, followed by the word order of the general question. After interrogative expressions how many/ how much followed by the noun they refer to.

• Who is there in my room?- Who is in my room?
• Why are there so many people? Why are there so many people there?
• How much money is there in your wallet?- How much money is in your wallet?

Features of use

There is / There are can be used with almost all tenses and modal verbs, as well as with the construction to be going to. In this case, only the verb is changed. to be.

• There has been an accident this morning. I hope everything is alright now.“There was an accident this morning. Hope everything is fine now.
• She said that there had been nothing to drink at Matt's party. She said that there were no drinks at Matt's party.

• There must be some money in my pocket. There must be some money in my pocket.
• There may be a dog in their garden. Perhaps there is a dog in their yard.
• There should have been a letter from Craig in my mailbox. There should have been a letter from Craig in my mailbox.

• There is going to be a charity concert next week. They are going to hold a charity concert next week.

Enumeration of items

When listing multiple items after a construct there is / there are the verb to be is put in the singular or plural form depending on the number of the noun that follows it.

• There is one cat and one puppy in Jack's house. There is one cat and one puppy in Jack's house.
• There is a cat and two puppies in Jack's house. There is one cat and two puppies in Jack's house.
• There are two puppies and a cat in Jack's house. There are two puppies and one cat in Jack's house.

There with other verbs

The verb to be in construction there is / there are can be replaced by other verbs that express the meaning of presence, such as to exist(be, exist) to lie(lie), to live(live), to come(come, happen) to stand(stand) etc.

• There was a big stature in this park. There was a big statue in this park.
• There stood a big stature in this park. There was a big statue in this park.

• There lives an old woman in this house.- An elderly woman lives in this house.
• There came some noise from his room. There was (some) noise coming from his room.