there is / there are

Describing a room, a picture or a scene — the structure that turns a word list into a description.

From age 5Cambridge level: Pre-A1 Starters

Age: Ages 5–11
Level: Pre-A1
Skill: Grammar
Format: Teacher guide

The pattern

Saying it: There is a… / There are two…
Saying no: There isn't a… / There aren't any…
Asking: Is there a…? / Are there any…?
Short answer: Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.

Printable worksheet Presentation (PPT)

Sentences a child can say

Tap any sentence to hear it. Every one uses words from a topic pack you already have.

Mini exercise: choose the right word

Five sentences from this page, each with a word missing. A child taps the word that fits and, once it is right, hears the whole sentence.

There blank a cat on the bed.
There blank two chairs.
There blank a dog.
There blank any birds.
There blank five stars.

What you will actually hear

The mistakes that come up in every class, and what is behind each one, with a tag on those a first language makes typical.

There are a cat.There is a cat.

One thing takes is. Count first, then choose the verb.

Here is a cat on the bed.There is a cat on the bed.

Here points at something close. There is says a thing exists, wherever it is.

It is a cat on the bed.There is a cat on the bed.

It is names a thing you already introduced. There is introduces it for the first time.

Typical for Arabic and Russian speakers

On the table is a book.There is a book on the table.

Russian («на столе книга») and Arabic («⁧على الطاولة كتاب⁩») open with the place and need no there. English opens with There is or There are, and the place comes last.

Typical for Arabic and Spanish speakers

There is two cats.There are two cats.

Spanish «hay» and Arabic «⁧يوجد⁩» stay the same for one thing or many, so children keep is. English counts first: one thing, there is; more than one, there are.

How to teach it

1
Give them a picture with things to find, not a sentence to repeat. Description is a reason to speak; repetition is not.
2
Do singular for a whole lesson before you add plural. Both at once is what produces “there are a cat”.
3
Use their own bedroom. A child describing their real room will reach for words you never planned to teach.
4
Pair it with prepositions the moment it is steady — on, in, under turn a list into a scene.

Topic packs that pair with this

Same structure, words your class already knows — no new vocabulary needed.

At home In the kitchen In town Nature School

Questions teachers ask

When do I introduce there are with plurals?

Once there is comes out without thinking — usually a few lessons later. Plurals bring their own -s problem, and stacking two new things is how both get shaky.

Is there a good game for this?

Spot the difference is the classic, because the difference is the sentence: “There are three birds — no, there are four!” Two nearly-identical pictures do more work than any worksheet.