there is / there are
Describing a room, a picture or a scene — the structure that turns a word list into a description.
From age 5First words →
✏️ 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.
🗣️ Sentences a child can say
Tap any sentence to hear it. Every one uses words from a topic pack you already have.
🩹 What you will actually hear
The three mistakes that come up in every class, and what is behind each one.
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.
🎯 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.
💬 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.