Fun Grammar Lessons

There Is / There Are

1 Grammar Notes 2

2 Matching 3

3 Multiple-Choice 4

4 Questions & Answers 5

5 Dialogues 7

6 Pair Work 8

7 Class Survey 10

A Answer Key 11

B Preposition Review 12

C Container Vocabulary Review 13

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

1 Grammar Notes
In English, “there is” and “there are”
can start sentences. These sentences
usually describe the amount and • There is a carrot on my plate.
location of something. • There are 3 bananas on the table.

Use “there is” with 1 noun. Use “there are”

with 2 or more nouns.

• There is a cookie on the plate. • There are 10 crackers on the plate.

• There is an apple in the fridge. • There are 2 oranges in the fridge.
• There is a sandwich on the table. • There are 3 bananas on the table.

Did you notice?

For sentences with 1 noun: For sentences with 2 or more nouns:

Use “a” after “there.” Use “the” for the Use a number after “there.”
location. (This is because “a” introduces Use “the” for the location.
the noun and “the” shows the specific
location of the noun.)

• There is a cookie on the plate. • There are 3 bananas on the table.

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

2 Matching
Draw a line to make a complete sentence.

Ex There are 10 crackers on the table.

1 There are a slice of pizza on the table.

2 There is an apple on the table.

3 There is 3 slices of cheese on the table.

4 There are a glass of milk on the table.

5 There is 8 strawberries on the table.

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

3 Multiple-Choice
Choose the correct answer.

Ex There     a bowl of soup in the microwave.

a) 
is   b) are

1 There     4 slices of ham on my sandwich.

a) 
is   b) are

2 There     12 eggs in the carton.

a) 
is   b) are

3 There     1 slice of pizza in the box.

a) 
is   b) are

4 There     a glass of juice on the table.

a) 
is   b) are

5 There     7 pieces of candy in the box.

a) 
is   b) are

6 There     2 tomatoes in this salad.

a) 
is   b) are

7 There     a cup of tea on my desk.

a) 
is   b) are

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

4 Questions & Answers

A. Questions
Write the question for each answer.

Questions Answers

• Is there an apple in your bag? • Yes, there is an apple in my bag.

• Is there a cookie on the plate? • Yes, there is a cookie on the plate.
• Are there any bananas on the table? • Yes, there are 2 bananas on the table.
• Are there any slices of pizza in the box? • Yes, there are 5 slices of pizza in the box.

Ex Is there an apple in your backpack? 4

Yes, there is an apple in my backpack. Yes, there are 4 bowls
of soup on the table.
1
5
Yes, there is a bottle
of pop in the fridge. Yes, there are 5 cookies on the tray.

2 6
Yes, there is a glass Yes, there are 8 grapes in the fruit salad.
of juice on the counter.
7
3
Yes, there are 2 slices
Yes, there is a cracker on my plate. of cheese on my hamburger.

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

4 Questions & Answers cont.

B. Short Answers
Answer the questions using there and the Be verb.

Short Answers

• Yes, there is. • Yes, there are.

• No, there isn’t. • No, there aren’t.

Note:

“Yes, there’s” and “Yes, there’re” are incorrect.

Don’t write or say “Yes, there’s”
or “Yes, there’re.”

Ex Is there a cookie on the table? Ex Are there eggs on the table?

Yes, there is. No, there aren’t.

1 Is there a bowl of soup on the table? 5 Are there crackers on the table?

2 Is there a sandwich on the table? 6 Are there strawberries on the table?

3 Is there a glass of juice on the table? 7 Are there tomatoes on the table?

4 Is there a cup of tea on the table? 8 Are there bananas on the table?

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

5 Dialogues
A. Reading
Read the dialogues out loud with your partner.

Dialogue 1 Dialogue 3

A: Is there a piece of cake in the fridge? A: Are there any oranges in the fridge?
B: Yes, there is. Would you like it? B: Yes, there are. Would you like some?
A: Yes, please. A: Yes, please.

Dialogue 2 Dialogue 4

A: Is there a piece of cake in the fridge? A: Are there any oranges in the fridge?
B: No, there isn’t. I’m sorry. B: No, there aren’t. I’m sorry.
A: That’s okay. A: That’s okay.

B. Create Your Own

Now create your own dialogues about what’s in the fridge with a
partner using the food below. Practice using both Yes and No answers.

1 • a slice of pizza 2 • tomatoes

• an apple • eggs
• a strawberry • carrots

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Fun Grammar Lessons

6 Pair Work (Student A)

Ask your partner about the food in his or her fridge!

? ? ? ?

Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No

Answer your partner’s questions about your fridge.

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Fun Grammar Lessons

6 Pair Work (Student B)

Ask your partner about the food in his or her fridge!

? ? ? ?

Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No

Answer your partner’s questions about your fridge.

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

7 Class Survey
A. Do you...
Ask your classmates the following questions.
When someone answers “yes” put a check mark ()
in one of the boxes below.

1 Do you eat breakfast every day?

2 Do you like vegetables?

3 Do you eat pizza once a week?

4 Do you like chocolate ice cream?

5 Do you like healthy food?

6 Do you like junk food?

B. In my class...
Now write 5 sentences using “There is” or “There are.”

1 Examples:

• There are 8 people who

2 eat breakfast every day.

3 • There aren’t any people

who like vegetables.
4 • There is 1 person who
eats pizza once a week.
5

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

A Answer Key
Preposition Review: Container Vocabulary Review: Note:

If your students aren’t familiar If your students need a refresher You may want to point out
with the prepositions in and on, on the construction “a + container the contraction “there’s” once
go over the printable handout on + of + noun,” go over the printable your students get comfortable
page 14 with them before starting handouts on pages 15 and 16 with saying “there is.” Make sure they
this lesson. them before starting this lesson. understand that we can never use
the contraction in a short answer.

2  Matching 4   Questions & Answers

1. There are 10 crackers on the table. A. Questions
2. There is a slice of pizza on the table.
1. Is there a bottle of pop in the fridge?
3. There are 8 strawberries on the table.
2. Is there a glass of juice on the counter?
4. There are 3 slices of cheese on the table.
3. Is there a cracker on your plate?
5. There is an apple on the table.
4. Are there any bowls of soup on the table?
5. Are there any cookies on the tray?
3  Multiple-Choice 6. Are there any grapes in the fruit salad?
7. Are there any slices of cheese on your hamburger?

1. b 3. a 5. b 7. a
2. b 4. a 6. b B. Short Answers

1. No, there isn’t. 5. Yes, there are.

2. No, there isn’t. 6. Yes, there are.
3. Yes, there is. 7. No, there aren’t.
4. Yes, there is. 8. Yes, there are.

(continued on the next page...)

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

A Answer Key cont.

6   Pair Work Spelling Note:

This lesson shows the American spelling of

Student A Student B
the word Practice. Most other English-speaking
Eggs – Yes Strawberries – Yes countries spell it this way: Practise (when used
Apple – No Cake – No as a verb; Practice when used as a noun).
Grapes – Yes Carrots – No Make it a challenge for your students to find
Pizza –Yes Pop – Yes this word in the lesson and see if they know
the alternate spelling.

7   Class Survey
Give students 10–15 minutes to talk to one another, then Editor’s Notes:
have them make sentences using “there is” / “there are”
with the data they’ve gathered. 1. “Counter” is common in American and
Canadian English, while “bench” is
common in British English.

2. There are many names for “pop” in American

and Canadian English, including “soda” and
“soft drink.” Pop is usually referred to by brand
name in the UK, although “fizzy drink” can also
be used.

3. If your students ask about subject-verb

agreement when using “there” in a series,
(e.g., There is a cookie and an apple
on the table), refer to our blog post:
http://blog.esllibrary.com/2017/07/26/there-
is-there-are/

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 There Is / There Are
Fun Grammar Lessons

B Preposition Review
In & On

Use in when the food is inside of something.

in the bowl in the bag in the glass

There is soup in the bowl. There is a tomato in the bag. There is juice in the glass.

Use on when the food is on top of something.

on the plate on the table on the cracker

There are grapes There are bananas There is cheese

on the plate. on the table. on the cracker.

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Fun Grammar Lessons

C Container Vocabulary
Review
Sometimes we mention the container that the food is in.
We write and say it like this:

A + container + of + noun.
Here is a list of common containers:

1 A glass of... a glass of juice, a glass of milk, a glass of water

2 A cup of... a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, a cup of hot chocolate

3 A bottle of... a bottle of water, a bottle of pop, a bottle of Coke

4 A bowl of... a bowl of soup, a bowl of cereal, a bowl of candies

5 A package of... a package of crackers, a package of noodles, a package of cookies

6 A box of... a box of raisins, a box of pasta, a box of chocolates

7 A carton of... a carton of eggs, a carton of juice, a carton of cream

8 A head of... a head of lettuce, a head of cabbage, a head of broccoli

9 A slice of... a slice of pizza, a slice of cheese, a slice of cake

10 A piece of... a piece of pizza, a piece of pie, a piece of chocolate

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Fun Grammar Lessons

C Container Vocabulary
Review cont.
Did you know?

When you cut a small piece off When the food item has many
a big food item, use “a slice of” parts and you only take one,
or “a piece of.” use “a piece of.” Remember,
there is no cutting in this case.

• a piece of chocolate
(NOT a slice of chocolate)
• a slice of pizza OR a piece of pizza
• a piece of candy
• a slice of cake OR a piece of cake (NOT a slice of candy)

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