Existential Clauses: "there is" and "there are"

The structures there is and there are are used in English to point out the existence, presence, or availability of something. Unlike in some other languages that use a single verb (like haben or y a-t-il), English strictly distinguishes between singular and plural forms for these existential clauses.

Use there is (often contracted to there's) with singular countable nouns or any uncountable nouns (e.g., there is a book, there is some milk). Use there are with plural nouns (e.g., there are three dogs). For negations, add "not" to form there is not / isn't and there are not / aren't. For questions, invert the verb and "there", producing Is there...? or Are there...?

A common mistake is using there is with plural nouns in writing (e.g., saying there's many people here, which is common in casual speech but grammatically incorrect in standard English). Another frequent error is translating word-for-word from languages that use "have" (e.g., saying It has a book on the table instead of There is a book on the table). Also, ensure that when listing items, the verb agrees with the first item in the list (e.g., There is a sofa and two chairs).