SENTENCE STRUCTURE: there is, there are, they are

 

Welcome to the ESL Help! Desk, where the examples and writing samples are authentic English!

We are going to continue in our chapter, "Sentence Structure" from our library shelf, The Answer Key, our newest component of the ESL HELP! Desk.  

After you complete the activities and when you are ready to check your answers, go to our "Answer Key" shelf located in "Our Library".

there is, there are

 

What's wrong with this sentence?

Problem: They are some people who think that living together is a good idea.


There + (be) is used to indicate that something exists in a specific place.  The word there functions as the grammatical subject of the sentence.  Be (in its proper time reference) functions as the verb.  It (that is, the be verb) agrees in number (singular or plural) and person (1st, 2nd, 3rd person) with the true subject in the predicate of the sentence.

To determine whether the true subject is singular or plural, see what noun or pronoun follows the be verb.  The more you read, write, and speak English, the more natural this will become.

Examples:

SINGULAR   

  • There is just one day in a person's life when he celebrates with a wedding.

  • There is one tourist attraction in particular where people come to visit and this is known in English as the Galapagos Islands.

PLURAL       

  • There are sculptures everywhere, dotting the campus.

  •  There are many beaches in Ecuador.

  •  There aren't any houses there.

  •  There are many kinds of flowers, especially in Manta City.

Commonly Confused:  there are, they are

 

THERE

As just described above, there functions as a grammatical subject of a sentence. The true subject is mentioned after the verb, in the predicate of the sentence.  The verb will agree with the true subject.

THEY

They is a subject pronoun.  It is plural and the verb will always be plural.

Problem:   They are some people who think that living together is a good idea.

  Solution:   There are some people who think that living together is a good idea.

Exercise: there or they?

 

Here is a short paragraph.   Fill in the blanks with either there or they, according to what is appropriate.  You will find the answers in the Answer Key.

(1)  I'm studying in an English class.  (2)  Our classroom is large.   (3)  ____________    are two big windows in it.  (4)  _____________ is a big blackboard on the wall.  (5)   ____________ are twenty students in the class.  (6)  ____________ are listening to the teacher lecture.

You will find the answers for the above activity in our "Answer Key".

Next... Joining Ideas with and and or

In our next lesson, we will discuss JOINING IDEAS WITH and AND OR.

The ESL Help Desk thanks for dropping by this week, and reminds you to email us your questions about English grammar by leaving us a comment on our English language blog.

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