The turnover there is / there are faced by every person learning English. And already at the very initial level. Often this turnover causes difficulty, since there is no analogue in the Russian language. It is worthwhile to understand that the structure of constructing sentences in English is different from the grammar of the Russian language. To correctly use the construction there is / are, you do not need to try to build an English sentence "in Russian". You need to start thinking in English. If you change your thinking, this turn will not cause any difficulties.

What is this turnover for?

The design is used if you want to indicate the presence or absence of any person or object in a particular place. In other words, if you need to say that something or someone is located, exists in a place you know, or happens at any time, you use there is or there are. For instance:

There is a dog in the doghouse.
  There is a dog in the kennel.

There are some trees near the house.
  Near the house (there are) several trees.

Please note that turnover is used if it is a new (unknown) item located in a place we already know.

Here are two similar suggestions:

1. There is a map on the wall.
  2. Map on the wall.

In the first sentence in a place known to us (on the wall) is an unknown object (map). Therefore, in English it will sound like this:
There is a map on the wall.

In the second case, we report where (in what place) the known object (map) is located. In English we say:
The map is on the wall.

If you understand this difference, then using the turnover there is / there are no longer be difficult.

Proposal building

You most likely have already noticed that the construction there is / there are at the beginning of the sentence contrary to the rules for constructing the English sentence. Subject in this case is put after this turnover. Schematically, this can be represented as follows:

The word order in such a sentence cannot be changed.

It is worth noting that the circumstance in the proposal may be absent:

There are two armchairs.
  Here (here) are two chairs.

There is some milk.
  Here (here) is milk.

If a countable noun in the singular acts as a subject, then the article - a.

With uncountable nouns and plural nouns, the pronouns some, any, a lot, many (with countable nouns), much (with uncountable nouns) are used. As well as quantitative numerals.

How to translate a sentence

The turnover there is / there are in its meaning corresponds to the Russian “is”, “is”, “lies”, “is”. The sentence is best translated from the end, that is, from the circumstances of revenge or time. The word there is most often not translated into Russian. For instance:

There is a plant near the window.

We begin to translate from the circumstances: where? - by the window. Then translate the subject: what? - plant. We get the following translation:

Near the window (is, is) a plant.

Is orare

Let's take a closer look at when to use there is, and when there are. If the subject in the singular and it is uncountable, we put - is. If the subject is in the plural, then you need to use - are. Everything is simple here.

But what if there are several subjects after the turnover, that is, there is an enumeration of the items? In this case, the verb to be is usually consistent with the subject immediately following it.

There is a cat and three kittens on the couch.
  On the sofa is a cat and three kittens.

There are three kittens and a cat on the couch.
  On the sofa are three kittens and a cat.

Various time forms

The there is / there are turnover can be used in the indefinite and perfect temporary forms. The verb to be will always be in the form of a third party:

Present Indefinite: there is / there are

Past Indefinite: there was / there were

Future Indefinite: there will be

Present Perfect: there has been / there have been

Past Perfect: there had been

Future Perfect: there will have been

For instance:

There was a letter here. Where is it?
  There was a letter. Where is it?

There will be snow tomorrow.
  It will snow tomorrow.

Education issue

For the formation of a general question, the verb to be in the appropriate form must be put before the word there:

Is there a movie theater in this town?
  Is there a movie theater in this city?

Were there many visitors in the café yesterday?
  Was there a lot of visitors in the cafe yesterday?

These questions can be answered briefly:

Yes, there is / are. - Yes.
Yes, there was / were. - Yes.

No, there isn’t / aren’t. - Not.
No, there wasn’t / weren’t. - Not.

With the turnover there is / there are special issues can be built. In this case, the sentence puts the first question in the sentence, and then the word order is the same as in the general question.

When posing a question to the subject, interrogative pronouns What? or who?

What is there for dinner today?
  What's for dinner tonight?

The question for determining the subject may begin with question words: How many? How much? What? Which?

How many apple-trees are there in your garden?
  How many apple trees are in your garden?

negative form

A negative sentence with a turnover there is / there are can be formed in two ways.

Firstly, with the help of the negative particle not, which must be put after the verb to be. In colloquial speech, the abbreviated negative form is usually used:
  in the present tense there isn’t or there aren’t.
  in the past tense there wasn’t or there weren’t.

In a negative sentence, countable nouns in the singular are given the indefinite article, and before nouns in the plural and uncountable nouns are the pronoun any.

There isn’t an air bag in my car.
  My car does not have (not a single) airbag.

There weren’t any messages for me yesterday.
Yesterday there were no (any) messages for me.

Secondly, negation can be expressed using the pronoun no. It is put before the noun and is its definition:

There’s no milk in this store.
  There is no milk in this store.

There are no trains to Moscow today.
  Today there are no trains to Moscow.

The turnover there is / there are quite often used in English. To make your speech literate, lively and interesting, it is important to learn how to use this turnover in colloquial speech. To practice English, the channel “English - Speak Fluently!” Was created in the program. On this channel you will meet like-minded people studying English, and you will be able to put your knowledge into practice.

There is   and there are   used when they want to say that something exists (or does not exist) or is located somewhere. The subject (the subject in question) is put after   a verb, and the word comes first there.

There’s a hole in my pocket. “There's a hole in my pocket.”
  (sounds more natural than: A hole is in my pocket.)

Note the pronunciation: [ðə (r)], not [ðeə (r)]

Instead there   can not use it:
There is a lot of noise in this room. - The room is noisy.
  (Error: It is a lot of noise in this room. )

Use there are   with plural:
There are a lot of problems with this theory. - There are many problems with this theory.
  (Though here it is a lotneed to use are, compare with the previous example)

Attention! There is   used with indefinite subjects (this is when the indefinite article is used (a, an), when the article is not, or the words some, any, no are used), and with indefinite pronouns like somebody, nothing.
There’s something worrying me. “Something is bothering me.”

Usually there   not used with specific subject.
The door was open. - The door is open.
  (Error: There was the door open. )

Questions   are formed in the usual way (subject there   swaps with the predicate be):
Is there anybody at home?

In this turn   there   used with all times be:
Once upon a time there were three little pigs. (once upon a time \u003d once upon a time - the beginning of fairy tales)
  There has never been anybody like you.
  There will be rain.

There   can be used in question tags   (short general question, dividing question).
There’ll be enough for everybody, won’t there?

There   can also be used in offers where be   is an auxiliary verb in the form of progressive or passive. Pay attention to the word order.
There have been more Americans killed in road accidents than in all the wars since 1900.
  (\u003d More Americans have been killed ...)
  (Error: There have been killed more Americans ... )
There’ll be somebody meeting you at the airport.

You can also use modal verb   (modal verb)
There must be somebody at home - ring again.

In Russian, this structure follows translate from the end.

Here is a children's count:
  There is a mouse in the house. (There is a mouse in the house)
  There is a cat in the flat.
  There is a fox in the box.
  There is a bee in the tree.

Is there a mouse in the house?
  Is there a cat in the flat?
  Is there a fox in the box?
  Is there a bee in the tree?

And now the riddle and exercise (fill in the blanks):
  four corners in the room.
  one cat in each corner.
  three cats in front of each cat.
  How many cats   in the room?

Check Suggest one letter Show answers

\u003e When is the verb to be put?

When is the verb to be in English?

Here you can find out when the verb to be is put.

Before talking about when the verb to be is put, it is necessary to recall that this is a special verb of the English language.
Firstly, it has different forms for different pronouns. In time Present Indefinite am - for the pronoun I, is - for he, she, it, are - for we, you, they. In time, Past Indefinite was for singular pronouns, were for plural pronouns. Secondly, the verb to be, unlike other verbs, is used to make interrogative and negative sentences.

These features of the verb to be should always be remembered. The verb to be occurs in English almost everywhere, and the most common cases are listed below.

1. The use of the verb to be as a linking verb.
   In this meaning, the verb to be is translated as to be, to appear.

For instance.
   He is an engineer - He is an engineer (he is an engineer).
   Mary will be an economist next year - Mary will be a teacher next year.

If you pay attention, such sentences are translated into Russian without a verb. And since in English there can be no sentence without a verb, its function is performed by the verb to be, being a linking verb.

2. The use of the verb to be as a semantic verb.
   In this meaning, the verb to be translates as to be.

For instance.
   He isn "t at the university - He is not at the university (he is not at the university).
   I will be there at 6 o "clock - I will be there at six o’clock.

In such sentences, when translating, the verb to be is also often not translated.

   3. Use of the verb to be as an auxiliary verb.

a) At all times of the Continuous group.
   I am calling him now - I'm calling him now.
   My mother was cooking, when I came - My mother was cooking when I came.
   I will be still sleeping at 3 o "clock - I will still sleep at 3 o’clock.

b) At all times, Perfect Continuous.
  I have been waiting a long time for my sister - I have been waiting for my sister for a long time.
   I had been sleeping for three hours when my mother came - I slept three hours when my mother came.

C) In all times of the passive voice.
   The car was bought yesterday - Bought a car yesterday.
   We were invited to a party - We were invited to a party.

   4. Use of the verb to be as a modal verb.
   We are to do it at once - We must do it immediately.

5. The use of the verb to be in the composition of the turnover there is / there are.

The verb to be is part of a turnover.
   There is a lamp in my room - There is a lamp in my room.

What is the difference between was and were in English?

Here you can find out the difference between was and were in English.

The main difference between was and were is obvious: we use were when it comes to the plural, that is, more than one thing or person.

For instance.
   They were late - They were late.

Was, in turn, is used when it comes to the singular, that is, about one thing or person.

For instance.
   He was late - He was late.

However, some nuances should be taken into account when using them.

1. Consider the first example.
Everyone was there - Everyone was there.

This sentence may seem incorrect, since everyone means everything, i.e. the plural. But here you need to take into account the peculiarities of using the pronouns everyone / everybody, which apply to each person in the group separately.

2. Pupils also make mistakes when using was / were with the pronouns none and each.
None of us was well-dressed - None of us were well-dressed.
Each of them was well-dressed - Each of them was well-dressed.

After these pronouns was also put.

3. At the same time, with the pronoun all were used, since all refers to the entire group of objects or persons.
All of us were late - We were all late.

However, this does not mean that all is always used with were.
   Here the following rule applies: if nouns are countable, then were were used. And if the noun in the singular is uncountable, then was is used.
All the milk was over - All milk is over.

Check out another example with the word all.
   The examination was failed by all the students - All students failed the exam.

Here, it would seem, all applies to all students, but was used.
   The fact is that was in this sentence refers to the word examination (singular).
   If there were examinations in a sentence, then would be used.

4. It should also be remembered that there are a number of exceptions when instead of was with singular pronouns were were used.
   This is relevant in the sentences:

a) with the construction as if;
   b) conditional sentences of the second type;
   c) in some cases in sentences with the verb wish;
   d) in combination If I were you - if I were in your place.

In the final part of the series of articles “Teaching the child the basics of reading in English”, I have already turned to a possible technique for explaining to kids what a link verb is. In this article, I can only refer to the chapter "A little more than the basics" of this small manual for parents.

If the child is accustomed to one of the forms of this verb, it is time to move on to other forms and the ability to choose them.

One of the bad ways

Traditional complexity, which, according to my observations, many parents and beginning teachers doom themselves and children, is the study all three   present tense forms in conjunction with pronounsIn other words, the child is often explained to which pronouns one or another form of the verb fits:
  I - am
  you - are
  he, she, it - is
  we - are
  you - are
  they - are

However, this way is similar to the requirement to learn the text of a physical formula in order to understand the physical law. Of course, it’s fine if the child knows the words themselves and their translation, but we expect from him not only the reproduction of this list, but the ability to operate with him. There is an illusion that we are arming the child with a scheme that will help him use the verb forms correctly. When we require the child to learn the correspondence of the verbs to the pronouns, we assume that the child systematizes this knowledge so that it can be easily applied in the construction of sentences. But is it possible for a child to understand that this is not just a list, but a formula, is he able to understand the laws of English grammar himself?

In this case, the child faces quite serious tasks:

1. Learn pronouns (the words themselves and their translation);
2. Learn the forms of the verb;
3. Learn the correspondence of verbs to pronouns;
4. Independently understand that the form “is” is suitable for singular pronouns, except (for some reason) “I”; the “are” form is suitable for plural pronouns, including (for some reason) those cases when we say “you” in Russian;
5. Independently understand that, it turns out, when constructing sentences it is not at all necessary to focus on the pronoun - it may not even be there! Subject to offers need correlate   with pronouns, and only then pick up the verb.

As you know, this can only be done by older children. In order to clearly and systematically imagine this information, a child must perform many exercises, make mistakes many times, shrug many times, feel insecure many times, and only several times feel confirmation of his vague guesses.

It is clear to an adult that “he” is understood to mean any person or any male animal of the singular, that both “they” and “we” from the point of view of English grammar (as applied to the present) are one and the same; that there are no differences between “you” and “you”, but for a child these are complex tasks of abstract thinking, which he still has very fragile. It is not at all obvious to him that in some cases the “number” is important, and everything else is unimportant (“we are, they are”); and in other cases, the person and the number are important (“we are, I am”) ... Therefore, pronouns in studying the forms of the present tense verb are bad helpers. They can be attracted only very carefully.

In addition, learning a whole list of forms at the same time is extremely difficult for children. It’s difficult for them to even learn English colors: they remember the words-names of colors easily, but what these words mean can be confused for a very long time. What can one want from grammatical forms that are still not completely “superimposed” on Russians!

Meanwhile, the child needs not only to understand, but also to remember the forms.

The child is much easier to perceive and remember information if you need to learn simple facts or simple oppositions, that is, pairs: not to remember the difficult condition of using several forms at once, but to understand the logic of using two opposed forms ("is-are", "I am - you are "); these facts and oppositions can be combined gradually into a complex system. Of course, after the child gets acquainted with all forms and pronouns, it is necessary to show them as a whole, in the form of a table or diagram, so that they exist in the form of a closed system of rules, and not as disparate and torn facts.

In addition, the child must be protected from the explanation of the unknown through the unknown. A new child will easily master everything in the event that it falls on the obvious.

In the case of forms of the verb “to be” it is productive to divide information into “portions” and help the child understand the logic of using forms. The very idea in parallel with the development of the forms of the verb to learn pronouns is quite logical, however, the sequence of classes can be arranged in such a way that the information arrives "in portions" and the facts do not interfere with each other at ease to "fit".

Pronouns with this technique are also studied painlessly: when they “arrive” not all at once, but one at a time or in pairs, they do not mix with each other and are more quickly remembered.

Is / are

The first obvious opposition is the opposition of the plural and singular of a third party, that is, the forms “is” and “are”.

The baby is already familiar with the “is” shape. Now you can contrast it with the are form. Of course, for this it is necessary that the child is aware of the plural of the noun (in the same article to which I have already referred, the technique that I usually use when explaining what it is) is described.

So that the differences between the forms of the verb do not look like a convention for a child, you can first draw a parallel with the Russian language (as in the explanation of what “is” is) and show the need to use different forms. A dialog may be, for example, like this:
  - Say that the cat will be black.
  - The cat will be black.
  “Now say that the cats will be black.”
  - Cats will be black.
  - And can you say “Cats will be black”?
  - Not.
  - You see, when the cat is alone, we say “it will be”, and when there are a lot of cats, we say differently, “they will.” And the British change their words when they talk about what is now or has already been. When they say that one cat is black, they say “is”: “A cat is black”. And when they talk about several cats, they say a completely different word.
  - (Which one?)
  - are. Cats are black. You can’t say “Cats is black”, it’s the same as saying “Cats is black”.

Next, you can move on to examples and exercises. Before asking a child to construct sentences, I usually show him a lot of pictures and ask each time to say which word, “is” or “are”, “fits” each of them (in the photo there are two kittens, the child says “are” , in the photo there is one rooster, the child says “is”). He remembers the words, and gets used to the principle of their use, and exercises in choosing one of them. This exercise is good because it poses a minimum of tasks for the baby and focuses only on the choice of a verb: he does not need to remember other English words, nor read in English, nor make sentences, he just looks at the pictures and says one word out of two.

If he copes with this task easily, you can proceed to the exercise, the principle of which is the same - to choose the right word from two - but the "unity" or "multiplicity" of objects must already be determined not by pictures, but by the form of words. You speak English words (first those that he knows well, and then those that he does not know), and after each word the child says “is” or “are”:
  - An elephant ...
  - Is.
  - Crocodiles ...
  - are.
  - A site ...
  - Is.

Words unfamiliar to the child are needed so that he gradually develops the skill of “separating” the grammatical and ordinary meanings of the word (for more details about these meanings, read the article “Reading Long English Sentences (Methods of“ Grasping ”the Grammatical Structure)” If the baby says that he does not know such a word, he can always be answered:
  “Why do you need to know this word?” In my opinion, it’s already clear that “a site” is one thing. Look, there is an article, but there is no “s” at the end ...

Usually children instantly agree with this. Moreover, working with unfamiliar words is often more interesting for them than working with familiar words.

After the forms of the noun and the forms of the verb are “connected”, you can proceed to the exercises for constructing sentences: substituting words in sentences, reading sentences and short texts, translating sentences from Russian into English and from English into Russian, etc.

These should be elementary sentences and elementary tasks, the child must certainly well understand what he is doing.

I am

If the child is freely oriented in the space “is” / ”are”, he is ready to perceive a new form of the verb. Most likely, the pronoun “I” is already familiar to him (read more about this in the second part of the series of articles “Teaching the child the basics of reading in English”), and he can be told that there is another form specifically for the word “I” - “Am”.

It would seem that the information is minimal, but it is necessary that “I” and “am” “make friends” from the memory of the child, so that these two words “point” to each other.

Since it’s most convenient for a child to remember and practice, operating with the opposition, at the same time I teach him short answer forms: “Yes, I am” and “No, I am not” and ask him to answer in the affirmative or negative to my questions. Since the child’s vocabulary is minimal, and a dynamic and reliable development of these answers requires a large number of diverse questions that do not tire the child, I go for radical measures, namely, I ask these questions in Russian. Only in this case, this exercise can be turned into an unobtrusive and slightly crazy game, somewhat reminiscent of the famous game in the "edible-inedible". Let me remind you that this game consists in the fact that the driver throws the ball to the player and at the same time says the noun. If this word means edible, the player "eats", that is, catches a ball, if inedible - does not "eat", that is, does not catch. The player’s task is to quickly react and not “eat” the inedible. Similar tasks when playing “Yes I am / No, I’m not”. You (the driver) ask the child a question about him, and his task is to quickly respond:
  -You're a boy?
  -Yes, I am.
  - You're good?
  - Yes, I am.
  - Are you a black man?
- …

I repeat, with adult eyes this game is a little crazy, but with children's eyes it is quite worthy of attention. If you wish, you can connect a ball for the pace and rhythm of the game. A child can “drive” instead of you: then he will get used to hearing and understanding English. Try to “trick” him with incorrect answers to see if he hears you.

By the way, this game can be used cunningly for psychological and pedagogical purposes, asking among others questions like: “Are you happy?”, “Are you healthy?”, “Are you alone?” The answers and the child’s reaction will be informative. However, do not overdo it with the number of such questions, the child may bite you and become isolated or embarrassed.

Be careful not to ask questions containing semantic verbs (“Do you live on Earth?”), And explain this to the child when he will “drive”. The skill of distinguishing sentences with and without semantic verbs is very useful: ahead is the ability to choose between an auxiliary verb and a connected verb. Make a small “approach” to this.

Avoid questions like “Do you have?” Translated into English, this question contains the semantic verb “have”.

You are

In the same way, you can study the “couple” “you are”. As we follow the path of meaningful language learning, it’s logical to explain to the child why the verb “are” is used next to the pronoun “you”.

First, ask the child, whatever verb - “am”, “is” or “are” - he used next to the word “they”, with the word “he”, with the word “you”. English pronouns can not be called, since these questions are necessary for the child to catch the logic of the grammatical law. Of course, before this you need to make sure that the kid remembered how the “is” and “are” forms are used: play a little game with him that you have already played and “refresh” information and skill.

After making sure that the child understands the logic (“he” is one, then “is”, “they” means a lot, “are”), be sure to tell him that he understands everything correctly. Then ask him what word he would use next to the word “you”. Of course, he will answer "wrong." Then he again needs to say that he is well done and understands everything correctly, but this is bad luck: the British do not say “you”. They only say "you." Even when we say “you”. They always say only “you."
  - And if “you” is “you”, then what word is needed: “is” or “are”?

It may seem that this information is redundant and easier to just “work out”, that “are” is used next to “you”, but this can bring down the logic of the grammatical law that the child has just begun to comprehend, meanwhile, in understanding the basic and basic, everything should be maximally clear and transparent.

The “pinning” game may be similar to the previous game. Ask your baby questions about yourself, not forgetting the “psychological” ones: you will learn a lot for yourself, and the baby will get used to the pronoun “you”.

Pronouns it / they

Exactly in the same way - a short answer to the question asked in Russian, you can go when studying the pronouns “it” / “they”. The word “it” is already familiar to the child, introduce him to the word “they”.

During the game, you can view pictures and ask questions. When you ask questions, do not include pronouns in them, the child must choose them:
  “Are these bears green?”
  - No, they are not.

Pronouns he, she - it

When studying the pronouns “he” and “she”, contrast them with the familiar pronoun “it”. For some reason, often children are taught that “it” is the same as “it”.

Explain to the baby that this word is used when we do not know and cannot know "he or she is." Children with ease and interest perceive information that English nouns do not have a gender. Ask the baby why we say that the “car” is “white” and the “tractor” is “white”. How do we know the car is he or she? Why for us, any unfamiliar cat is “she”, and any unfamiliar parrot is “he”? Tell him that only a word tells us this. In fact, a car is neither she nor he, but a cat may turn out to be either “she” or “he”. We simply obey the word and say "she" about any cat, although we have no idea whether it is "he" or "she". But the English language does not suggest anything. Therefore, in English “he” or “she” we can only talk about those about whom we know this: about people, about animals we know. And about everything else we say “it”. You can tell about the fact that the British like to talk about the transport "she".

After that, move on to an already familiar game. The child’s task will be to learn to choose between the three pronouns and to get used to associate these pronouns with the verb “is”.

View pictures, discuss them. Do not forget about the most common questions about the family and the world order: something can amuse you, and something can alert you. For example, during one of such games, a girl answered the question “Is Kolya a good driver?” Carefreely answered in Russian: “When not very drunk, then yes.”

As in the previous case, try not to include the pronoun in the question: the task of the child is not to translate the pronouns, but to be able to choose the right pronoun independently:
  - Natasha is beautiful?
  - Yes, she is.

An exercise to choose one of the three pronouns may be preceded by an exercise to choose between “he” and “she,” but this is usually not required.

We

The pronoun “we” and the corresponding verb “are” are productively studied in opposition to the already familiar pair “I am”. You can play everything in the same game, alternating questions about “we”, about “you” and about “you”. According to my observations, there are no difficulties in choosing the right verb or the right pair of pronouns and verbs.

Generalization

After such "portioned" grammar classes, you must definitely go to generalizing classes.

First, talk with your child about when to say “is,” when “am,” and when “are.” Supporting understanding of the logic of grammatical law should be not pronouns, but concepts. For example, you can formulate it this way: ““ Am ”- when I point at myself alone,“ is ”- when I point at one person,“ are ”- for many.” In principle, with this generalization it is possible to start the whole cycle of classes devoted to the forms of the verb “to be”, but such an explanation is still not enough, and “portioned” classes are still necessary.

Then play the game “Russian Question - English Short Answer”, but the answers should already contain all pronouns and, accordingly, all forms of the verb. Of course, we can move on to reading, and translating, and to constructing sentences.

I usually don’t rush the kids’s memory and allow them to use a table with pronouns and forms written in a line: “am”, “is”, “are”. What I consider important is not the dynamic memorization of pronouns, but the ability to choose the form of a verb. With the proper amount of exercises, pronouns will be remembered for themselves.

Take care of the future

So, the goal of this training cycle should be to get to know child with logic   of choice verb forms   and with English pronouns. However not worth it   to ensure that at this stage the pronouns and forms of the verb “to be” hard   contacted in the child’s memory (if “I”, then necessarily “am”, if “she”, then necessarily “is”). No need to force him "To shut up"   pairs of pronouns and verbs. Let me remind you that ahead is the study of the auxiliary verb and the study of past and future tenses. Figuratively speaking, between the pronoun and the verb it is necessary to leave a "gap", which will allow you to "separate" the pronoun from the verb and replace the verb with another. Therefore, if the child remembered the forms of the verb, understands the principle of choosing the form of the verb, easily “understands” when this or that form is needed, does not get confused in them and easily selects the desired form using at least a “cheat sheet”, the task can be considered completed and go to the next step is to study the logic of the English question. To relax from the new "grammatical" information, several classes can be devoted to reading and constructing sentences and learning new words.