Конструкция there is / are

Оборот there is/are сообщает о наличии в определенном месте предмета, еще неизвестного собеседнику. Конструкция выражает значение «имеется, находится, есть». Английские предложения начинаются оборотом there is/are, за которым следует подлежащее, выраженное существительным, а затем обстоятельство места или времени. There is a computer in her room. There are some students here.

Глагол to be согласуется со следующим за ним первым существительным: There is a book, some pens and copybooks on the table. There are some pens, copybooks and a book on the table.

Глагол to be в обороте может употребляться в различных временах: There was an interesting film yesterday. There were many mistakes in your test. There will be a rock music concert next Saturday.

Отрицательная форма оборота образуется при помощи отрицания not, которое ставится после личной формы глагола to be: There is not (isn’t) a museum in my home town. There are not (aren’t) any apples in the garden now. There was not (wasn’t) any water left. There will not (won’t) be a football match tomorrow. Отрицательная форма оборота образуется также при помощи местоимения no, которое исключает употребление артикля перед существительным: There is no museum in my home town. There are no people in the street.

В вопросительной форме глагол to be ставится перед there: Is there a concert hall in your town? – Yes, there is. / No, there isn’t. Are there any magazines in the bag? – Yes, there are. / No, there aren’t. Оборот there is не образует вопросы, начинающиеся с where? Where is the cat? Where are our books?

Если глагол употреблен в сложном времени, то на первое место выносится вспомогательный глагол: Will there be a conference tomorrow?

Необходимо различать предложения типа There is a book on the table. – На столе книга и The book is on the table. – Книга на столе. В первом случае говорящий указывает, что находится в обозначенном месте, а во втором случае – где именно находится данный предмет.

Grammar Practice

Ex.1. Use the right form of the verb to be.

1. There __ two men at the door. 2. There __ a good clothes shop not far from here. 3. There __ a lot of people at the concert today. 4. There __ a policeman over there. 5. There __ a dog and a cat there. 6. There__ no money in my bank account. 7. There __ four people in our family. 8. There __ no CDs on the table. 9. There __ no news from my friends. 10. There __ a shop and some cafes here. 11. There __ a car and a motorbike in his garage. 12. There __ newspapers and a journal in my bag.

Ex.2. Supply there or it and a personal pronoun (it, he, she, they) in the blanks.

1.__ are a lot of people at the concert, and __ are fond of it. 2. __’s a policewoman waiting for you, __’s in your office. 3. __’s a parcel for you, __’s the book you you’ve been looking for. 4. __’s a new boy in our group today, __’s from Moscow. 5. __’s an article in today’s paper, __’s rather interesting. 6. __ are some students at the door, __’re from Ted’s group. 7. __’s much snow in the Arctic, __’s very cold there. 8. __’s strange that __’s no information on TV. 9. __’s too late, __’s no time left. 10. Near the park __ are two lakes, __ are frozen in winter. 11. __ looks like rain, __’s much rain this year. 12. Are __ any applicants for the job and are __ suitable? 13. Is __ a route to the town centre from here and is __ more direct? 14. __’s a film on TV tonight, __s’ very funny.

Ex.3. Change these sentences into general and disjunctive questions.

1. There are some letters in the mail box. 2. There is a morning train to Manchester. 3. There’s a stereo, a CD player in Paul’s study. 4. There isn’t a reading lamp in his room. 5. There are a lot of cassettes here. 6. There are 24 hours in a day. 7. There are some newspapers on the dressing-table. 8. There are several seats empty in the hall. 9. There’s somebody near the car. 10. There are a lot of interesting articles in the journal. 11. There’s a lot of sugar in my tea. 12. There are a few books on Philosophy.

Ex.4. Ask alternative questions and give answers using there is / are.

1. A living room / a bedroom / upstairs? 2. Much / little / furniture / in Paul’s study? 3. Posters of musical groups / posters of sportsmen / on the wall? 4. A reading lamp / in his room / in Bristol / in Oxford? 5. Cheese / butter / on the plate? 6. Tomatoes / on the table / in the fridge? 7. An electric / a gas / cooker in the kitchen? 8. Wine / oil / in the bottle? 9. Knives / spoons / on the table? 10. Shoes / boots / on the floor? 11. The letters / in his case / hers? 12. Useful / unnecessary / information / on TV?

Ex.5. Ask “How much / How many” questions.

1. bedrooms in Paul’s flat in Bristol? 2. windows in his study? 3. photos on the wall in the room in Oxford? 4. furniture in the room in Bristol? 5. money on you today? 6. water in the pot? 7. chalk on the blackboard? 8. supermarkets in your town? 9. eggs in this salad? 10. oranges in the bag? 11. rice in the packet? 12. photos in the album?

Ex.6. Ask questions about the information in italics.

1. There are some good museums in London. 2. There is a swivel chair in Paul’s room. 3. There is a wardrobe on the right of the door. 4. There are some souvenirs from Bristol. 5. There’s a single bedroom on the third floor. 6. There are two chairs in Paul’s room. 7. There are beautiful flowers everywhere. 8. There are few mistakes in your test. 9. There are two ways to solve the problem. 10. There are some cigarettes in the box. 11. There is a postman at the door. 12. There are old houses on the outskirts of the city. 13. There is some sugar in your tea. 14. There is a nice photo of Lake Baikal in the latest magazine.

Ex.7. Put in was or were. Make the sentences negative and interrogative.

1. There … a mistake in the sentence. 2. There … much light in that room. 3. There … a dictionary and some magazines on the table. 4. There … a few letters in the file. 5. There … some small shops in this street two years ago. 6. There … news from Nancy last night. 7. There … twenty students in our group last term. 8. There … a telephone in their flat a month ago. 9. There … apples in the garden last summer. 10. There … little snow last year. 11. There … many nice flowers in that vase yesterday. 12. There … something in the box.

Ex.8. Make these sentences negative and interrogative.

1. There will be a new school in the street. 2. There will be a postcard for me soon. 3. There will be a lot of people at the conference. 4. There will be a phone call to you next Friday. 5. There will be his new article in the magazine next month. 6. There will be a public holiday on the 23d of February. 7. There will be a large portrait on the wall. 8. There will be an interesting exhibition of English painting next week.

Ex.9. Translate into English.

1. Каждый день по телевизору сериалы. 2. На стене часы и несколько картин. 3. Есть ли новости от Джека? – Да, есть одно сообщение. 4. У нас всегда много снега в январе. 5. Есть что-нибудь интересное в этой газете? – Нет, ничего интересного. 6. За домом Фреда великолепный сад. В нем много яблонь и груш. 7. Какая мебель в твоей комнате? – Там мало мебели: стол, диван, шкаф и кресло. 8. В доме есть лифт и мусоропровод? – Да, есть. 9. Рядом со школой библиотека или музей? – Исторический музей. 10. Какие книги на этой полке? – Здесь книги по искусству. 11. Сколько вокзалов в вашем городе? – Два: железнодорожный и автовокзал. 12. Что у тебя в левой руке? – Шоколадка. 13. В магазине нет новых товаров. 14. В центре парка красивый фонтан, не так ли? - Ошибаетесь. Там не фонтан, а замечательный памятник. 15. В этом журнале много полезных статей, не правда ли? – Да, в этом журнале всегда есть что-нибудь стоящее. 16. У тебя много денег с собой? – Нет, немного. 17. Сколько магазинов на твоей улице? – Десять, но я не уверен в этом. 18. Сколько молока осталось в пакете? – Там совсем чуть-чуть. 19. Напротив аптеки расположена парикмахерская. 20. Большой рынок есть на окраине города. 21. Наша квартира на третьем этаже. 22. В шкафу много разной одежды. 23. Есть ли автобус до Петербурга сегодня вечером? 24. На столе нет твоих вещей.