There is and there are

Why do we use "there is" and "there are"?

We use "there is" or "there are" to say that something exists in a particular place.
Remember that "there" can be singular or plural.
"There is" is used with singular nouns and "there are" is used with plural nouns.

• There is a pen on the table. (singular)
• There are two pens on the table. (plural)

We use "There is some" to talk about existence with non count nouns.

• There is some sugar in the kitchen.
• There is some hot water in the kettle.
• There is some flowers on the table.

We use "There are some" with plural count nouns.

• There are some apples in the fruit bowl.
• There are some good restaurants in my city.

Note :

There can be contracted with the verb "to be".
There is = There's.
There are = There're.

Examples :

There are a lot of people in the supermarket.
There is some water on the floor.
There is a good restaurant near here.
There are three people in that car.
There are seven days in a week.
There are two cats in my house.
There're six floors in this building.

Make questions with "there"

To make questions with "there" use : Be + there + subject.

Examples :

Is there any milk left?
Are there any sandwiches left?
Are there any good restaurant near here?
Is there any tea for me?
Is there any cheese in the refrigerator?

Is there a cinema in your city?

1. Yes, there is.
2. No, there isn't.

We use "there isn't any" and "there aren't any" to say that something doesn't exist.

• Is there any sugar in the kitchen?
• No, there isn't any sugar in the kitchen.

Comparative adjectives

We use the comparative form to show the difference between two nouns.

• My dog is bigger than yours.
• My brother is older than me.

We use "er" at the end of short adjectives like cheap, small, big...
We use"than" after the comparative adjective to say what we are comparing something with.

• The red T-shirt is cheaper than the blue one.
• My sister is smaller than me.
• My father is taller than my uncle.
• Your car was faster than mine.

We use "more" or "less" in front of long adjectives like expensive, comfortable, dangerous, acceptable...

• This exam is more difficult than last year.
• My bike is more expensive than this one.
• My new chair is more confortable than my old chair.
• Gold is more expensive than silver.

Note :

If the adjective ends with "y" like happy for example, we change the "y" to "i" and add "-er" to make the comparative.

Adjective	Comparative form
Easy	easier
Happy	happier
Crazy	crazier
Funny	funnier
Lazy	lazier

Examples :

• My joke was funnier than yours.
• Mike is feeling happier than yesterday.
• This exam is easier than the last one.

Sometimes we add extra consonant at the end of the adjective:

Adjective	Comparative form
Fat	fatter
Sad	sadder
Big	bigger

Examples :

• I need a bigger house because mine is too small.
• I'm fatter than you.

There are some adjectives that don't follow the rules (irregular) when making the comparative form:

Adjective	Comparative form
Good	better
Far	further
Bad	worse
Fun	more fun

Examples :

The weather is worse than last year.
My computer is better than yours.
The Chinese restaurant is further away from the Italian restaurant.

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to talk about who owns something.
We use possessive pronouns to avoid repeating the noun.
This is my car, not your car. (this sentence is correct grammatically but not natural)
This car is mine, not yours. (natural)

Note :

A possessive pronoun is not used before a noun.

Subject	Possessive Pronoun
I	mine
you	yours
he	his
she	hers
it	its
we	ours
you	yours
they	theirs

Examples :

This book is mine.
I like that car. Is it yours?
It's not your pen. It's hers.
We have a new house. It's ours.
Our work is finished; theirs isn't.
Your computer is better than mine.

Possessive adjectives

We use possessive adjectives to talk about who owns things.
We place the possessive adjective before the noun.
There are eight possessive adjectives:

Subject Pronoun	Possessive adjective
I	my
You	your
He	his
She	her
It	its
We	our
You	your
They	their

Examples :

• This is my mother.
• He is in my house.
• Open your books to page 34 please.
• My name is _____ (your name).
• What is your problem?
• My car is very old.
• His father is working at that restaurant.
• Her name is Jolia and she is my girlfriend.
• Our teacher is very friendly.
• Her dog is smart.
• Is that your telephone?
• His computer is very old. He should buy a new one.
• My dog has an old collar = its collar is old.

Note :

Do not to confuse its and it's.
It's is the contracted form of it is.

Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns

How to use this and these?

We use this and these to identify things and to introduce people that are near to us.
"this" is used with singular and "these" is used with plural.

Examples :

• This is my friend James. (introduce people)
• These are my best friends.
• This is my pencil. (identify things)
• These are my pencils.
• This is my favorite movie.
• These peaches are very good.
• These apples I am eating are really good.

How to use that and those?

We use that and those to identify things which are not near us. That is used with singular and those is used with plurals.

Examples :

• That was the best movie I have ever seen!
• How much are those chairs?
• That was the first time I had ever seen an Elephant.
• Those are our children.
• Those flowers are really beautiful.

Note:

"That" is often contracted with the singular form of the verb "be".

• That is my dog. = That's my dog.
• That is her car. = That's her car.

Note:

This, these, and those can't be contracted with the verb to be.

The verb to have

Conjugation of the verb have

We use the verb to have to talk about ownership, ability, description...

Singular	Plural
I have You have He has She has It has	We have You have They have

Examples :

• I have a dog.
• I have time to go to the supermarket.
• She has long hair.
• He has a very nice house.
• They have a problem.
• My cat (it) has blue eyes.

Note:

The verb to have can be used as a substitute for the verbs eat and drink.
- He has cereal for breakfast = he eats cereal for breakfast.

The negative form of the verb have

To make "have" negative in the present tense, use don't or doesn't + have.

Singular	Plural
I don't have You don't have He doesn't have She doesn't have It doesn't have	We don't have You don't have They don't have

Examples :

• She doesn't have a brother.
• I'm sorry I don't have time.
• My house doesn't have a garage.
• She doesn't have blond hair.
• He doesn't have a car.
• My dog doesn't have enough food.
• I don't have enough money to buy a new computer.

Make questions with the verb have

To make questions with have we use do or does before the subject of the sentence and then "have".

Examples :

• Do you have any money?
• Does she has my phone number?
• Do you have your keys and your wallet?
• When do you have time?
• What do you have in your bag?
• Do you have any brothers and sisters?

The verb to be

Conjugation of the verb be

We use the verb to be to identify things and give information about them.

Singular	Plural
I am You are He is She is It is	We are You are They are

Examples :

• I am 24 years old.
• You are a student.
• He is from USA.
• She is very talented.
• It is my dog.
• We are friends.
• They are from here.

It is common to use the contracted form of the verb to be with personal pronouns:

I am	I’m
You are	You’re
He is	He's
She is	She's
It is	It's
We are	We're
They are	They're

Examples :

• He’s very happy today.
• We’re friends.
• She’s a good teacher.
• I’m 23 years old.

The negative form of the verb be

We can make negative sentences by using the word not.

Examples

• She is not a doctor.
• He is not my friends.
• We are not married.
• They’re not happy.

We often use the contracted form of the verb to be and the word not.

I am not	I’m not	I’m not
You are not	You aren’t	You’re not
He is not	He isn’t	He’s not
She is not	She isn’t	She’s not
It is not	It isn’t	It’s not
We are not	We aren’t	We’re not
They are not	They aren’t	They’re not

Examples

• He isn’t happy today, he got some bad news.
• There aren't any students in the classroom.
• It isn’t sunny outside.
• The cat isn’t hungry.
• She isn’t a good student.

Make questions with the verb be

We use questions with the verb to be to identify things and get information about them.
To make questions with the verb to be we use: be + subject + ---- ?

1. Are you a teacher?
2. Yes, I am.
3. No, I’m not.

Note:

In positive short answers we don’t use contractions.
Yes, I’m. (Incorrect)

Examples :

• Are you a student?
• Is he your brother?
• Are you OK?
• Am I late?
• Are your hands clean?
• Are you tired?
• Am I right?

The question words often combine with the verb “is” to make contractions.
What is = what’s.
When is = when’s.
How is = how’s.

Examples :

• Hello, what’s your name?
• When’s your birthday?
• How’s your mother?