L1 U3 Verb to Be / There is - There are

Verb to Be

We use the verb to be to express different concepts:

• Name: Her name is Dorothy.
• Age: The twins are eleven years old. *In English, we don't use the verb "have" to express “age” as we do in Spanish.
• Jobs: They are engineers.
• Physical features: Your spouse is quite short.
• Personality: Their grandpa is a very kind person.
• Possession: Whose is this chair? It is Paul's.
• Location: I am at home at the moment.

THERE IS - THERE ARE

• In this unit, we are going to study the use of the verb "to be” to describe existence:

Look at this example: There is a nice portrait on the wall.

• We use there to express the "existence" of one or many objects or people.

• In English, we use the singular form, there is, to mark the existence of one element or person. We use the plural form, there are, to signal the existence of many objects or people.

• The elements that exist come after the verb “to be”.

E.g.: There is a wardrobe in the bedroom. There are two windows in the living room.

• Note: We can use there in the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms.

E.g.: There are ten rooms in this mansion. There aren't ten rooms in this mansion. Are there ten rooms in this mansion? Yes, there are. / No, there aren't. How many rooms are there in the mansion? There are ten rooms.