Difference between it and there. The constructions there is and there are in English sentences. Rules of use. The meaning of the construction There is \ There are

I received a letter:

I have a question for you. When I write various essays, I often have problems with the use of phrases “there is” and “it is”. I don't catch the difference between them.

For example,
There is a big deforestation in Europe, it is 10 per cent.
or
There is a big deforestation in Europe, there is 10 per cent.
or
It is a big deforestation in Europe, it is 10 per cent.
or
It is a big deforestation in Europe, there is 10 per cent.

How to say it correctly? Or if you can say it differently, which option is most preferable?

Natalia Litvinenko

Answer:

There is always means “there is, there is.” Please note: the word “there” in this phrase is NOT translated by the word “there”. The whole turn means “there is, there is.”

For example: Look, honey! There is a fly in your soup! - Look, dear! In your soup(there is, there is) a fly.
There are six yellow tractors in my new garage. - In my new garage(There is) six yellow tractors.

Please note: if we need to say WHERE exactly there is a fly or tractors, then we indicate this immediately after the turn itself:

There's a green alien in the room. - There is a green alien in the room.

And according to this logic, the phrase “THERE is a green alien” will look like this:

There's a green alien there.

The first there is part of the phrase “there is” and is translated “there is, there is”, and the second there is, in fact, the word “there”.

***

But it is can mean two things:

1) the usual pronoun “he”, “she” or “it” - if it does not mean a person.

For example: Nokia 1200 is my favorite phone. It has a very long battery life. - Nokia 1200 is my favorite phone. It has a long battery life (literally: He has a long battery life).

Gorilla is my favorite animal. It weighs 500 kilograms. - Gorilla is my favorite animal. She weighs 500 kilograms.

2) It’s may be the beginning of the so-calledimpersonal offers- that is, when there is no subject, and instead of it there is a short adjective “warm”, “cold”, “strange”. Here is an example of such a sentence:

It's very warm in Tenerife in January. - In Tenerife in January it is very warm.
It's very cold in the Yellow Fish shop in summer. - The store “Yellow Fish” in the summer is very Cold .
It is well known that the English don’t like sour cream. - Known that the British do not like sour cream.
It's strange that the wife has shredded all the pillows in the house. - Strange that the wife tore all the pillows in the house.

Thus, the answer to Natalya’s question is: it’s correct to say There is a big deforestation in Europe. - In Europe, the number of forests is now declining (and literally - “In Europe(available) reduction in the number of forests”). It is 10 per cent. - it is 10 percent.

See you soon!
Anton Brejestovski

So, the task of primary importance when translating from your native language into English is to accurately determine the type of sentence.

Sometimes confusion arises if a sentence begins with an adverbial place, that is, with words (or words) that answer the question - WHERE?. There may be such proposals:

1. THE ROOM IS DARK.

2. Children are playing in the ROOM now.

3. THE ROOM has two chairs and a bed.

Let's take a closer look at the types of these three proposals.

First sentence– this is with the formal subject “it”. It is dark in the room.

Second sentence- this is a sentence with direct word order, and it must be put on the intermediate option “R-E”: The children are playing in the room. Then the translation will be as follows: The children are playing in the room.

Third sentence So the translation of the third sentence: There are two chairs and a bed in the room.

In the next exercise you need to fill in the blanks “THERE” or “IT”. At the end of the exercise I will write the correct answers so you can test yourself. It goes without saying that the sentences must be translated. These are easy proposals and I think there will be no difficulties.

1. ... there were many people in the room; … was very stuffy.

2. … was hard to decide what was the best thing to do.

3. … was nobody at home when I called for him.

4. … was very wet last month, and now … is windy.

5. … is a beautiful park near my house.

6. … twenty degrees in the shade.

7. … is raining hard. take an umbrella.

8. …were a lot of visitors this morning.

9. At nine o’clock the next morning I went out. ...cold and rainy.

10. …getting cold. … going to snow.

11. …were many villages on the road to town.

12. … is only two miles from here.

13. … there are two dogs in the garden.

14. … is dark in the room. I can't make out anything.

15. … will be a party in our house tomorrow.

16. … was three kilometers from the village to the town.

17. … was an old friend of yours at the concert last night.

18. When I returned home… was 5 o’clock.

19. …was only a footpath here last year.

20. … was snowing heavily yesterday.

21. … there are no mistakes in your exercise.

22. ... is clearing up. Let's go out.

23. … four hundred children in the school this year.

24. … is cloudy today. …looks like rain.

25. … is a post office in the village.

26. … often rains in autumn.

27. … was a man standing under the tree ten minutes ago.

28. … is thirsty five degrees above zero today.

29. … was still very early and … was nobody to be seen in the street.

30. …spots even on the sun.

31. What is the weather like today? …keeps fine.

32. ... is frosty and still snowing. How bitterly cold it is!

33. … is no royal road to learning.

34. Though the day is hot, ... is cool in the shade.

35. … was a lot of fish in the river some years ago.

36. … didn’t like rain at all this morning. The shower came on all of a sudden.

37. … there are no free rooms on this floor.

38. The weather was beastly. … was foggy and rainy.

39. … are some buildings of modern design in that street.

40. … is stuffy in the room. Let's open the window.

I’ll fill in the gaps in the “There” and “It” sentences so you can check yourself.

1. There were many people in the room; it was very stuffy.

2. It was hard to decide what was the best thing to do.

3. There was nobody at home when I called for him.

4. It was very wet last month, and now it is windy.

5. There is a beautiful park near my home.

6. It was twenty degrees in the shade.

7. It is raining hard. Take an umbrella.

8. There were a lot of visitors this morning.

9. At nine o’clock the next morning I went out. It was cold and rainy.

10. It is getting cold. It is going to snow.

11. There were many villages on the road to town.

12. It is only two miles from here.

13. There are two dogs in the garden.

14. It is dark in the room. I can't make out anything.

15. There will be a party in our house tomorrow.

16. It was three kilometers from the village to the town

17. There was an old friend of yours at the concert last night.

18. When I returned home it was 5 o’clock.

19. There was only a footpath here last year.

20. It was snowing heavily yesterday.

21. There are no mistakes in your exercise.

22. It is clearing up. Let's go out.

23. There are four hundred children in the school this year.

24. It is cloudy today. It looks like rain.

25. There is a post office in the village.

26. It often rains in autumn.

27. There was a man standing under the tree ten minutes ago.

28. It is thirty five degrees above zero today.

29. It was still very early and there was nobody to be seen in the street.

30. There are spots even on the sun.

31. What is the weather like today? - It keeps fine.

32. It is frosty and still snowing. How bitterly cold it is!

33. There is no royal road to learning.

34. Though the day is hot it is cool in the shade.

35. There was a lot of fish in this river some years ago.

36. It didn’t like rain at all this morning. The shower came on all of a sudden.

37. There are no free rooms on this floor.

38. The weather was beastly. It was foggy and rainy.

39. There are some buildings of modern design in that street.

40. It is stuffy in the room. Let's open the window.

Even if you have just started learning English, you have probably come across a sentence that begins with the phrase there is or there are. From our experience, we know that even students with an average level of knowledge have difficulty using there + be. Not because this construction is difficult to understand, but because in Russian there is no direct equivalent to the phrase. This is why students often forget to use it. In this article we will talk about possible use cases there + be, we will give examples and a small test at the end of the article.

What does there + be mean

So, what does RPM mean? there is / there are in English and when should we use them? You know what the word is there translated as “there”, and the verb to be- be. If you combine two words, you get “there is.” This is where the function of this construction follows: when we want to communicate that something is somewhere, we use there + be.

There is a new shopping center in that village. – There is a new shopping center in that village.

There are many books in room 145. – There are many books in room 145.

Please note that the revolutions themselves there is / there are are not translated into Russian. Conventionally, they can be translated into Russian with the words “is”, “is available”, “exists”, “is located”. That’s why we so want to start translating literally from Russian it exists , it there. But you can't do that. And also sentences that start with there+be, we start translating from the end, that is, we first tell the place where something is located.

How to use there is / there are in English

Statement

We can use there + be in all times: present, past and future. Accordingly, for this we need to change the form of the verb be.

There is There is bottle of milk. (there is now, therefore the present tense and form of the verb to be “is”)

There was a bottle of milk in the refrigerator. - In a refrigerator was bottle of milk. (used to be, so the past tense and form of the verb to be “was”)

There will be a bottle of milk in the refrigerator. - In a refrigerator will bottle of milk. (will be in the future, so the future tense and form of the verb to be “will be”)

And also to be is unique in that it can have a singular or plural form. If after there + be there is a singular noun, then take is or was. And if it comes in the plural - are or were. A will be– is universal and can be used with both singular and plural forms.

Now let’s look at a table that clearly shows everything:

There	Be	What/who is	Where is
There	is are was were will be	something	somewhere

Negation

A negative sentence can be composed in two ways: either using a negative pronoun no, or using a negative particle not and pronouns any. And in this way you will say that something is missing somewhere.

There is no table in the room. = There is not(isn't) any table in the room. – There is no table in the room.

There are no souvenirs on the shelf. = There are not(aren't) any souvenirs on the shelf. – There are no souvenirs on the shelf.

Question

The question is easy to construct: take the desired form be and put it at the beginning of the sentence.

Is is there a table in the room? – Is there a table in the room?

Were are there many people at the party? – Were there a lot of people at the party?

Features of using there + be

If we are listing objects and the first word is in the singular, then we should take to be singular ( is/was):

There is a lamp and four tables in the room. – There is a lamp and 4 tables in the room.

If we list objects and start with the plural, then we should take the plural ( there are):

There there are four tables and a lamp in the room. – There are four tables and a lamp in the room.

It is important to pay special attention to countable and uncountable nouns.

There is a lot of sugar in coffee. – There is a lot of sugar in coffee. (sugar is an uncountable noun, it does not have a plural form, so we use the verb is, despite the word “a lot” - a lot)

There are a lot of oranges in the box. — There are a lot of oranges in the box. (we can count oranges, the word has a plural so we use are)

As you can see, from a grammatical point of view, this construction is not difficult to use. It is important not to forget to do this. In conclusion, as always, we invite you to take the test and download our sign. This way you will always have access to this information.

Design "there is / there are" is studied at the most basic levels, but despite this it presents difficulties even for those who know English well enough. The main problem is to determine when this design should be used and when it should not be used. As a rule, “there” is actively confused with “it”, “this” and “that”, and they also forget to use it where it is necessary.

What is there for?

The main function of the construction "there is / there are" is to communicate that something is located or exists somewhere. This “something” can be a concrete object or something abstract. For example:

There is a book on the table. - There is a book on the table. By saying such a phrase, we seem to answer the question “What is on the table?”
Is there a train at 10:30? - Is there a train at 10:30? We check the availability of a train at a certain time. That is, we are interested in the existence of something in something.

There's nothing I can do. - I can't do anything. This sentence is more abstract than the previous ones, but the principle is the same: there is a certain area, and there is something missing in it that I can do. It's still about having something in something.

Once the emphasis is shifted from location to the object itself, the construction “there is / there are” becomes unnecessary.

The book is on the table. - The book is on the table. Now we are answering a completely different question: “Where is the book?”
Is the train at 10:30 or at 10:15? - Is the train at 10:30 or 10:15? Now we are not interested in the presence of a train. We are interested in its characteristics.
This is the best I can do. - This is the best I can do. And in this sentence we are no longer talking about the presence of something in something. Instead, we describe some abstract concept and talk about its properties.

Individual cases

Particular attention should be paid to stable uses of "it". We use "it" when we talk about time, distance, weather, amounts of money.

It's late.
It's three kilometers from our house to the city centre.
It's $20, please.
It's a nice day today.
It's dark.

However, in these cases you should be careful. For example, if we talk about the weather using nouns, then the construction “there is / there are” may well appear:

It was very windy yesterday.
There was a strong wind yesterday.

Results

The most important thing when choosing a design is to determine what we are describing: the presence of something somewhere or the properties of an object. "There is / there are" will only be needed in the first case.

There are many nuances that can be described for a long time and to no avail. It's much better to practice. After doing enough, you get an intuitive understanding of when to “there” and when to “it”.

Design there + be (is, are, will be, have/has/had been, was, were):
√ Statement of the existence of something.
√ Indicates the presence of something or someone.
√ Indicates events that have occurred or will occur.
√ When transferring.

IndexpronounIt used:
√ In expressions It +be + adjective + to infinitive.
√ When it comes to the weather.
√ To determine the exact time.
√ Descriptions of the place (terrain).
√ With turns it is going to / it is becoming.

Used in combination: there + be (is, are, will be, have/has/had been, was, were):

1) When we talk about the existence of something(is, exists, is located)
There are some old churches in this small town.
This small town has several old churches.

2) Indicates the presence of something, someone.
I think there is somebody behind the door.
It seems to me that there is someone behind the door.

3) Indicates events that have occurred or will occurin future
There was an air crash here two years ago.
Two years ago there was a plane crash here.

4) When transferring.

When listing there agrees with the first noun,
if the closest noun to the construction is singular, then is/was/has been/will be is used, and if it is plural, then are/were/have been used, for example:
Therewas my dad, two uncles, two brothers at my birthday.
There were two cars, one bike and one cat.

Index pronoun It used:
In expressions It +be + adjective + to infinitive , placing emphasis on the adjective, or it + be + adjective (+ that)

It is useful to know how to use electric appliances.
It is useful to know how to use electrical appliances.
It was funny (that) we pronounced the word simultaneously.
What was funny was that we said the word at the same time.

II When it comes to the weather.
It is rather frosty today.
The frost is quite severe today.

It hasn’t rained here since May.
It hasn't rained here since May.

II To determine the exact time.
-What time is it ?
What time is it now?

-It is ten sharp.
Exactly ten.

IV Description of the place (terrain).
It was calm and beautiful near the forest lake.
The forest lake was quiet and beautiful.

V With revs it is going to / it is becoming
It is going to be cool at the party.
The party promises to be great.

It is becoming more and more difficult to enter the university. It is becoming more and more difficult to get into university.

It comes before adjectives.
1) Pronoun it, also occurs before adjectives according to the scheme:
It + is/was + adjectives + to infinitive:

2) pronoun it + verbs to think, to find, to make and to feel, +(for + somebody) + to infinitive

It+is/was		desirable

		careless
	ˌkærɪktəˈrɪstɪk	characteristic
		charming
	ˈkɒmplɪkeɪtɪd
	kənˈviːnjənt
		correct
		curious

		decent
		amazing
	dɪˈzaɪərəbl	desirable



		sufficient

		great





		interesting


		(not) natural
	ʌnˈnesɪsərɪ	(not) necessary

		normal
		nice
		(not) possible
		(not) reasonable

		sad
		safe
		reasonable

		strange
		amazing

		sufficient

		typical
		useful
		useless
		wrong

It's strange to see them together. It's strange to see them together.

He found it useful to drink a lot of juice everyday.

He found it necessary for her o drink a lot of juice everyday.
Material used: A.K. Tochilina, L.L. Kazhemskaya Trainer2 in English, Terra System.