Level One

Lesson 2
there

Use the word “there” for the existence or location of things and people. “There” and “be” often go together. 

 

In this lesson, you will learn how to use “there” with affirmative and negative forms of the verb “be.”  You will also learn to form questions. 

After you finish the lesson, you can take this quiz:  Quiz #2 – there + be

There is an exercise at the bottom of this page. 

2a. Subject + (be) + there. ✍️

Singular

I am there. 

You are there. 

He is there. 

She is there.

It is there.

Plural

We are there.  

You are there.

They are there. 

2a. Examples

pexels-photo-4049992-4049992.jpg
  • A: There is a woman.
  • B: Where is she?
  • A: She is in the kitchen.  or…
  • A: She is there. 
  • A: She’s there. 

2b. There + subject + (be). ✍️

Singular

 There I am. 

There you are.

There he is. 

There she is. 

There it is. 

Plural

There we are.  

There you are. 

There they are. 

Use he, she, it, and they when talking about a person’s or a thing’s location + (be) + there: 


There he is. / He’s there. 

There she is. / She’s there. 

There it is. / It’s there. 

There they are. / They’re there. 

2b. Examples

insect, butterfly, flower-8337915.jpg
  • A: There is a butterfly.
  • B: Where is it? 
  • A: It’s on the flower.  or…
  • A: There it is. 

2c. Subject + (be) + negative + there. ✍️

To make the negative, use the word “not” after the verb “be.” 

2c. Examples

Singular

I am not there. 

You are not there. 

He is not there.  

She is not there. 

It is not there. 

Plural

We are not there.  

You are not there. 

They are not there. 

Contractions are often used in sentences like these. I am not = I’m not; You are not = You’re not; He is not = He’s not. You will learn about contractions in Lesson Three. 

men, people, smiling-60744.jpg

(be) + not

  • You are not there. 
  • You’re not there. 
  • I am not there.
  • I’m not there.  
  • We are not there. 
  • We’re not there. 

Questions
2d. (Be) + subject + there? ✍️

Use this word order for people or things in locations: 

Singular

Am I there?  

Are you there? 

Is he there? 

Is she there? 

Plural

Are we there? 

Are you there? 

Are they there? 

2d. Examples

walking, woman, sidewalk-7002707.jpg
  • A: Are you there? 
  • B: Yes, I am. Where are you?
  • A: I’m not there yet. I’ll be there soon. 
class, discussion, girls-302116.jpg
  • A: Is the teacher there?
  • B: No, he isn’t.   
  • A: Are the students there?
  • A: Yes, they are. 

Questions
2e. (Be) + there + noun? ✍️

Use this word order to ask about the presence of a person or thing: 

Singular

Is there a student in the classroom? 

Is there a book on the table? 

Plural

Are there students in the classroom? 

Are there books on the table?  

The word order for this type of question can only be used for third-person singular or plural people or things. 

2e. Examples

education, student, boy-3670453.jpg
  • A: Is there a student in the classroom? 
  • B: Yes, there is. 
  • A: Are there other students in the classroom? 
  • B: No, there are not. 
apples, fruits, food-6741164.jpg
  • A: Are there any apples? 
  • B: Yes, there are. 
  • A: Are there any bananas? 
  • B: No, there are not. 

Practice

there is _ there are (PDF)

 

Directions: Complete each sentence with “there” and the verb “be.” Write your answers in your notebook.  

✍️

 

Example: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  is tomato on the vine.  / There is a tomato on the vine. 

 

1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ two books on the table. 

2.  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  one person in the room. 

3. The bananas  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . 

4. The water  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   over _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . 

5.  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a grocery store down the street. 

6.  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ he _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . 

7.  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  it _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . 

8. We  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  finally _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . 

9.  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a pen in my pocket. 

10.  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 25 students in the classroom. 

11.  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  you  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

12. My books _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  right _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. 

13.  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ enough time to finish. 

14.  The money _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . 

15. You can see me in this picture. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  I  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

The answers are below. 

In Lesson Three, you will learn how to form contractions with the verb “be”  in the present tense. 

Lesson Three

Answers: 

1. There are two books on the table. 

2.  There is  one person in the room. 

3. The bananas are there. 

4. The water is over there. 

5.  There is a grocery store down the street. 

6. There he is. 

7.  There it is. 

8. We  are finally there. 

9.  There is a pen in my pocket. 

10.  There are 25 students in the classroom. 

11.  There you are.

12. My books are right there.  

13.  There is enough time to finish. 

14.  The money is there.

15. You can see me in this picture. There  I  am.