1.11 There is, etc.




There is corresponds to Spanish haber / hay and is used in a similar way. There are obviously different verb forms, e.g.:



Form Example

Present singular

There is

Present plural

There are

Past singular

There was

Past plural

There were

used to

There used to be

Present perfect singular

There has been

Present perfect plural

There have been

Past perfect

There had been

will/would

There will be

going to

There is going to be

may/might

There may/might be

could/should

There could/should be

may/might + have + past participle

There may/might have been

could/should + have + past participle

There could/should have been


There isn't any butter in the fridge.
(No hay mantequilla en la nevera.)
Were there any flowers on the table?
(¿Había unas flores sobre la mesa?)
There used to be a cinema here.
(Antes había un cine aquí.)
There might be some water in the system.
(Quizá haya agua dentro del sistema.)
If it had rained, there would have been even more problems.
(Si hubiese llovido, aún se habrían producido más problemas.)


As distinct from Spanish, we use there for a number of people, e.g.:



There were 12 of us/them at the party.
(Éramos/Eran doce en la fiesta.)



See also there and it contrasted.