Lección 2 · Etapa 1: Lo básico
There is / there are
PrincipianteForma y uso
there is/are + sustantivo — decir que algo existe o está en algún lugar
1.Para qué sirve
Usa there is / there are (= “hay”) para decir que algo existe o está en algún lugar, normalmente cuando lo mencionas por primera vez.
There's a pharmacy near my house.
Hay una farmacia cerca de mi casa.
There are twelve students in my class.
Hay doce estudiantes en mi clase.
There's some rice in the cooker.
Hay algo de arroz en la arrocera.
No uses have para decir que algo existe en un lugar: “My town has a big market” está bien, pero “In my town has a big market” está mal. Di There is a big market in my town.
2.¿Is o are?
El verbo concuerda con el sustantivo que va después (a diferencia de “hay”, que nunca cambia).
| Se usa con | Ejemplo | |
|---|---|---|
| there is (there's) | sustantivos en singular, sustantivos incontables | There's a problem. There's some milk. |
| there are | sustantivos en plural | There are two problems. There are some eggs. |
En una enumeración, al hablar se suele concordar con el primer sustantivo: There's a desk and two chairs in the room.
3.Negativas y preguntas
| Singular / incontable | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Negativa | There isn't a… / There isn't any… | There aren't any… |
| Negativa con no | There's no… | There are no… |
| Pregunta | Is there a… / any…? | Are there any…? |
| Respuesta corta | Yes, there is. / No, there isn't. | Yes, there are. / No, there aren't. |
There isn't a lift in this building.
No hay ascensor en este edificio.
There's no sugar left.
Ya no queda azúcar.
Are there any good cafés around here?
¿Hay buenas cafeterías por aquí?
How many people are there in your family?
¿Cuántas personas hay en tu familia?
4.En otros tiempos verbales
Solo cambia la parte de be; “there” se queda igual.
There was a storm last night.
Anoche hubo una tormenta. (pasado, singular)
There were a lot of people at the concert.
Había mucha gente en el concierto. (pasado, plural)
There will be a meeting on Friday.
Habrá una reunión el viernes.
There's going to be a test next week.
Va a haber un examen la semana que viene.
There has been an accident on the highway.
Ha habido un accidente en la autopista.
5.¿There o it / they?
Usa there is / are para presentar algo por primera vez. Cuando vuelvas a hablar de ello, usa it (singular) o they (plural).
There's a new bakery on our street. It's really good.
Hay una panadería nueva en nuestra calle. Es muy buena.
There are two windows in my room, but they're very small.
Hay dos ventanas en mi cuarto, pero son muy pequeñas.
6.Errores comunes
In my school has a big library.There is a big library in my school.
Algo existe en un lugar → there is.
There is many shops.There are many shops.
Sustantivo en plural → there are.
There are some water.There is some water.
water es incontable → there is.
Is there any eggs?Are there any eggs?
eggs es plural → are.
Ejemplos
- There are two banks on this street.
- Look! There is a cat on the roof.
- There was no hot water in the shower this morning, so I had a cold one.
- There are three bedrooms in our new flat.
