There is / there are

想表达“有某样东西”，或者“某个地方有某样东西”时，英语常常用一个特别的句型：there is 和 there are。这里的 there 不是指“那边”的意思，而是把新信息引入对话。如果谈论的是双方都已经知道的东西，就要用正常的语序：The book is on the table.

简单说： 一个东西 → there is（there's）。多个东西 → there are。

There is / there are：基本形式

动词要和后面出现的名词保持一致——单数还是复数：

	形式	例句
单数 / 不可数	there is（there's）	There's a cat in the garden.
复数	there are	There are three chairs here.

在标准英语中，复数名词前一定要用 there are——在非常口语化的场合，有时能听到复数前用 there's，但在正式、规范的英语中最好避免这样用。

中文里的“有”不随单复数变化——“有一本书”和“有两本书”用的都是同一个“有”。但英语必须在 is 和 are 之间选择：后面是一个或不可数名词，用 is；后面是复数名词，用 are。

There's a good restaurant near my house.
There are two windows in this room.
There's some milk in the fridge.（不可数名词——见下文）

在口语和非正式书面语中，there is 常常缩写为 there's：There's a park nearby. 完整形式 There is a park nearby 同样正确——只是听起来更严谨或更正式一些。There are 通常不缩写，即使在口语中也是如此。

选择 a / an 还是复数名词

因为 there is/are 通常引入的是新信息，或之前没有提到过的内容，所以后面通常跟单数名词加上不定冠词（a、an），或者复数名词完全不加冠词：

There's a book on the table. = 新信息。对比：The book is on the table——用于说话人和听话人都已经知道是哪本书的时候。
There are apples in the bowl.
There's an umbrella by the door.

不可数名词用 there is 加上名词，常常配合 some 或 any：There's some water in the bottle. / Is there any coffee?

疑问句：Is there...? / Are there...?

要问某样东西是否存在，只需把 is 或 are 移到 there 前面——不需要 do/does，因为 there is/are 本身已经带有自己的动词：

✅ Is there a bathroom here? ——绝不说 ❌ Does there a bathroom here?
✅ Are there any shops nearby?
Is there a problem?
Are there enough chairs for everyone?

简短回答和 be 动词的模式一样：

Is there a pool? — Yes, there is. / No, there isn't.
Are there any seats left? — Yes, there are. / No, there aren't.

否定句：isn't / aren't

not 直接放在 is 或 are 后面，通常缩写：

✅ There isn't a mirror in this room. ——绝不说 ❌ There no is a mirror.
✅ There aren't any messages for you.
There isn't any sugar left.
There aren't many people here today.

也可以在 is/are 后面直接用 no，代替 isn't/aren't any——两者意思相同：

There is no sugar left. = There isn't any sugar left.
There are no messages for you. = There aren't any messages for you.

Some 和 any

对于复数和不可数名词，there is/are 常常和 some、any 搭配，遵循通常的规则：肯定句用 some，疑问句和否定句用 any。

There are some books on the shelf.（肯定句）— Are there any books on the shelf?（疑问句）— There aren't any books on the shelf.（否定句）
There's some milk in the fridge.（肯定句）— Is there any milk in the fridge?（疑问句）— There isn't any milk in the fridge.（否定句）

说明某物在哪里

There is/are 后面常常跟一个短语，精确说明某样东西的位置——通常由地点介词构成，比如 in、on、at、under 或 next to（这是一个单独的主题，即将推出）：

There's a lamp on the desk.
There are two dogs under the table.
There's a supermarket next to the station.

常见错误

❌ It is a book on the table. → ✅ There's a book on the table.（表达新信息要用 there，不是 it）
❌ There have three students in the class. → ✅ There are three students in the class.（和 there 搭配用 be，不是 have）
❌ There is two cats in the yard. → ✅ There are two cats in the yard.（复数名词需要 are，不是 is）
❌ Does there a bank near here? → ✅ Is there a bank near here?（there is/are 不需要 do/does）
❌ There no is a clock on the wall. → ✅ There isn't a clock on the wall.（否定形式是 isn't，不是 no is）
❌ There's many problems. → ✅ There are many problems.（there's 只用于单数/不可数名词）

小测验

哪种形式正确？

____ a park near my house.（There's / There are）
____ any tickets left?（Is there / Are there）
There ____ three books on the desk.（is / are）
There ____ any milk in the fridge.（isn't / aren't）

查看答案

There's 2. Are there 3. are 4. isn't

要点回顾

There is（there's）引入一样东西或不可数的量；there are 引入多于一样东西。
疑问句要调换语序：Is there...? / Are there...?——不需要 do/does。
否定句是 There isn't... 和 There aren't...（也可以用 there is/are no...）。
There is/are 通常和 a/an、复数名词或 some/any 搭配，因为它一般引入新信息——对于双方都已经知道的东西，要用正常语序：The book is on the table.