“There is” and “there are” both talk about the existence or presence of something, but they differ in number: “there is” for singular or uncountable , “there are” for plural.

Basic rule

  • Use there is with:
    • Singular countable nouns:
      • There is a book on the table.
  * There is a man at the door.

* Uncountable nouns:
  * There is water in the glass.

  * There is some equipment in the office.
  • Use there are with:
    • Plural countable nouns:
      • There are two books on the table.
  * There are some people waiting for you.

Mixed subjects (a cat and two dogs)

When the sentence has more than one thing:

  • If the first noun is singular/non-countable, many style guides allow there is :
    • There is a dog, three cats, a parrot, and five snakes in our pet store.
  • If the first noun is plural, use there are :
    • There are five books, a laptop, two pens, and a pencil on the table.

In formal writing, many teachers prefer you to match the real subject and use there are when the total idea is plural (e.g., There are a cat and a dog in the yard), but in everyday speech you’ll often hear there’s used even before plurals (There’s two new buildings next to the school), which exams may mark as incorrect.

Special and advanced cases

  • Collective nouns:
    • There is a team of experts in the building. (team = one group).
  • Plural-looking but grammatically singular nouns:
    • There is some equipment on the desk. (equipment is always singular).
  • “A number of”:
    • There is a number of reasons why they failed the exam. (treat “a number of reasons” as one set).
* There are a number of learning options available. (focus on separate options).

Negative and questions

  • Negative:
    • There is not (isn’t) any milk in the fridge.
* There are not (aren’t) enough chairs for everyone.
  • Questions:
    • Is there a problem?
* Are there any questions?

Quick mini-story to feel the pattern

You walk into a new office.
There is a big desk near the window.
There are two computers on the desk.
There is some equipment on the shelves, and there are several people working quietly.
After a moment, you realize there is a team of experts here, and there are many opportunities for you to learn.

Here, every time you talk about one thing or uncountable stuff , the sentence uses there is , and every time it’s more than one countable thing , it switches to there are.

TL;DR:

  • Singular or uncountable → there is.
  • Plural countable → there are.
  • Informal speech often uses “there’s” with plurals, but formal English expects number agreement.