“There is/are” vs. “Have” in English

Some English students are confused about when to use “There is/are” or “Have”, tending to use “Have” in place of “There is/are”, which impedes communication. The confusion mainly comes from the students’ own language background, therefore it is necessary to explain the difference in meaning between one and the other and how they are being used in different contexts.

“Have” indicates possession, belonging.

Example: My mom has a car. (My mom owns a car, it is her car)

“There is/are” indicates existence, usually in a determined place.

Examples: In my house there is a fireplace. (The fireplace exists in my house)

There are fireworks in town tonight. (Fireworks will happen in town tonight)

The difference in usage depends on where you want the focus of your sentence to be.

For example, if you say “The building has 5 rooms.” the focus is on the building and what it possesses.

If you say “There are 5 rooms in the building.” the focus is on the rooms and not the building.

Also, “There is/are” are impersonal, meaning that they do not take a Subject before them.

Example: There are children in my house.

However, the verb “to have” always takes a Subject before it.

Example: I have three children. (the Subject is “I” in this sentence)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you use the preposition “in” or any other word that indicates a place, you need to use “There is/are”, as in:

There are 3 doors in the building.

If you don’t use “in”, you will need to use the verb “Have”, as in:

My building has 3 doors.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

1. “There is” is for a singular noun, and “There are” is for plural nouns.

Examples: There is a nice bedroom in my apartment. (“bedroom” is singular)

Outside there are many plants. (“plants” is plural)

2. The forms of the verb “to have” are: I have, you have, he/she/it has, we have, you have, they have.

Quiz

Complete the sentences below with “there is/there are” or the correct form of the verb “to have”:

1. The hotel ____15 floors.
2. It _____13 bedrooms.
3. ___________ private bathrooms in every bedroom.
4. __________ a large dining room on the ground floor.
5. ______________ four tennis courts.
6. All the bedrooms ____________ a telephone, an answerphone, and a mini-bar.
7. _____________ single rooms available.
8. The hotel ___________ a garden.
9. We ______________ a room on the 2nd floor.
10. __________________ a balcony in our room.

 

Answers:

1. has

2. has

3. There are

4. There is

5. There are

6. have

7. There are

8. has

9. have

10. There is

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