There is a question here

[[number]]

hey there,

when do we use "there is" and when do we use "there are"?
i thought we look at what follows, but i've been encountering examples where it's not the case (can't remember any right now)

best!

 

[Nightmare85]

**Neither a teacher nor a native speaker.**

Hey there,
When do we use "there is" and when do we use "there are"?
I thought we look(ed) at what follows, but I've been encountering examples where it's not the case (can't remember any right now).

Best (regards)!

Remember to use capital letters ;-)

There is a problem. -> One problem exists -> Singular
There are problems. -> Several problems exist -> Plural
There is a lot of water. -> You cannot count the water -> Singular
There are many people. -> Several people; countable -> Plural
There is some information. -> You cannot count the information -> Singular

So, usually I would say:
If the object is countable and plural, use are.
If the object is countable but singular (one) or if it's not countable, use is.

There is one exception.
Some people say:
There's a lot of problems.
This is because it's almost impossible to hear the are if they say:
There're a lot of problems.
However, this more applies to the spoken English, but I've also read it several times so far.

I would write some more examples, but it's 03:39 am here, and I'm going to sleep

Cheers!