i We use there is+ singular noun to say that something exists or doesnt exist
There is a coffee machine on the second floor.
There isnt a swimming pool in this hotel.
ii With plural nouns, we use there are with some in positive statements, and there are with any in negative sentences.
There are some people in the room.
There arent any flights on Sundays.
iii We use is there +a/any, are there +any to ask a question.
Is there a message for me?
Is there any baggage?
Are there any good nightclubs in the city?
ASSIGNMENTS
A Read the text. Fill in the gaps with is or are.
MARKS AND SPENCER
Marks and Spencer (M&S) ____1 one of the UKs most famous department stores. There _____2 many different departments, which sell clothes, home and beauty products, furniture and food. It also sells insurance and credit cards.
There _______3 450 stores in the UK, and most of them _______4 in town centres. There _____5 other 156 stores in over 30 different countries. There ______6 over 60,000 employees around the world, and every week there ______7 about 10 million customers in M&S stores.
There ______8 also many M&S stores which just sell food. These are called Simply Food and they _______9 in places like railway stations, airports, petrol stations and motorway service stations.
The Chief Executive of M&S is Stuart Rose. He _____10 very interested in looking after the environment, and now M&S _____11 one of the leading green companies in the UK. He says it _____12 important for the company to always improve its product ranges and customer service. There _____13 plans to introduce new products all the time.
B Answer the questions:
a) What is Mark and Spencer?
b) What does M&S sell?
c) How many stores are there in the UK?
d) In how many countries are there M&S stores?
e) How many people work for the company?
f) How many customers are there every week?
g) What are the food stores called?
h) Where are the food stores?
i) Who is Stuart Rose?
j) What is he interested in?
k) What are the company plans?
C Tick the correct sentence, a or b.
1 a) There are three factories in Europe and one in Asia.
b) Theres three factories in Europe and one in Asia.
2 a) There arent any sales reps* in China.
b) There are any sales reps in China.
3 a) There are some mangers in the technical centre and some in head office.
b) There is some mangers in the technical centre and some in head office.
4 a) There isnt some distribution centre in Britain.
b) There isnt a distribution centre in Britain.
5 a) There isnt any sales office in Dubai.
b) There isnt a sales office in Dubai.
6 a) Are there a computer programmer here?
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b) Are there any computer programmers here?
7 a) Is there a receptionist in the technical centre? Yes, there are.
b) Is there a receptionist in the technical centre? Yes, there is.
8 a) Is there a car park at the distribution centre? Yes, there isnt.
b) Is there a car park at the distribution centre? No, there isnt.
sales rep* (sales representative)
VOCABULARY BOOSTER
A Say these numbers. Then try to match them with items 1-5 below.
432 26.836.000 805.602 1.280 75.000.000
1 the price in dollars of The Portrait of Dr Gachet by Vincent Van Gogh
2 the average daily sales of The Times (UK newspaper)
3 the length in metres of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
4 the population of Tokyo in 1998
5 the number of Metro stations in Paris
