A lot of Russian students don't understand when we need to use this costruction. In this article we are going to explain you the main rules of it.
First of all, we use this construction when we need to emphasize that something is situated somewhere.
For example: There is a chair in the living-room.
We can translate this sentence into Russian as:
Стул (находится) в гостиной.
Then we must explain the rules of usage.
In affirmative sentences we can use:
1. there is + singular form of the noun.
There is a big tree in the garden.
2. there are + plural form of the noun.
There are big trees in the garden.
In negative sentences we can use:
1. there isn't + singular form of the noun.
There isn't a hotel near here.
2. there aren't + plural form of the noun.
There aren't any hotels near here.
When we need to make a question we must use the inversion:
1. Is there + singular form of the noun?
Is there a letter for me?
2. Are there + plural form of the noun?
Are there any letters for me?
So in conclusion we must say that this construction is very useful. And, moreover, it is widely used in spoken English.