EnglishGrade 4ages 9–10
📍 There is a chair
There is and There are look almost like the same phrase, but the choice between them depends entirely on one thing — whether you're talking about one item or more than one.
Try this lesson freeNo card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreWhat your child learns
- There is = something exists, for one thing.
- There is a chair. Not There are a chair.
- a comes before one thing: a chair, a door.
- There are is for two or more: There are two chairs.
The mistake most kids make here
There are a chair — plural on one thing.
Try one question
One chair in the room. Which is right?
One chair
- There are a chair
- There is a chair
- There is chairs
Answer
There is a chair — That's it. One = There is a chair. are is for more than one.
How Maya teaches it
Your child tells Maya what they did in class. She teaches this topic at her desk, asks questions with tappable answers, and when the answer is wrong she explains why that answer was tempting instead of saying “try again”. She remembers what did not land and comes back to it.
Your child has it when they can: Say There is a chair about one chair.
How to help at home
There is goes with one thing: There is a chair. There are goes with two or more things: There are two chairs. The word a is a matching clue — it only ever comes before a single item.
The mistake There are a chair mixes the plural are with the singular a, which don't belong together. If a appears, is should follow; if a number bigger than one appears, are should follow.
Practice with objects around the house: point to one item and say 'There is a...', then point to two or more of something and say 'There are...' — the pattern becomes automatic with repetition.
A good sign they've got it: they automatically choose is for one item and are for more than one, without needing to stop and think about it.
Questions parents ask
- Why does my child say There are a chair?
- They've correctly learned that are goes with plural, but haven't yet connected that a is a signal for exactly one item — so is should be used with a, and are should be used with a number bigger than one.
- What's the simple rule for is versus are here?
- There is a (one thing). There are (two or more things, often with a number like two chairs). The word a only ever pairs with is, never with are.
- What's a good way to practice this at home?
- Point to single objects and say 'There is a...', then point to groups and say 'There are...' Repeating both patterns with real objects builds the habit.
- How does Maya teach this differently from a fill-in-the-blank sheet?
- Maya asks the child to choose the right sentence about one visible chair, with real options, so they apply the singular/plural rule to something concrete instead of an abstract blank.
No card needed. The first lesson is free.
Download on the App StoreMore English lessons
- A room sentenceGrade 4
- I am eatingGrade 4
- a big catGrade 4
- becauseGrade 4
- She sitsGrade 3
- table chair doorGrade 3
- I have / she hasGrade 3
- in on underGrade 3
Sources: English Curriculum 2020 for elementary school – Israeli Ministry of Education