7. Where do you live?
Warm-up
Read the following text. Then do the exercise.
In Japan
There are many small flats in Japan. A flat of 25 square metres is a usual thing in this country. As you can guess, there is only one room in such a small flat. People use this room as a bedroom, a living room and a dining room. There is a small kitchen and a bathroom in this flat. If you’re lucky, there is also a balcony. There are not many things in the flat, but people have everything that they need for a comfortable life. Surprisingly, it’s expensive to pay for such a small flat.
Are there any small flats in your country?
In Russia
A typical flat in Russia is about 45-55 square metres. There are usually two rooms and a kitchen in the flat. In many Russian flats, there aren’t any living rooms. There is usually a big bedroom and a small bedroom. People usually use the big room as both a bedroom and a living room. So, you can welcome guests in this room during the day and sleep there at night. There is a balcony in almost every Russian flat. Russians often put skis, clothes and things that they don’t need.
Do you have a balcony in your flat/house? What do you usually use it for?
In Sweden
A usual Swedish flat is about 40 square metres. One interesting thing about Swedish flats is that many of them are narrow and long. There is usually a kitchen, a bedroom, and a living room in a Swedish flat. The hall is usually long because the flat itself is long. But, believe it or not, there are five windows in the flat! There are some special rooms in Swedish blocks of flats where you can keep your bicycle or other things.
Is your flat narrow or wide? Do you have a special room to keep bikes and other things there?
There is / There are / There was / There were
Use there is / there are / there was / there were to describe the place or location of something.
Present: there is / there are
Positive | Negative | Questions |
---|---|---|
There is + a + singular noun + place: | There isn’t + a + singular noun + place. | Is there + a + singular noun + place? |
There is a small kitten in the kitchen. | There isn’t a sofa in his room. | Is there a garden in your town? |
There are + (many, two, three, etc.) + plural noun + place: | There aren’t + (any, many, two, three, etc.) + plural noun + place. | Are there + (any, many, two, three, etc.) + plural noun + place? |
There are many little kittens in the kitchen. | There aren’t any sofas in his house. | Are there any gardens in your town? |
Past: there was / there were
Positive | Negative | Questions |
---|---|---|
There was + a + singular noun + place: | There wasn’t + a + singular noun + place. | Was there + a + singular noun + place? |
There was a small kitten in the kitchen. | There wasn’t a sofa in his room. | Was there a garden in your town? |
There were + (many, two, three, etc.) + plural noun + place: | There weren’t + (any, many, two, three, etc.) + plural noun + place. | Were there + (any, many, two, three, etc.) + plural noun + place? |
There were many little kittens in the kitchen. | There weren’t any sofas in his house. | Were there any gardens in your town? |
Mind that you have to use “there is / there was” if the first noun is singular. E.g.: There is a kitchen and a dining room in this house.
Practice
Choose the right option. Pay attention to the context.
Describe
Look at the pictures and describe what you see. Use there is / there are to complete the task. Then make your sentences in the past simple.