það er / það eru

There Is and There Are

Level 2

Það er + one thing = there is. Það eru + more than one = there are: Það er banki hérna. Það eru tveir kettir í garðinum.

How It Works

Why það is there
Icelandic wants the verb in the second position (The Verb Comes Second). When nothing else is ready to go first, það fills the first spot. It does not mean it here.

  • Það er banki hérna. (There is a bank here.)
  • Það eru tveir kettir í garðinum. (There are two cats in the garden.)

The verb agrees with the noun
Use er for one thing or a mass noun and eru for a plural. In the past, use var and voru:

  • Það er kaffi í könnunni. (There is coffee in the pot.)
  • Það voru margir á tónleikunum. (There were many people at the concert.)

When það disappears
The placeholder is only used in the very first position. When something else comes first, leave it out:

  • Question: Er banki hérna? (Is there a bank here?) See Yes/No Questions.
  • A place first: Í garðinum eru tveir kettir. (In the garden there are two cats.)

Only for new things
Use this pattern for a noun without the article. For something you already know about, just start with it: Bankinn er hérna (The bank is here).

Related uses
The same placeholder appears with vera til (Það er til mjólk), with enginn (Það er enginn heima) and in weather sentences. For more uses of the placeholder, see The Placeholder Það.

Examples (6)

  1. Það er banki hérna.

    There is a bank here.

    Word by Word: It is bank here.

  2. Það eru tveir kettir í garðinum.

    There are two cats in the garden.

    Word by Word: It are two cats in the-garden.

    tveir kettir is plural, so the verb is eru.

  3. Er banki hérna?

    Is there a bank here?

    Word by Word: Is bank here?

    In a question the verb comes first, so það is left out.

  4. Í garðinum eru tveir kettir.

    In the garden there are two cats.

    Word by Word: In the-garden are two cats.

    Í garðinum takes the first spot, so there is no það.

  5. Það voru margir á tónleikunum.

    There were many people at the concert.

    Word by Word: It were many at the-concert.

  6. Það er enginn heima.

    There is nobody home.

    Word by Word: It is nobody home.

Common Mistakes

  • Using er with a plural noun.

    Það er tveir kettir í garðinum.
    Það eru tveir kettir í garðinum.

    The verb agrees with the noun that follows, not with það. Two cats is plural, so use eru.

  • Keeping það when another word comes first.

    Í garðinum eru það tveir kettir.
    Í garðinum eru tveir kettir.

    það only fills an empty first spot. Í garðinum is already first, so það must go.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

það er / það eruLevel 2There Is and There Are

Learn This First

There is builds on þetta er and plurals.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

vera