je / sú
There Is and There Are
To say "there is" or "there are", use je for one thing or sú for several, together with a place: Tu je banka. (There is a bank here.)
How It Works
The pattern: a place + je / sú + what exists, in any order that fits the sentence.
Tu je banka. (There is a bank here.)
Sú tu ľudia. (There are people here.)
New information goes last: Word order does the job of English "a" and "the". Na stole je kniha. introduces a new book (There is a book on the table). Kniha je na stole. talks about a book we already know (The book is on the table).
tam is a real place: tam means "over there", at that place. It is not a filler word like English "there is".
How many: One thing takes je. Two, three and four take sú: V izbe sú dve postele. Five and more take je with the genitive plural: V meste je päť kín. (see päť a viac + genitív množného čísla).
Questions: Keep the same words and raise your voice: Je tu niekde lekáreň? (Is there a pharmacy somewhere around here?)
Saying no: Use nie je / nie sú. The thing stays in the nominative: Tu nie je banka. With žiadny (no) or nikto (nobody) Slovak keeps the negative verb too: Nie je tu nikto.
Other tenses: Včera tu bol koncert. (There was a concert here yesterday.) Zajtra tu bude trh. (There will be a market here tomorrow.)
Examples (6)
- Tu je banka.
There's a bank here.
Word by Word: Here is bank.
- Na stole je kniha.
There's a book on the table.
Word by Word: On table is book.
- Sú tu ľudia.
There are people here.
Word by Word: Are here people.
- Je tu niekde lekáreň?
Is there a pharmacy somewhere around here?
Word by Word: Is here somewhere pharmacy?
- V izbe sú dve postele.
There are two beds in the room.
Word by Word: In room are two beds.
- Tu nie je žiadny obchod.
There's no shop here.
Word by Word: Here not is no shop.
Slovak keeps nie je together with žiadny (no); both negatives are needed.
Common Mistakes
Using je with two, three or four things.
V izbe je dve postele.V izbe sú dve postele.Dva, dve, tri and štyri take the plural verb sú. Only five and more switch back to je.
Putting nie after the verb.
Tu je nie banka.Tu nie je banka.The negative form is one unit placed before the thing: nie je, nie sú.
Putting the thing that exists into an object form.
Na stole je knihu.Na stole je kniha.The thing that exists is the subject of je, so it stays in the nominative.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before There Is and There Are, learn Present Tense of byť. Existential je and sú are forms of byť.
Related Patterns
- to je / to súThis Is and These Are
Uses the same verbs to identify things rather than to say they exist.
Level 1 - nie som / nie jeNegative Forms of Byť
Gives nie je and nie sú for saying that something is not there.
Level 1 - v / vo / na + LocativeWhere: V and Na with the Locative
Place phrases like v izbe and na stole usually go with this pattern.
Level 1 - tu / sem, doma / domovHere, There and Home
Explains tu and tam, the most common place words here.
Level 2 - päť a viac + Genitive PluralFive and More
Explains why five and more take je with the genitive plural.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice je / sú in Bubblegum
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