There is / There are
है / हैं
English uses the dummy subject 'there' to announce that something exists — a grammatical placeholder Hindi doesn't need, since Hindi can simply state existence with है/हैं and let the location and the thing itself carry the meaning.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
'there' fills a subject slot Hindi leaves empty
There is a book on the table. (there is a placeholder subject, not a real place)
मेज़ पर एक किताब है। (no placeholder needed — the sentence just states what exists)
Hindi simply states what exists — मेज़ पर एक किताब है literally reads 'on the table a book is,' with no filler word occupying a subject position. English grammar insists every sentence have a subject, so when there's no natural one (as when just announcing something exists), it invents 'there' to fill that slot. Afterward, is/are agrees with the real noun (a book → is, books → are), exactly as Hindi's है/हैं agrees with the real noun's number (किताब है, किताबें हैं) — so the agreement logic already feels familiar, even though the placeholder subject itself doesn't.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| English | Pronunciation | Hindi |
|---|---|---|
| There is a book. | thair iz ay book | एक किताब है।ek kitāb hai. |
| There are books. | thair ar books | किताबें हैं।kitābeñ haiñ. |
| There is no time. | thair iz noh tym | समय नहीं है।samay nahīñ hai. |
| Is there a problem? | iz thair ay PROB-lem | क्या कोई समस्या है?kyā koī samasyā hai? |