1. We use "there is (are)" constructions talking about the existence or absence of people or things in a definite place. These constructions have the meaning «есть, имеется, находится, существует».
The verb to be in such constructions can be used in different tense forms:
there is/are,
there was/were,
there will be,
there has/have been,
there had been.
The verb to be in such constructions can be used with modal verbs (can, may, must, ought to):
There must be a dictionary on the shelf.
We can also use some other verbs after "there" – to live, to exist, to stand, to lie, etc.:
There exist different opinions on the problem.
In "there is (are)" constructions we observe the following word order:
"there is (are)"+subject+adverbial modifier of time/place.
The corresponding Russian sentences begin with adverbial modifiers:
There is a telephone in my room. – В моей комнате есть (имеется) телефон. See the difference: The telephone is in my room. – Телефон в моей комнате.
If the subjects are of different number the predicate agrees with the subject that stands first:
There is a table and six chairs in the room. There were some books and a dictionary on the desk.
Commentary: "There are plenty of books on the bookshelves in her study" is a sentence with the introductory "there" which is used to point out the existence of some things in a definite place, the subject of the sentence is expressed by a countable noun in plural.
"There isn‘t any soup in the plate" is a sentence with the introductory "there" which is used to point out the absence of something in a definite place, the subject of the sentence is expressed by an uncountable noun.