At the Mall
Todd and Katie discuss the shops at the local mall and what people can do there.
There is / There are
Point 1: Use ‘there is‘ with singular countable nouns .
- There is a department store in town.
- There is a big mall in this city.
- There is not a place to sit.
- There is no park near my house.
Point 2: Use ‘there are‘ with plural countable nouns.
- There are two cars parked outside my house.
- There are some books on the table.
- There are not many tall buildings in my town.
- There are no new students this year.
Point 3: Use ‘there is‘ with non-countable nouns.
- There is crime in the city.
- There is money on the table.
- There is not any cheese in the fridge.
- There is no ice-cream in the freezer.
Point 4: We usually use ‘some‘ in positive statements with plural count nouns or uncountable nouns.
- There are some stores on Cane Street.
- There are some trees outside.
- There is some food in the kitchen.
- Three is some snow on the mountains.
Point 5: We usually use ‘any‘ in questions and negative statements with plural count nouns or uncountable nouns.
- Are there any students in class?
- No, there aren’t any students. They left.
- Is there any snow on the mountain?
- No, there isn’t any snow. It melted.
Audio Script
At the MALL
Todd: So Katie, I want to go to the mall.
Katie: Okay.
Todd: Have you been to the new mall?
Katie: Yeah, I actually went there just yesterday.
Todd: Okay. So I want to buy some computer stuff. Is there a computer store?
Katie: There are two computer stores.
Todd: Really? Ooh, that’s good.
Katie: There’s a computer store on the first floor, and then very close to that there’s also a Mac store.
Todd: Ooh, that’s perfect. I want to buy a new Mac.
Katie: Oh, me too.
Todd: They’re so expensive, though.
Katie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Todd: Okay, what about books? I really like books. Is there a bookstore with English books?
Katie: There’s a huge bookstore on the fourth floor.
Todd: Ooh, that’s good.
Katie: It’s really big. And there are lots of English books you can read there.
Todd: Oh, great. Nice. And how about the food there?
Katie: The food’s okay. There’s a big food court on the third floor, and you can get a variety of food. You can get a Subway.
Todd: Oh, that’s good. I love sandwiches. Is the food good there, though?
Katie: They don’t have any sandwiches that I like, basically.
Todd: Oh, really. Okay. So what else is there at the mall?
Katie: Oh, there’s so much at the mall. There’s a café on the ground floor.
Todd: Oh, nice.
Katie: If you like drinking coffee.
Todd: I do. I like to go and study and just relax.
Katie: That’s the perfect place for you, then.
Todd: I like to people watch. Is it a good people-watching place?
Katie: Oh, it’s a great people-watching place.
At the MALL
Todd: Oh, cool.
Katie: The windows are really big, and you can see out onto the street.
Todd: Oh, cool. What else is there? Is there a movie theater?
Katie: Mm-hmm (affirmative). There’s a movie theater on the fourth floor.
Todd: Oh, great. Now, do they have English movies?
Katie: They have English and Japanese movies.
Todd: Oh, that’s good. I should watch some Japanese movies too.
Katie: They’re interesting.
Todd: And how about food? I hear there’s a new supermarket, a big supermarket there.
Katie: It’s pretty big. And you can get lots of food there. It’s on the first floor.
Todd: Okay. Is there anything else I should see?
Katie: What about the roof garden?
Todd: Oh, what is the roof garden?
Katie: It’s on the fifth floor, and it’s, well it’s on the roof, and you can see a beautiful view of the city. And there’s also places for you to sit and just enjoy the view.
Todd: Oh, nice. A roof garden, I like that.
Katie: It’s really nice.
Todd: Now, do you buy clothes at the mall? Do they have nice clothing shops?
Katie: Yeah, they have nice clothing shops. Some of them are a little bit expensive.
At the MALL
Todd: Ah, yeah.
Katie: And I like buying cheap clothes.
Todd: Okay. When’s a good time to go?
Katie: I think the best time to go is probably weekdays.
Todd: Okay. Why?
Katie: If you go on the weekend, there are so many children there.
Todd: Oh.
Katie: Ugh. It’s hard to walk around.
Todd: Yeah, and we’re teachers, we teach kids all day.
Katie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Todd: Okay. I don’t want to go then.
Katie: No, me neither.
Todd: Well, I want to go there next week, maybe Thursday night.
Katie: Okay.
Todd: Do you want to join me?
Katie: Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe we can watch a movie.
Todd: Cool. I’ll buy you dinner.
Katie: Sounds great.