A1 · Beginner · Outdoors · 135 words · ~2 min read

🍂 An Autumn Walk in Greenwich Park

Language focus: Present Simple · there is / there are

Before you read

This story describes a place, and describing places in English almost always means there is and there are. Count how many times the structure appears, and notice how it changes for singular, plural and negative.

It is a cool autumn afternoon. Tom and his dog go for a walk in Greenwich Park. The leaves are red, orange and gold.

There is a tall hill in the park. From the top, there is a wonderful view of the river and the city. A gentle breeze moves the trees.

Tom’s dog picks up a stick and runs on the soft grass. They walk for an hour, then sit on a wooden bench and rest.

There are some ducks on the small pond and there is an old café near the gate. Tom buys a hot chocolate and drinks it on the bench.

There are not many people in the park today because it is cold. Tom likes it that way. He and his dog walk home slowly in the late afternoon light.

Key vocabulary (8 words)

autumnnoun: The season after summer when leaves fall.
leavesnoun: The flat green parts that grow on trees.
hillnoun: A high area of land, smaller than a mountain.
benchnoun: A long seat for two or more people.
pathnoun: A narrow way for walking.
grassnoun: The green plant that covers fields and parks.
breezenoun: A light, gentle wind.
viewnoun: What you can see from a high or open place.

Phrasal verbs in this story

pick up — To pick up means to lift something from the ground.

The grammar in this story

there is for one, there are for more than one

“There is a tall hill.” “There are some ducks.” The verb agrees with what comes after it, not with there. Learners often default to there is for everything, which is why there is many people is such a common error — it should be there are many people.

The negative and the quantity word that follows

“There are not many people in the park.” In negatives, English prefers many with countable nouns and much with uncountable ones. In positives it usually switches to a lot of: there are a lot of people.

there is is not the same as it is

Compare “There is a wonderful view” with “It is a cool autumn afternoon.” There is introduces something new into the scene; it is describes something already understood, such as the weather or the time. Swapping them produces sentences that are grammatically odd rather than merely unusual.

Plural nouns after there are

Ducks, people, leaves. Note that leaves is the irregular plural of leaf, and people is already plural — peoples means nations, not persons. Both appear in this story.

Phrases you can reuse today

There is a park near my house.: The standard way to introduce a place.
There are not many shops here.: Many with a countable plural in the negative.
Is there a café in the park?: The question form: is and there swap.
It is cold today.: Weather takes it is, not there is.

Comprehension quiz

What season is it?
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
Show answer
Autumn
Where do they walk?
- Greenwich Park
- The beach
- A museum
Show answer
Greenwich Park
What colour are the leaves?
- Blue and green
- Red, orange and gold
- Black and white
Show answer
Red, orange and gold
From the hill there is a wonderful…
- view
- shop
- queue
Show answer
view
The dog picks ___ a stick.
- up
- off
- in
Show answer
up

Now use it yourself

Reading builds recognition; writing your own sentences is what turns it into something you can actually say. Three short tasks:

Describe your neighbourhood with six there is / there are sentences.
Write two things there are not in your town.
What is your favourite park or outdoor place? Say why in two sentences.