THERE IS/ARE/WAS/WERE:
In English, we express existence with 'there is' (singular countable nouns and uncountable nouns) and 'there are' (plural countable nouns) in present, and 'there was' (singular countable nouns and uncountable nouns) and 'there were' (plural countable nouns) in past.
To create the negative form we add 'not', and for the interrogative questions, we change the order:
So:
THERE IS/THERE ARE (=hai) (present)
THERE WAS/THERE WERE (=había) (past)
IN PRESENT:
SINGULAR:
--> There is one cat on the table. ('one cat': countable noun, in singular) = Hai un gato na mesa.
--> There is not one cat on the table. (Long form). = Non hai un gato na mesa.
or
--> There isn't one cat on the table. (Short form). = Non hai un gato na mesa.
- -> In interrogative form:
--> Is there one cat on the table? = Hai un gato na mesa?
--> Short answers:
a) Affirmative (+): Yes, there is. = Si, haino.
b) Negative (-): No, there isn't. (Short form). / No, there is not. (Long form). = Non, non o hai.
PLURAL:
--> There are two cats on the table. ('two cats': countable noun, in plural) = Hai dous gatos na mesa.
--> There are not two cats on the table. (Long form). = Non hai dous gatos na mesa.
or
--> There aren't two cats on the table. (Short form). = Non hai dous gatos na mesa.
- -> In interrogative form:
--> Are there two cats on the table? = Hai dous gatos na mesa?
--> Short answers:
a) Affirmative (+): Yes, there are. = Si, hainos.
b) Negative (-): No, there aren't. (Short form). / No, there are not. (Long form). = Non, non os hai.
IN PAST:
SINGULAR:
--> There was one cat on the table. ('one cat': countable noun, in singular) = Había un gato na mesa.
--> There was not one cat on the table. (Long form). = Non había un gato na mesa.
or
--> There wasn't one cat on the table. (Short form). = Non había un gato na mesa.
- -> In interrogative form:
--> Was there one cat on the table? = Había un gato na mesa?
--> Short answers:
a) Affirmative (+): Yes, there was. = Si, habíao.
b) Negative (-): No, there wasn't. (Short form). / No, there was not. (Long form). = Non, non o había.
PLURAL:
--> There were two cats on the table. ('two cats': countable noun, in plural) = Haibía dous gatos na mesa.
--> There were not two cats on the table. (Long form). = Non había dous gatos na mesa.
or
--> There weren't two cats on the table. (Short form). = Non había dous gatos na mesa.
- -> In interrogative form:
--> Were there two cats on the table? = Había dous gatos na mesa?
--> Short answers:
a) Affirmative (+): Yes, there were. = Si, habíaos.
b) Negative (-): No, there weren't. (Short form). / No, there were not. (Long form). = Non, non os había.