There is/are

Short form: there’s (there is)

We use there is with a singular noun

√There is a shopping centre. (singular noun)
X There isn’t a shopping centre.
? Is there a shopping centre?

OR with an uncountable noun (e.g. bread, water, petrol, meat, plastic, etc.)

√There is some milk. (uncountable noun)
X There isn’t any milk.
? Is there any milk?

We use there are with plural nouns.

√There are some shopping centres.
X There aren’t any shopping centres.
? Are there any shopping centres?

We use there is/are to describe something:

In my city there are 2,000 banks. There aren’t any zoos. There is a large shopping centre but there isn’t a public swimming pool. Is there a library in the city centre? Are there any interesting books in the library?

OR to point something out:

There is a documentary on TV tonight. There isn’t any money in my pocket. There isn’t any milk in the cake. There are some pandas in the zoo.