Greek expresses existence with υπάρχει “there is” and υπάρχουν “there are.” The noun normally follows the verb and controls singular or plural agreement. Unlike English, Greek adds no dummy word corresponding to there: the apparent English subject has no Greek translation.
υπάρχει and υπάρχουν
Use singular υπάρχει with one entity or a singular/mass noun, and plural υπάρχουν with a plural noun.
Υπάρχει ένα πρόβλημα με την κράτηση.
ipárchi éna próvlima me tin krátisi
There is a problem with the reservation.
Υπάρχουν πολλοί άνθρωποι στην αίθουσα.
ipárchun polí ánthropi stin éthusa
There are many people in the room.
Υπάρχει αρκετός χρόνος μέχρι το βράδυ.
ipárchi arketós chrónos méchri to vrádhi
There is enough time until this evening.
The postverbal noun is grammatically the subject and appears in the nominative: ένας φούρνος, πολλοί άνθρωποι. Its position after the verb reflects its usual status as newly introduced information, not object case.
Location existentials
An existential often introduces a new place, service, or object and then locates it.
Υπάρχει μια τράπεζα εδώ κοντά;
ipárchi mia trápeza edhó kondá;
Is there a bank near here?
Υπάρχουν δύο φαρμακεία στην πλατεία.
ipárchun dhío farmakía stin platía
There are two pharmacies in the square.
Στο τέλος του δρόμου υπάρχει μια στάση λεωφορείου.
sto télos tu dhrómu ipárchi mia stási leoforíu
At the end of the street there is a bus stop.
The location may come before or after the existential. Fronting it establishes the spatial frame; agreement still comes from the existential noun.
To locate a known definite entity, Greek often prefers είμαι: Η τράπεζα είναι δίπλα στο ταχυδρομείο “The bank is next to the post office.” Existentials characteristically introduce a referent rather than merely report where an already identified one is.
Negation and negative words
Put δεν before the existential verb. Greek negative concord keeps words such as τίποτα and κανένας inside the same negative clause.
Δεν υπάρχει τίποτα στο ψυγείο.
dhen ipárchi típota sto psiyío
There is nothing in the fridge.
Δεν υπάρχουν διαθέσιμα δωμάτια απόψε.
dhen ipárchun dhiathésima dhomátia apópse
There are no rooms available tonight.
Δεν υπάρχει κανένας λόγος να ανησυχείς.
dhen ipárchi kanénas lóghos na anisichís
There is no reason to worry.
The negative word does not cancel δεν. Δεν υπάρχει τίποτα is one negative proposition, not the positive “something exists.”
Colloquial existential έχει
Everyday speech frequently uses third-person singular έχει where English says “there is/are,” especially for presence, availability, weather conditions, or crowds.
Έχει πολύ κόσμο στο κέντρο σήμερα.
échi polí kózmo sto kéndro símera
There are lots of people downtown today. (informal)
Έχει ένα φαρμακείο στη γωνία.
échi éna farmakío sti ghonía
There's a pharmacy on the corner. (informal)
Έχει πολλές επιλογές στο μενού.
échi polés epiloghés sto menú
There are many options on the menu. (informal)
This existential έχει stays singular even before plural πολλές επιλογές because its syntax is not the agreeing υπάρχουν construction. In formal writing, υπάρχει/υπάρχουν is clearer and more neutral; έχει gives the sentence a conversational voice.
The construction across time
The same postverbal agreement continues outside the present. Past υπήρχε/υπήρχαν and future θα υπάρξει/θα υπάρξουν still agree with the existential noun.
Υπήρχε ένα μικρό λάθος στην αίτηση.
ipírche éna mikró láthos stin étisi
There was a small error in the application.
Υπήρχαν δύο πιθανές λύσεις.
ipírchan dhío pithanés lísis
There were two possible solutions.
Θα υπάρξουν αλλαγές στο πρόγραμμα.
tha ipárksun alaghés sto próghrama
There will be changes to the schedule.
These examples demonstrate the construction rather than teach a conjugation table. The choice of tense belongs to the full verb paradigm; singular–plural agreement and the postverbal introduction of a referent remain constant.
Existence versus possession
The same έχει form may be personal possession or impersonal existence. Context supplies the difference.
Η Μαρία έχει αυτοκίνητο.
i María échi aftokínito
Maria has a car. (possession; expressed subject)
Έχει πάρκινγκ πίσω από το ξενοδοχείο.
échi párking píso apó to ksenodhochío
There is parking behind the hotel. (informal existential; no possessor)
Greek also has a fully personal lexical verb υπάρχω “exist.” Its conjugation, past forms, and formal participle belong to the υπάρχω reference page. This page owns only the existential construction.
English comparison
English agrees is/are with the following noun but fills its initial subject position with dummy there. Greek agrees υπάρχει/υπάρχουν without filling any dummy slot. Because new information naturally follows the verb, the construction looks verb-initial while remaining fully grammatical.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding a form of είμαι before υπάρχει.
❌ Είναι υπάρχει ένα πρόβλημα.
Incorrect—υπάρχει alone expresses ‘there is’; no dummy copula is added.
✅ Υπάρχει ένα πρόβλημα.
ipárchi éna próvlima
There is a problem.
2. Using singular υπάρχει with a plural subject.
❌ Υπάρχει τρία άδεια δωμάτια.
Incorrect in the standard υπάρχει construction—the plural subject requires υπάρχουν.
✅ Υπάρχουν τρία άδεια δωμάτια.
ipárchun tría ádhia dhomátia
There are three empty rooms.
3. Marking the existential noun as accusative.
❌ Υπάρχει έναν φούρνο κοντά.
Incorrect—the noun after υπάρχει is its nominative subject: ένας φούρνος.
✅ Υπάρχει ένας φούρνος κοντά.
ipárchi énas fúrnos kondá
There is a bakery nearby.
Key Takeaways
- υπάρχει agrees with a singular or mass noun; υπάρχουν agrees with a plural noun.
- The existential noun is a postverbal nominative subject, often newly introduced.
- Greek has no dummy equivalent of English there.
- Negation uses δεν, with normal negative concord: Δεν υπάρχει τίποτα.
- Informal existential έχει is fixed singular; standard υπάρχει/υπάρχουν shows agreement.
Related Topics
- Impersonal and Dummy SubjectsB1 — English has two subjects that mean nothing — it and there — and Greek has neither, which produces two separate transfer errors with two separate fixes. 'It' corresponds to nothing at all (Βρέχει, Κάνει κρύο, Είναι κρίμα που…), while 'there is' is the real verb υπάρχει, which agrees, or the everyday έχει, which does not. Plus the neuter-singular adjective in Είναι δύσκολο να… and when αυτό genuinely is allowed.
- The Present of έχω (to have)A1 — έχω, έχεις, έχει, έχουμε, έχετε, έχουν — a perfectly regular Class Α present that does three big jobs in Greek: possession, the colloquial existential έχει ('there is/are'), and, above all, the auxiliary that builds every perfect tense (έχω γράψει).
- Impersonal ConstructionsB1 — Map Greek impersonal frames by the complement they select: bare weather predicates, modal and evaluative να-clauses, factual που-clauses, and propositional ότι/πως-clauses.