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### The Formal 'There is / There are' (ثَمَّةَ)

In formal Arabic, particularly in academic writing, research papers, and literature, you will often encounter the word ثَمَّةَ. It means "there is" or "there are." It serves the exact same grammatical function as هُناكَ but belongs to a higher, more elevated register.

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Grammatically, ثَمَّةَ acts as a fronted locative predicate. The noun that follows it is the delayed subject and is usually indefinite. 

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### Using ثَمَّةَ with Plural Subjects

Because it is an adverb acting as a predicate, ثَمَّةَ does not change its form. You use the exact same word regardless of whether the subject that follows is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.

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Formal 'there is / there are' (ثَمَّةَ)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
there is / there are	ثمةthammata
There is a big problem in this academic report.	ثمة مشكلة كبيرة في هذا التقرير الأكاديمي.thammata mushkilatun kabîratun fî hâdhâ at-taqrîri al-akâdîmî.
research problem / issue	إشكاليةishkâliyyah
The female researcher presented a new issue.	طرحت الباحثة إشكالية جديدة.taraḥati al-bâḥithatu ishkâliyyatan jadîdatan
We do not know whether there is a real issue.	لا نعرف ما إذا كانت ثمة إشكالية حقيقية.lâ narifu mâ idhâ kânat thammata ishkâliyyatun haqîqiyyatun
gap / flaw (loophole, vulnerability)	ثغرةthaghra
There are many gaps in the historical evidence.	ثمة ثغرات كثيرة في الدليل التاريخي.thammata thagharâtun kathîratun fî ad-dalîli t-târîkhiyyi
This is the most dangerous gap in the project.	هذه أخطر الثغرات في المشروع.hâdhihi akhtaru ath-thaghrâti fî al-mashrûʿi
formulation / drafting	صياغةsiyâgha
The drafting of the questions is very complicated.	صياغة الأسئلة معقدة جدا.siyâghatu al-as'ilati mu'aqqadatun jiddan
There is a weak formulation in the second paragraph.	ثمة صياغة ضعيفة في الفقرة الثانية.thammata siyâghatun da'îfatun fil-faqrati ath-thâniyah
contradictory	متناقضmutanâqid
We found contradictory results during the analysis.	وجدنا نتائج متناقضة أثناء التحليل.wajadnâ natâ'ija mutanâqidatan athnâ'a at-tahlîl
peer (companion, associate)	قرينqarîn
The peers reviewed the research in the evening.	راجع الأقران البحث مساء.râjaʿa al-aqrânu al-baḥtha masâ'an
There is a strict female peer who rejected the theory.	ثمة قرينة صارمة رفضت النظرية.thammata qarînatun sârimatun rafadati-n-nazariyyata
quotation	اقتباسiqtibâs
The female author used a famous quotation.	استخدمت المؤلفة اقتباسا مشهورا.istakhdamati al-mu'allifatu iqtibâsan mash-hûran.
How many quotations the female student read!	كم من اقتباس قرأت الطالبة!kam mini iqtibâsin qara'ati ttâlibatu
citation	استشهادistish-hâd
He added a citation in the margin.	أضاف استشهادا في الهامش.adâfa stishhâdan fil hâmish
There is an important citation missing from the draft.	ثمة استشهاد مهم مفقود من المسودة.thammata stishhâdun muhimmun mafqûdun mina al-musawwadati
appendix	ملحقmulhaq
Put the contradictory data in the appendix.	ضع البيانات المتناقضة في الملحق.da'i al-bayanati al-mutanaqidati fi al-mulhaqi
There is a long appendix at the end of the book.	ثمة ملحق طويل في نهاية الكتاب.thammata mulhaqun tawîlun fî nihâyati l-kitâb
contribution (participation)	مساهمةmusâhama
There are great contributions in this research.	ثمة مساهمات عظيمة في هذا البحث.thammata musâhamâtun ʿazhîmatun fî hâdhâ-l-baḥth
There are important contributions from the female researchers.	ثمة مساهمات مهمة من الباحثات.thammata musâhamâtun muhimmatun mina l-bâhithâti