Study materials
You want to say there is a cafe near your house. Your listener does not know about it yet, so the sentence does not start with the cafe.
There is a cafe near my house.
There are two cafes near my house.
The word there does not mean "over there" here. It simply opens the door for new information, and the thing itself is named straight after it.
The noun decides between is and are
The form is chosen by the word that follows. One thing or an uncountable takes is; several things take are.
There is a bus stop here.
There is water in the bottle.
There are three problems.
In speech there is is nearly always contracted to there's. The plural is not contracted.
Negatives and questions
The ordinary behaviour of be applies: not comes after it, and in a question the form moves to the front.
There isn't a bank here.
Is there a supermarket nearby?
Are there any clean cups?
In short answers the word there stays in place: Yes, there is. No, there aren't.
One more habit: positive sentences often carry some, while questions and negatives carry any.
There are some photos on the wall.
There aren't any photos here.
There or it
This is where the confusion usually starts. The two structures work as a pair, but in turn.
There is a park in my town.
It is small and quiet.
The rule is simple: there is announces that something exists, while it is describes what has already been named. First one, then the other.
How many exactly
To ask about a quantity, take How many, then the plural, and only then are there.
How many students are there in the class?
And when you list several things in a row, the form is set by the first word after there. So it is convenient to name first whatever suits you.
There is a sofa and two chairs.
There are two chairs and a sofa.
The mistakes everyone makes
The first is choosing the form by the meaning instead of the first noun.
There are a problem. → There is a problem.
The second is starting with it where the thing is new.
It is a park in my town. → There is a park in my town.
The third is losing there in the answer.
Yes, it is. → Yes, there is.
All three are caught by one question. Am I announcing that something exists, or describing what is already known? The first is there, the second is it.
Try it right now
Describe the room you are sitting in, in English: two sentences about what is in it and one about what is not.
Then add a sentence with it that describes one of the things you have already named.