There is OR There are a boy, a girl and an old man...

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Kathy456

#357901 Mon, 30 Apr 07 10:48 AM

Hi everybody,

"Long time no see!" Hope all of you are doing well.

Actually, I've got a quick question about whether a singular/plural verb should be used after "there" in the following sentences:-

1. There is/are a boy & a girl in the playground.

2. There is/are a boy, a girl & an old man in the playground.

3. There is/are a boy & two girls in the playground.

4. There is/are two girls & a boy in the playground.

I'd be grateful if anyone could give a hand here.

Thanks.

Kathy

Kathy456

Joined on Wed, Mar 1 2006

New Member (37)

Verbs, Plurals

ahava_yin

#357903 Mon, 30 Apr 07 10:55 AM

I would use "There are..." in all of the four sentences

The fact is that three persons (more than one singular) are described here.

In the room, there are a boy, a girl, and a box.

There are a boy,a girl,a dog,and a cat in the story

ahava_yin

Joined on Thu, Sep 9 2004

Full Member (312)

Hi, I'm learning English. Your notes help me a lot. I love the forum.

Cool Breeze

#357906 Mon, 30 Apr 07 10:56 AM

Hi Kathy

English is quite flexible with regard to the form of the verb. Many grammarians prefer is for sentences 1 through 3 because the next word (a boy) is singular. However, since there is more than one person in all, many usage experts think are is also correct. I am one of those. Smile [:)]

For sentence 4 I would use only are because the next noun (girls) is a plural.

Cheers
CB

Cool Breeze

Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006

Helsinki, Finland

Senior Member (2,817)

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.- Mark Twain

Regards, Verbs, Plurals, Nouns

Kooyeen

#357995 Mon, 30 Apr 07 02:37 PM

Hi,
"There is a boy, a girl and an old man" - This is the way I say it, and the way I think the majority of native speakers say it. Smile [:)]

Kooyeen

Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005

Italy

Senior Member (3,962)

If you don't have a sense of humor already, it's about time you buy one.

Yankee

#358006 Mon, 30 Apr 07 03:05 PM

Hi Kathy

I think you'll find this thread very interesting:
http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThereIsAre/cchzm/Post.htm

Yankee

Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006

Connecticut, USA

Senior Member (4,156)

Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

Yoong Liat

#358113 Mon, 30 Apr 07 06:12 PM

Kathy456 wrote:

1. There is a boy & a girl in the playground.
2. There is a boy, a girl & an old man in the playground.

3. There is a boy & two girls in the playground.

4. There are two girls & a boy in the playground.

Kathy

This topic has been discussed in another thread.
Some language experts now regard there is as a fixed, unvarying idiom that can precede a (plural) list of nouns so long as the first noun is in the singular. However, the constructions with a singular verb might attract criticism from old-fashioned purists.(Extracted from The Right Word at the Right Time.)

Yoong Liat

Joined on Mon, Sep 4 2006

Singapore

Veteran Member (5,977)

Yoong Liat

Regards, Verbs, Singular verbs, Plurals, Constructions, Nouns, Idioms