ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: is or are?

Yoong Liat — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:15:23 GMT

1. There is a boy and a girl in the playground.

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

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

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

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.(The Right Word at the Right Time)

Re: is or are?

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:11:54 GMT

'It's impossible to make a mistake!'

Music to my ears!

Re: is or are?

Cool Breeze — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:07:20 GMT

In spoken English in particular, most people say is. Quite a few grammarians think both verb forms are correct when a list consisting of words in the singular follows. In other words, it's impossible to make a mistake!

CB

is or are?

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:25:38 GMT

In this sentence, I'm unsure if 'is' or 'are' should be used?

'Outside, there IS/ARE a mutual courtyard, exclusive garden ground, and a single garage'

Thanks