Using Is and Are after There

REMEMBER:

GREEN for RIGHT
RED for WRONG

WHY IS THERE A PROBLEM?

Tune in to any radio or television panel show / news programme, etc., and one is more than likely to hear – even from experienced journalists – sentences like:

There is complaints every day.

instead of

There are complaints every day.

EXPLANATION of RULE:

In general, the NOUN and the VERB are the key words in every sentence. These two words must be in agreement with each other in terms of SINGULAR and PLURAL forms. Therefore, the SINGULAR NOUN should be placed alongside the SINGULAR VERB and the PLURAL NOUN should be used with the PLURAL VERB.

In the is sentence above, is a SINGULAR VERB while complaints is a PLURAL NOUN.

RESULT:

Conflict between NOUN and VERB

SOLUTIONS:

(1) There are complaints every day. (PLURAL NOUN & PLURAL VERB)

(2) There is a complaint every day. (SINGULAR NOUN & SINGULAR VERB)

USAGE:

As the problem arises only with SINGULAR VERB & PLURAL NOUN combinations, the following sentences will contain this pairing exclusively:

There is children in the classroom.
There are children in the classroom.

There is important issues to be discussed.
There are important issues to be discussed.

There is horses in the field.
There are horses in the field.

There is ten cars parked in the school yard.
There are ten cars parked in the school yard.

There’s clowns running around the arena.
There are clowns running around the arena.

QUICK REVISION: There are matches / films / buses / cats & dogs…

Concord and harmony must exist between NOUN & VERB with regard to NUMBER.

TEST:

Write is or are in the following sentences:

1. There __________ fights during every match.
2. There __________ new houses being built near the church.
3. There ___________ accidents on that roundabout every week.
4. There ___________high trees at the back of the park.
5. There ____________four cakes in the box.
6. There ____________empty milk cartons in the fridge.
7. There ____________ two books in the case.
8. There _____________fresh flowers in the pots.
9. Can you please confirm that there ______ six aeroplanes on the runway?
10. There ____________ one dog in the kennel.

ANSWERS: 1 to 9. are 10. is

KEY ELEMENT OF LESSON:

There is + SINGULAR NOUN
There are + PLURAL NOUN

DON’T FORGET:
There are people on radio and television who say “There is people who say…”.
There are complaints every day.

Take note that when is / are come before there in a question, there must also be agreement between the NOUN and the VERB.

Is there people queuing already to buy tickets?
Are there people queuing already to buy tickets?

REMEMBER:

GREEN for RIGHT
RED for WRONG