Please can anyone tell me if it's right or wrong?

Question

Hi Everyone. I've got a question that bothers me very much.Please can anyone tell me if this sentence is right or wrong.

There is a cat and 2 dogs on the street,or there are 2 dogs and a cat on the street.

I want to know if we want to say two diffrent things but the amount is diffrent from each other how do we choose the verb.I mean do we choose a singular verb "is" or a plural verb "are".Thanks for your helping.

Suzi · Accepted Answer

use ARE

there ARE several creatures on the street

Buggah · Answer

Some people are too dictatorial!

Check this Yankee page out:

http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/063.html

"But when there’s is followed by a compound subject whose first element is singular, the panel feels differently. Fifty-six percent of the Usage Panel accepts the sentence 'In each of us there’s a dreamer and a realist', and 32 percent more accept it in informal usage." (The American Heritage® Book of English Usage)

Suzi · Answer

LOL -
but actually the example you use isn't the same, cos its not a compund noun we're looking at here, it is a simple plural

btw - how did you arrive at that name? is it derived from ******?

Buggah · Answer

Actually I don't see any difference between the examples 'In each of us there's a dreamer and a realist' and 'On the street there is a cat and two dogs'. But that's ok.

Regarding to my nickname, it just poped out of my mind... it doesn't mean anything.

Suzi · Answer

oh yeah - I got muddled - LOL dunno what I was looking at ...!

your name is making me smile everytime, so keep on trucking you little ******, you .

Please can anyone tell me if it's right or wrong?

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