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Kathy456 Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

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

0Hi everybody,02br
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00"Long time no see!" Hope all of you are doing well.02br
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00Actually, I've got a quick question about whether a singular/plural verb should be used after "there" in the following sentences:-02br
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001. There is/are a boy & a girl in the playground.02br
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002. There is/are a boy, a girl & an old man in the playground.02br
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003. There is/are a boy & two girls in the playground.02br
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004. There is/are two girls & a boy in the playground.02br
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00I'd be grateful if anyone could give a hand here.02br
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00Thanks.02br
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00Kathy0-
  

Top answer

02br 02br 00In the room, 01font 00there are a boy, a girl02font 00, and a box. 02br 02br 01font 00There are a boy,a girl02font 00,a dog,and a cat in the story0-

— Ahava_yin

  • 02br 02br 00In the room, 01font 00there are a boy, a girl02font 00, and a box.
  • 02br 02br 01font 00There are a boy,a girl02font 00,a dog,and a cat in the story0-
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10 Answers
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0I would use "There are..." in all of the four sentences02br
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00The fact is that three persons (more than one singular) are described here.02br
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00In the room, 01font00there are a boy, a girl02font00, and a box. 02br
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01font00There are a boy,a girl02fo
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0 Hi Kathy02br
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00English is quite flexible with regard to the form of the verb. Many grammarians prefer 01i00is02i00 for sentences 1 through 3 because the next word (a boy) is singular. However, since there is more than one person 01b00in all02b00, many usage experts think 01i00are02i00is also correct.
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0 Hi,02br
00"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. 050010id1
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0 Hi Kathy02br
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00I think you'll find this thread very interesting:02br
01a05000 02a0260hrefhttp://www.EnglishForward.com/English/ThereIsAre/cchzm/Post.htm
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Kathy45612cite101. There 11b10is 12b10a boy & a girl in the playground. 12br
102. There11b10 is 12b10a boy, a girl & an old man in the playground.12br
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103. There11b10 is 12b10a boy & two girls in the playground.12br
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Yoong Liat
I agree with you, but what can we quote as sources for this idea. I need "Proof in pudding", or I'll have pudding in face :-))
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AnonymousYoong Liat
I agree with you, but what can we quote as sources for this idea. I need "Proof in pudding", or I'll have pudding in face :-))

Below is the information extracted from two books on English usage. The first book is on British English usage, the second on American English usage. 


The Right Word at the Right Time sta
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Dear Kathy, as you probably know, there are, whether it be plural or singular, is becoming obsolete or you might as well say archaic. I mean, both in England and in the USA, people usually say there's one, there's 2, there's many etc. However, in writing, it is still common to use there are for plural sentences. As for your sentences, I would only use there are for the sentenc
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Thanks.but I want to know.Is this sentence correct?

There are a boy and a girl in this picture.

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