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Angerman Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

there was/were, is/are

Which one is correct and why?

1) There was a turkey, a spoon, and a fork on the table. or

There were a turkey, a spoon, and a fork on the table.

2) There is a man, a woman, and a son. or

There are a man, a woman, and a son.

3) What happens if you mix? (ex. a spoon, a plate, and crackers.) Do you use 'was or were'? 'is or are'?

I know that a singular object, such as 'a car', goes with 'There is' but when there is a list of objects, I get confused.

Please help me~~~
  

Top answer

This is a problem of concord, Angerman, and not easily soluble; much depends on what is considered most natural in the situation. Grammatical concord calls for the plural verb with a list ( there are A, B and C ), and this is considered correct for more formal, written work; spoken use, however, often depends on notional concord-- the speaker may be thinking of each item one by one, or of the single group of items; in fact, the singular form is becoming the default form in spoken English (partly because of the ease of pronunciaton of there's vs there're : there's lots to do today . The idea of notional concord (supported by concord of proximity) is clear in these common choices: There was/were a spoon and crackers on the table.

— Mister Micawber

  • This is a problem of concord, Angerman, and not easily soluble; much depends on what is considered most natural in the situation.
  • Grammatical concord calls for the plural verb with a list ( there are A, B and C ), and this is considered correct for more formal, written work; spoken use, however, often depends on notional concord-- the speaker may be thinking of each item one by one, or of the single group of items; in fact, the singular form is becoming the default form in spoken English (partly because of the ease of pronunciaton of there's vs there're : there's lots to do today .
  • The idea of notional concord (supported by concord of proximity) is clear in these common choices: There was/were a spoon and crackers on the table.
  • There were crackers and a spoon on the table .
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2 Answers
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This is a problem of concord, Angerman, and not easily soluble; much depends on what is considered most natural in the situation. Grammatical concord calls for the plural verb with a list (there are A, B and C), and this is considered correct for more formal, written work; spoken use, however, often depends on notional concord-- the speaker may be thinking of each item one by one,
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Thanks for your answer!!!
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