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Kooyeen Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
There were a group of people
0 Hi, 02 br
00 here's another thing that is driving me crazy: 02 br
02 br
00 There 01 b 01 i 00 is/are 02 i 02 b 00 a group. 02 br
00 There 01 i 01 b 00 was/were 02 b 02 i 00 a group. 02 br
00 There 01 b 01 i 00 is/are 02 i 02 b 00 a group of people 02 br
00 There 01 b 01 i 00 was/were 02 i 02 b 00 a group of people. 02 br
00 There 01 i 01 b 00 is/are 02 b 02 i 00 a group of people who 01 b 01 i 00 are 02 i 02 b 00 trying to block the road. 02 br
00 There 01 i 01 b 00 was/were 02 b 02 i 00 a group of people who 01 b 01 i 00 were 02 i 02 b 00 trying to block the road. 02 br
00 A group 01 i 01 b 00 is/are 02 b 02 i 00 approaching us. 02 br
00 A group 01 b 01 i 00 was/were 02 i 02 b 00 approaching us. 02 br
02 br
00 It seems that "group" is singular when alone, and is followed by a plural verb when used with a plural noun. Yeah, followed, but what should I use "before" a group? Is there a group of people, or are there? 02 br
00 This is confusing, considering that it's always "There were a couple of things", not "There was...", so maybe "a group" is a kind of exception. 02 br
02 br
00 Thank you in advance. 05 0 010id 1
00 here's another thing that is driving me crazy: 02 br
02 br
00 There 01 b 01 i 00 is/are 02 i 02 b 00 a group. 02 br
00 There 01 i 01 b 00 was/were 02 b 02 i 00 a group. 02 br
00 There 01 b 01 i 00 is/are 02 i 02 b 00 a group of people 02 br
00 There 01 b 01 i 00 was/were 02 i 02 b 00 a group of people. 02 br
00 There 01 i 01 b 00 is/are 02 b 02 i 00 a group of people who 01 b 01 i 00 are 02 i 02 b 00 trying to block the road. 02 br
00 There 01 i 01 b 00 was/were 02 b 02 i 00 a group of people who 01 b 01 i 00 were 02 i 02 b 00 trying to block the road. 02 br
00 A group 01 i 01 b 00 is/are 02 b 02 i 00 approaching us. 02 br
00 A group 01 b 01 i 00 was/were 02 i 02 b 00 approaching us. 02 br
02 br
00 It seems that "group" is singular when alone, and is followed by a plural verb when used with a plural noun. Yeah, followed, but what should I use "before" a group? Is there a group of people, or are there? 02 br
00 This is confusing, considering that it's always "There were a couple of things", not "There was...", so maybe "a group" is a kind of exception. 02 br
02 br
00 Thank you in advance. 05 0 010id 1
Top answer
02 br 02 br 00 On the other hand, if there are 2 or more different groups trying to block the road, you would use 01 i 00 are 02 i 00 or 01 i 00 were 02 i 00 . 0-
- 02 br 02 br 00 On the other hand, if there are 2 or more different groups trying to block the road, you would use 01 i 00 are 02 i 00 or 01 i 00 were 02 i 00 .
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11 Answers
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0 "a" group = one group = 1 group 02 br
02 br
00 Regardless of how many people are members of that group, it is still referred to as a single unit -- so you must use 01 i 00 is 02 i 00 or 01 i 00 was 02 i 00 . 02 br
02 br
00 On the other hand, if there are 2 or more different groups trying to block the road, you would use 01 i
02 br
00 Regardless of how many people are members of that group, it is still referred to as a single unit -- so you must use 01 i 00 is 02 i 00 or 01 i 00 was 02 i 00 . 02 br
02 br
00 On the other hand, if there are 2 or more different groups trying to block the road, you would use 01 i
00
0 01 blockquote
01 cite 10 Kooyeen 12 cite 10 Hi, 12 br
10 here's another thing that is driving me crazy: 12 br
12 br
10 There 11 b 11 i 10 is/are 12 i 12 b 10 a group. 12 br
10 There 11 i 11 b 10 was/were 12 b 12 i 10 a group. 12 br
10 There 11 b 11 i
00
0 Think about it! This is really more logical than you think. 02 br
02 br
01 i 00 There 01 u 00 is 02 u 00 01 u 00 a 02 u 00 group. 02 i 02 br
02 br
00 There is only one thing - 01 i 01 b 00 a 02 b 00 group 02 i 00 - singular. 02 br
02 br
01 i 00 People are trying t
02 br
01 i 00 There 01 u 00 is 02 u 00 01 u 00 a 02 u 00 group. 02 i 02 br
02 br
00 There is only one thing - 01 i 01 b 00 a 02 b 00 group 02 i 00 - singular. 02 br
02 br
01 i 00 People are trying t
00
0 01 blockquote
01 cite 10 CalifJim 12 cite 12 br
11 i 10 a couple of 12 i 10 , 11 i 10 a number of 12 i 10 , and several others are the exceptions. They are "number transparent". That is, the agreement is with their complements, not with their heads. 11 i 10 There 11 b 10 are 12 b 10 a [couple
00
0 01 blockquote
01 cite 10 CalifJim 12 cite 10 Think about it! This is really more logical than you think. 12 br
12 br
11 i 10 There 11 u 10 is 12 u 10 11 u 10 a 12 u 10 group. 12 i 12 br
12 br
10 There is only one thing - 11 i 11 b 10 a 12 b 10 group 12 i
00
0 Also, 01 i 00 There's a bunch of people over there. 02 i 02 br
02 br
00 The cases with 01 i 00 there is / there are 02 i 00 are almost a separate class by themselves. In informal language (in the U.S.) you can use the contraction 01 i 00 there's 02 i 00 (but not 01 i 00 there is 02 i 00 ) with just about anythi
02 br
00 The cases with 01 i 00 there is / there are 02 i 00 are almost a separate class by themselves. In informal language (in the U.S.) you can use the contraction 01 i 00 there's 02 i 00 (but not 01 i 00 there is 02 i 00 ) with just about anythi
00
0 01 blockquote
01 cite 10 CalifJim 12 cite 10 The cases with 11 i 10 there is / there are 12 i 10 are almost a separate class by themselves. In informal language (in the U.S.) you can use the contraction 11 i 10 there's 12 i 10 (but not 11 i 10 there is 12 i 10 ) with just about anything. 12 br
12
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I am not a native English speaker. I was educated in British English and now American English.
When I write in British English:
There is a group. A group is the focus.
There is/are a group of people. I am not sure about this. I would use is if the focus is a group and are if the focus is the people. It depends on the context.
The
When I write in British English:
There is a group. A group is the focus.
There is/are a group of people. I am not sure about this. I would use is if the focus is a group and are if the focus is the people. It depends on the context.
The
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Oh, Jim, you're so wrong about this. I guess any moron CAN use, "There's snacks..." but it's wrong. Remember Regis and Kathie Lee? The announcer used to say: "Here's Regis and Kathie Lee!" in the beginning of each show. He was called out on it by a school teacher, so he changed it to: "Here ARE Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford." That's a good example. As a U.S. citizen, I don't want yo
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Anonymous He was called out on it by a school teacherWe don't operate on the basis of what school teachers prescribe here. We use a descriptive approach to learning English, which is to learn to speak it as it is actually spoken by most educated people. We don't use the prescriptive approach, in which there is one set of rules which everyone must follow, an
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