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Marold Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

There were/was

"There were/was a lot of food, drinks and meals to choose from."

I am really baffled by this situation as I cannot come up with any reasonable explanation what is correct or wrong.

Could you please clarify the rule for this case?

Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

With more than one subject following existential there , the verb is plural. However, I have recently been told that a singular verb may be used if the first subject is singular, so I’d say either was or were is correct in your sentence.

— RandomGuy

  • With more than one subject following existential there , the verb is plural.
  • However, I have recently been told that a singular verb may be used if the first subject is singular, so I’d say either was or were is correct in your sentence.
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2 Answers
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With more than one subject following existential there, the verb is plural. However, I have recently been told that a singular verb may be used if the first subject is singular, so I’d say either was or were is correct in your sentence.
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That is the problem I am dealing with (it is also the reason why I chose this example sentence). As both options sound quite natural, I tried to think of any rule that would apply to this sentence. You summed it up well, justifying both points.

Thank you a lot.
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