There's or There are

Question

There are / There's wolvesThere are / There's the culpritsWhich would be the right one to use? I've actually heard people use There's. Doesn't this mean There is wolves ?I find it easier to say there's [plural noun]  but if it's wrong then what's the pointPlease tell me how this works I'm really confused.

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

Wolves is plural and consequently the plural are is grammatically correct. In informal style many people say there's (even though they don't say there is) but that is best avoided in serious writing.

There are the culprits doesn't occur very often because of the definite article. The culprits are (over) there is often the best choice.

CB

Anonymous · Answer

It depends on how it is used really. If you are talking about wolves as a collective noun then "There's" works.

In the case of your examples, you would want to use "There are wolves." and "There are the culprits."

Examples

Singular
"There's a wolf." | A single wolf.
"There's the culprit." | A single culprit.

Collective
"There's a pack of wolves. | Referring to "pack" - the collective group of wolves.
"There's the group of culprits. | Referring to "group" - the collective group of culprit.

Plural
"There are wolves. | Referring to the different wolves.
"There are the culprits. | Referring to the different culprits.

A lot of the time you will here people say "There's" in places of "There are" because it can be easy to misspeak when there are multiple "R" sound close together. You may also want to note that "There're" is not an official use but is sometimes used informally.

To close - In the use of your sentences, speak in plural.

Tipton · Answer

I do find it hard to say 'There are' in fast speech. I guess I'll be using There's then when I'm having a chat with friends who are also trying to learn English

.

Thanks

There's or There are

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions