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ESL forum > Ask for help > Please help me on Grammar    

Please help me on Grammar



ikram jeseen
Sri Lanka

Please help me on Grammar
 
I �ve found in books, newspapers written and even in test papers sentences such
 as "  
         01.  There is a girl, a boy and a tree in the picture. 
         02.  In the living room there is a television, a sofa and and  armchairs.
 
I feel they are wrong and  correct if I say "There are a girl, a boy, and a tree" Or "There are a television, a sofa ................ ",
Am I right or wrong?   URGENTLY need your  HELP.  Thanks in advance.

26 Jun 2012      





korova-daisy
Russian Federation

There is a rule about the construction There is/are. It goes like this.

If the first noun in the enumeration is singular use There is (e.g. There is an armchair and two sofas in the room.)/ But if the first noun is plural, use There are (e.g. There are two sofas and an armchair in the room). The use of the construction depends on the number of the first noun.

26 Jun 2012     



yanogator
United States

Yes, that �s the rule, but we don �t follow it much in the US. I would be inclined to use "are" in both of your examples.
 
Bruce

26 Jun 2012     



rickbell
Brazil

There are "A" is quite wierd since �a � is singular article

26 Jun 2012     



cunliffe
United Kingdom

For No. 1, �is � is correct. 

 In no.2 �is � is correct. What doesn �t sound right is �armchairs �. You need to put in �some � or the number of armchairs.

26 Jun 2012