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Ask for help > there is or there are?!
there is or there are?!
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Pretty3
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there is or there are?!
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Dear teachers,
I was astonished when I read this sentence in a student �s book:
There is a school, a hospital and a bank in the town.
Why is the verb �is � used not �are �?
Best regards |
18 Dec 2013
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virtualbartek
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�There is � is used as a kind of preparatory subject, and we put the real subject after the verb. The verb �to be � will take the form from the first subject in a list.
Example: There is a dog and two cats in the house.
Enjoy,
Bartek
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18 Dec 2013
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yanogator
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To add just one thing to Bartek �s excellent answer: There are two cats and a dog in the house. As Bartek said, the verb takes the form of the first subject in the list. Bruce |
18 Dec 2013
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Pretty3
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Mmm
It will be wrong if we put there are in the previous sentence? |
18 Dec 2013
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tooomas
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Remember, article �a � means ONE. Thus, a cat = 1 cat. So now have a look:
There IS one cat, one dog and one bird - YES
There ARE one cat... - NO
I am sure it is the same in your own language - you would also use a singilar form of the verb �to be � before ONE SOMETHING...
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18 Dec 2013
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yanogator
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Yes, Pretty3, it would be wrong.
@toomas, different languages have different rules. I �m sure that the reason Pretty3 asked the question is that it is a compound subject (a school, a hospital and a bank), so it seems reasonable for the verb to be "are". In fact, wouldn �t the verb be plural if you translated the entire sentence into Polish? (Maybe not. I don �t know any Polish)
Bruce |
18 Dec 2013
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[email protected]
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Isn �t it simply because the sentence details a singular bank, school and hospital for which the pronoun would be �it �, hence it is appropriate to use �is � rather than �are �. If there had been more than one building outlined �are � would have been appropriate as the related pronoun would be �they � rather than �it �.
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18 Dec 2013
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yanogator
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No, jmc. We are talking about the verb, not a pronoun, and "There is" or "There are" is determined by the first item in the series. There is a car, three bikes and a boat in my garage. There are two dogs and a cat in the living room. There is a cat and two dogs in the living room. Bruce |
18 Dec 2013
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Pretty3
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Thanks a lot dear teachers. |
18 Dec 2013
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almaz
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I �ve seen it neatly explained as a "case of attraction of the verb to the first subject". |
19 Dec 2013
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yanogator
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Yes, Alex, that �s a nice way to help remember it.
Bruce
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19 Dec 2013
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