Which other languages do not have an equivalent of the verb to be in present tense? (I seem to remember Arabic doesn�t either, but I might be wrong - I studied it a long time ago and didn�t get far I�m afraid))

Russian also doesn �t have "to be" in the present, except in a form that is equivalent to the English "there is/are".

 

Bruce

so we can say there is a lot of children whereas we would say there are lots of children?

I would say: There are a lot of children.

Indeed "a lot of" looks like singular but the meaning of "a lot of" is �many �. When we talk about "a lot" as a singlular noun, the meaning would be as in "an area" or "a place" like in "a vacant lot" or "a parking lot". In that case we would indeed say: There is a lot available for private contractors next to the planned community center, bids are to be placed by December 15.