English grammar often follows logical patterns and rules, which makes it easier to teach and learn. However, there are times when English grammar isn’t logical, such as when the indefinite subject there is followed by a series of nouns. What’s the best way to present this tricky grammar point to our students?

Subject-Verb Agreement

In English, a plural subject takes a plural verb. We often use the conjunction and to create a plural subject.

• Friends are important.
• Mika and Juan are classmates.

Sentences that begin with the indefinite subject there are very common in English. They are used to describe a situation (often involving preposition of place and a location). When we use there as a subject, the verb must agree with the nouns that come after the verb.

• There is a book on the table.
• There are five books on the table.

But when there refers to a series of nouns using a conjunction like and or or, it seems like logic goes out the window. We know that X and Y means at least two, so why would there ever be a singular verb used in this case? It can be very surprising for students to learn that it is not only possible but also common to see a singular verb before more than one noun.

• There is a cat and a dog on my bed.
• There is a fork, a knife, and a spoon in front of me.

Let’s take a closer look at the not-so-logical rules for noun series with there.

Rule 1: There Is

When the first noun in the series is singular or non-count, use there is.

• There is a book and a pen in my bag.
• There is a computer, a whiteboard, and an overhead projector in the classroom.
• There is a pillow, sheets, and two blankets on my bed.
• There is cream and sugar on the table.
• There is juice, milk, and soft drinks in the fridge.
• There is a lot of dirt and pebbles on my son’s clothes.*

*(Dirt is non-count, so we use is even with the plural quantifier a lot of.)

Rule 2: There Are

When the first noun in the series is plural, use there are.

• There are flowers and herbs in my mom’s garden.
• There are cookies and a sandwich in my lunch bag.
• There are three pens, a pencil, and two erasers in that desk drawer.
• There are chips and popcorn at the party.
• There are many types of music and food at this event.
• There are a lot of pebbles and dirt on my son’s clothes.

Notes

1. Contractions

It is very common to shorten there is to there’s in informal speaking and writing. However, there’re is almost never used because it is awkward to say and write (and to me it’s wrong, though some people say it’s possible). I encourage my students to use there’s, but I teach them not to use there’re.

• There’s a box and some packing tape in the storage room.
• There’s a lot of money and help available for refugees in my city.

2. Articles

Even though there is and there are are describing a specific noun, they are almost always followed by a, not the (see this post for a few exceptions). Make sure students realize that the second noun in the sentence (that describes the location) will take the, as usual.

• There is a bird and a squirrel in the tree.
• There is a piano and two guitars on the stage.

3. There, There

Can we have there twice in a sentence? It’s definitely possible. The first there is an indefinite subject with no real meaning, while the second there is a location that’s usually a bit further away (i.e., the opposite of here).

• There is a gas station and a grocery store over there.
• You mean the parking lot behind the school? There is a car and three trucks there.

4. Tenses

Tell learners that this rule can be used in any tense (e.g., there was/were, there has been/have been, etc.). You should also point out that modal constructions only have one form, so students can’t go wrong here (e.g., there will be, there can be, there should be, etc.).

• There was a business conference and a wedding going on at our hotel last night.
• There were two canoes and a kayak out on the lake last weekend.
• There will be a luncheon and an awards ceremony next Friday.
• There will be refreshments and drinks at the meeting.

5. Euphony

When how something sounds to the ear trumps grammatical logic, it is known as euphony. Merriam-Webster defines euphony as “pleasing or sweet sound; especially: the acoustic effect produced by words so formed or combined as to please the ear.” Euphony helps explain the less-than-logical situation of there is + nouns in a series.

6. Controversy

Note that not everyone agrees on how to treat there with a series of nouns.

• Some grammar books consider the rules mentioned in this post to be standard. For example, Collins Cobuild English Grammar states “You use a singular form of ‘be’ when you are giving a list of items and the first noun in the list is singular or uncountable.”
• Other grammar books state that the above rules are only for informal English. They say that in formal English, you should always use a plural verb with a series of nouns, even if the first noun is singular. Consider Azar’s Understanding and Using English Grammar, which states: “Sometimes in informal English, a singular verb is used after there when the first of two subjects connected by and is singular. For example: Formal: There are a book and a pen on the desk. Informal: There is a book and a pen on the desk.”

Related

温馨提示：there be句型是中小学一个重要的句型，涉及的知识点也比较多，认真听，认真记忆。本句型是总结性质的。

你能说出下面的句子，在考查什么知识点吗？如果不懂，也没有关系，只要你上学，你一定要会学到的。

一.例句呈现，感知知识点。

1. There is a book on the desk.

2. There are two pens on the desk.

3.There is some milk in the bottle.

4. There is a book and two pens on the desk.

5. There are two pens and a book on the desk.

6. There is a bottle of water in the bottle.

7. There are two bottles of water in the bottle.

8.There will be a meeting in our school.

9.There is going to be a sports meeting.

二 知识点讲解

there be 句型是中小学英语的必考内容。掌握there be 句型，是很有必要的。there的意思“那里”，你不能翻译成那儿是，要翻译成“有”。

概念：there be表示“某处有某物”。强调的是某个地方有什么东西。

区别：there be和have

have表示某人/动物有。

I have some books.我有一些书。

The horse has four legs马有四条腿。

there be表示某个地方有。

There is a book in the bag.

在包里有一本书。

There are some coins on the table.

在桌子上有一些硬币。

There wasa ruler on the desk yesterday.

昨天，在桌子上有一个尺子。[这是过去的时态]

常见的结构：

一般现在时 there is 和there are。

一般过去时：there is——there was；there are——there were

一般将来时：there will be 翻译：将要有……

There will be a meeting tomorrow.

明天有一个会议。

否定形式：在be动词后面加not.

There isn’t/aren’t/wasn’t/weren’t +其他.

举例：There aren’t any books in the class.

教室里没有一些书。（否定句用any）

一般疑问句：Is/Are/Was/Were+there+其他？

肯定回答：Yes，there+is/are/was/were

否定回答：No，there isn’t/aren’t/wasn’t/weren’t

举例：

Is there a book on the desk？桌子上有一本书吗？

Yes，there is.是的，有。

No，there isn’t.不，没有。

Are there two pens on the floor？

Yes，there are.

No，there aren’t.

一个重要的问题，什么时候用there is，什么时候用there are？

以下几个句子，代表不同的类型。务必要掌握哦~~~

我们一起来看看其中的知识点吧。

认真听下面的分析哦

1．There is a book on the desk.

知识点：单数名词，用is. a book是单数。

2．There are two pens on the desk.

知识点：复数名词，用are. two pens是复数。

3．There is some milk in the bottle.

知识点：不可数名词用is，因为milk是不可数名词

4．There is a book and two pens on the desk.

知识点：就近原则。a book and two pens其中a book离be动词近，所以用is。

5．There are two pens and a book on the desk.

知识点：就近原则。two pens and a book其中two pens离be动词近，所以用are。

6．There is a bottle of water in the desk.

知识点：a bottle of water关键词要看bottle是单数还是复数。在这里，是一瓶，所以用is.

7．There aretwo bottles of water in the desk.

知识点：a bottle of water关键词要看bottle是单数还是复数。在这里，是two bottles of water两瓶，所以用are.

8.There will be a meeting in our school.

9.There is going to be a sports meeting.

知识点：there will be和there is going to be表示将要有。

温馨提示

问某处有什么的时候，用 What’s +介词短语？

切记：用What is，不用What are。

答语是：There is a/an……

There are

习题练习：

1. There are some bookson the desk.

变成否定句：

变成一般疑问句（并作肯定/否定回答）：

改成单数形式：

对划线部分提问（划线部分是some books）：

2.翻译：

① 那边有些小树。

②将要有一场大雨。