 Re: there is / There are
Hi Michèle,
This is a variation on the question Aldalu asked a while back- see the post on Subject-Verb Agreement and the answers there. But basically the answer is no : you could add in there are if you wanted to, but it's not obligatory - the verb takes its cue from the first noun in the list So : There's a hat, a wig, some gloves, some costumes and some shoes but There are some gloves, some costumes, some shoes, a hat and a wig
Notice incidentally that I've added some before the plurals. The normal use of there is/are is to quantify, and thus there's usually a quantifying expression (a/an, six, a lot of, a few etc) used with it. If the quantity is indefinite but plural, some is generally used. |