(1) A tree is uprooted.
(2) Many trees are uprooted.
In (1), the simple subject is the singular noun tree and it agrees in number with the singular verb is. In (2), the plural subject trees agrees in number with the plural verb are.
Notice that the subject in each sentence precedes the verb, so its grammatical number is known before the verb is introduced. For this reason, it's much easier to choose the right verb.
When a sentence begins with There, we have a different subject-verb agreement order. Although There precedes the verb, it doesn't determine subject-verb agreement. Linguists call There a dummy subject:
(3) There is a tree.
(4) There are trees.
The singular verb is in (3) is determined by the singular noun tree, not by There. Similarly, the plural are in (4) is determined by the plural trees. It may be helpful to think of tree and trees in (3) and (4) respectively as delayed subjects.
Because the true subject in (3) and (4) follows the verb, it's not so obvious what verb is required. Consequently, the wrong singular verb is commonly used:
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| ChannelNewsAsia - 13 January 2013 |
Hi, my English is very bad, I'm still learning and trying to improve my English level. I've a question about this topic, from above what you mentioned, the verb "is" or "are" is determined by the singular noun, not by there. So what if the case "Three is a tree and a bird in the picture." or "There are a tree and a bird in the picture"? I know you have another topic referred it (cat and dog) too, but I'm now confusing again. :(
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteThanks for your question.
Yes, I had discussed the question you asked in an earlier post.
I lean towards the plural "are" in your example sentence, treating "a tree and a bird" as a plural conjoined noun phrase:
(1) There are a tree and a bird in the picture.
I think there's a tendency for "is" to be used between "there" and "a", sometimes wrongly. For example:
(2) There is a lot of things in the car.
The singular "is" in (2) is wrong because the real subject is "a lot of things", which is plural. The correct verb is "are":
(3) There are a lot of things in the car.
I'm not sure if the "is" in "There is a tree and a bird in the picture" is a mistake of this kind.
Having said that, however, there are those who argue for the singular "is", using ellipsis as evidence:
(4) There is a tree and (there is) a bird in the picture.
The second occurrence of "there is" is ellipted to give (5):
(5) There is a tree and a bird in the picture.
It's a gray area and one which I do not have a straightforward answer.