Re: There is/There are

Posted by Elinor on 2007/8/22 21:14:12

再次感謝 Glot 的解說。 對於這樣的句子，我也感到很疑惑，於是請教 Tim ，以下是他的見解：


Elinor: tim about "there is and there are" the answers should be singular? according to the rules
Tim: those rules do not really apply in daily lives
Elinor: only in tests??
Tim: it depends on the speaker's focal point
Tim: u can say so
Elinor: they could be singular or plural
Tim: yep
Elinor: what is the speaker's focal point?
Tim: if the speaker used the singular, that means the items are treated separately
Tim: if the plural form is used, all the items are counted at the same time
Elinor: i got it
Tim: or u can say, when the singular is used, the speaker might not have a total idea of what is going to be said
Tim: the person says and counts it at the same time
Elinor: i see
Elinor: if it is a test, which is the best answer to chose?
Tim: depends on what kind of test it is
Elinor: formal one
Tim: if it's really formal, it shouldn't test this kind
Tim: traditionally, only plural forms should be used for questions 1 and 2
Tim: using singular forms is a recent development
Tim: and somehow some people think this usage is the correct one
Tim: the use of singular shows the speaker is not too clear-minded indeed
Elinor: i see
Elinor: maybe the speaker is counting
Tim: u can say so
Tim: u can even see "there's many...." in daily conversation
Tim: http://www.crn.com/it-channel/188701715
Tim: u can see even from the topic of that article
Elinor: i can see that, thanks
Elinor: tim, this one: 3. There ____ only one or two chaps there.
Elinor: were
Tim: using the plural means the speaker treated the two items as a whole
Tim: but singular is more proper in this case
Tim: http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar/archive/thereis_are.html
Tim: Note that in informal speech, we often use there is with plural nouns:
*
There's some people coming in the front gate.
*
There's some biscuits in the tin in the pantry.
Elinor: tim i got it
Elinor: thanks
Tim: if those grammar writers want to admit the use of "there is a..., a....", they should also mention this use
Tim: this is a good one on there is/are
Tim: http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2002-02/a-2002-02-06-10-1.cfm