請問如何分辨 There is 和 There are? 謝謝!

例句：

1. There ____ a book and a pen on the desk.
2. In the room, there ____ an arm-chair, a table, and a desk.
3. There ____ only one or two chaps there.

Quote:

1. are
倒裝主詞"a book and a pen"是複數.

2. are
理由同1.

3. is
因為or的情況, 主謂一致要採"就近原則".
如果是"only two or three chaps", 就要用are.

A few rules from Collins Cobuild English Grammar Book:

I. 結構中的名詞詞組是複數時, 動詞"be"也相應用複數形式
(e.g.) There WERE two men in the room.

II. 一系列事物的第一項是單數或是不具數名詞時, 用"be"的單數形式
(e.g.) There WAS a sofa and two chairs.
(e.g.) There IS grief in his face and reproach at the injustice of it all.
[**Note:- 表示複數的數量詞, 如"a number of", "a lot of"和"a few of", 儘管前面有"a", 却要用"be"的複數形式 --- "There WERE a lot of people camping here."]

III. 表示數目的詞語, 如"a hundred", "a thousand"和"a dozen", 儘管前面有"a", 也要用"be"的複數形式
(e.g.) There WERE a dozen reasons why you had to upgrade your computer.

More examples:-
1) → There WERE 'no other' jobs available.
2) → There AREN'T 'any' scratches on the table.
3a) → When I opened the fridge there WAS 'only' a bottle of milk, some eggs, and butter.
3b) → When I opened the fridge there WERE 'only' some eggs, a bottle of milk, and butter.

HTH.

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In spoken English, many people simplify the grammar and use "there IS" instead of "there ARE" with plural headwords, and this is increasingly common in the written language.
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Thanks a lot, Glot and Futari.

These are the answers:

1. There ____ a book and a pen on the desk.
2. In the room, there ____ an arm-chair, a table, and a desk.
3. There ____ only one or two chaps there.


1. is
2. is
3. were

Quote:


第1句與第2句以嚴謹的文法而言, 應使用複數動詞are, 但在口語方面則是is較普遍. Futari所言之規則是後者, 而我40年前所學習之文法是以前者為標準答案. 其實這樣的題目並不適合出現在考試中, 因為有爭議性.

如果是: A book and a pen ______ there on the desk.
試問妳應填is還是are呢? 當然是are. 文法上不會因為倒裝就去改變動詞的數的.


第3句: 我仍維持原答案, 使用單數動詞is/was.

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

Hi Elinor,

謝謝妳po出Tim的精彩解說, 我的觀點與他的是大致相同的.

More info on the usage of "There is" and "There are".
(Meant to send in more info from books, but unluckily, I had most of my books packed for shipment.)

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http://eltnotebook.blogspot.com/2007/03/there-is-and-there-are.html
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... Notice that with this use the verb generally agrees with the first part of the complement. So :
There’s a letter and two messages for you is correct, as is There are two messages and a letter for you. But There are a letter and two messages … is incorrect.

What about There’s two messages for you ? Grammatically of course this is illogical. But ...
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再次謝謝 Glot, Futari 和 Tim 的解釋！

More info on the usage of there from some grammar books.

Quote:

Fowler's is said to be one of the best and most authoritative. The book was first published in 1926.

Quote:

A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage is also a famous one. The info there might be a little out-dated by now, but at least it shows the situation around half a century ago.

Quote:

Hope the above info sheds some more light on the use and evolution of there.

Tim