Quote:
Originally Posted by mafatu69  I strongly disagree.
The subject in this sentence is lot - not two lots, but a lot. There is a lot, just like there is a bird. The confusion stems from prepositional phrase that modifies the subject. What kind of lot is it? It is a lot of people. It could also be a lot of food, of cars,of emotion or of emotions, but the subject, lot, is still singular and thus must agree with the singular verb is, not are.
It is not proper English to say, "There are a set of dishes;" rather, "There is a set of dishes". Just the same, "There is a lot of people."
That said, correct English grammar is unfortunately still defined by common usage, and so I believe the technically incorrect wording "There are a lot of people" has become accepted and even, regrettably, correct. In other words, so many people have used and continue to use it improperly that the improper has become proper.
There you have it, charliese (albeit nearly three years late): both are correct. |
I understand we choose IS or ARE based on the following. Kindly correct me and explain if you think it is not correct. Thanks.
Here/There are false subjects. The subjects in these sentences are therefore
after the verb compared to the usual, which is
before the verb. In our case here:- Do we not look at the nouns after "a lot of" eg. ?
There are a lot of people. (People/Things = countable, therefore ARE)
There are a lot of things to do.
There is a lot of food. (Food/Money = uncountable, therefore IS)
There is a lot of money in the drawer.
(If the nouns after "at lot of" is countable, we use "ARE" and if the nouns after. is uncountable, we use only "IS"
Looking forward to receive your explanations.
P/s Kindly look at my thread on Prepositions and give your explanations please. Thank you.