There is/are no student(s) in the classroom

1. There are no students in the classroom.
2. There is no student in the classroom.

If we refer to an countable noun, is it mandatory to use " There are " with a plural noun.

Thanks.

Yes, you use plural verb forms with plural nouns.

When we turn to abstract nouns, do we use singular verb forms with singular nouns?

e.g There is no comment....

We always use singular forms with singular nouns and plural forms with plural nouns.

Well, actually...
We often SAY (not write) "There's... " for a plural. Only the contracted form, not "There is."

There's a few things we can do here.


But your original sentence will be more natual with the plural: there are no students. We rarely say "there is no [single thing]" to mean that the room is empty.

SoothingDave said:

We always use singular forms with singular nouns and plural forms with plural nouns.

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Thanks again,SoothingDave.

1. There is no comment....
2. There are no comments

I think sentence 1 is correct and sentence 2 is wrong. Am I correct?

Winwin2011 said:

Thanks again,SoothingDave.

1. There is no comment....
2. There are no comments

I think sentence 1 is correct and sentence 2 is wrong. Am I correct?

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They are both possible.

Q - Is there a comment under the post?
A - There is no comment under the post.

Q - How many comments are there under the post?
A - There are no comments under the post.

Winwin2011 said:

Thanks again,SoothingDave.

1. There is no comment....
2. There are no comments

I think sentence 1 is correct and sentence 2 is wrong. Am I correct?

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Each is possible in the right context. But if you are just saying that there are no comments, then we use the plural.

We could say something like "there is no comment in that field of the form."

Winwin2011 said:

1. There is no comment....
2. There are no comments

I think sentence 1 is correct and sentence 2 is wrong. Am I correct?

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In view of what Dave and Barb had already written, that is a strange conclusion to come to.

Are abstract nouns usually used with singular verb forms with no?

Winwin2011 said:

Are abstract nouns used with singular verb forms with no?

Thanks.

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See my post #4.

SoothingDave said:

See my post #4.

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Thanks a lot, SoothingDave.

I got it. Abstract nouns can be countanble or uncountable .

Winwin2011 said:

I got it. Abstract nouns can be counta[STRIKE]n[/STRIKE]ble or uncountable.

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Now give us an example of a countable abstract noun and an uncountable abstract noun.

emsr2d2 said:

Now give us an example of a countable abstract noun and an uncountable abstract noun.

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Thanks, ems.

experiences =countable abstract noun
information=uncountable abstract noun

No. Abstract is not the same as uncountable. Dreams, emotions, and ideas are all abstract but countable.


EDIT: I didn't see the second page of posts when I wrote this. It's now redundant.

Barb_D said:

No. Abstract is not the same as uncountable. Dreams, emotions, and ideas are all abstract but countable.

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Hi Barb,

What do you mean by "Abstract is not the same as uncountable."?

An abstract noun can be either a countable noun or uncountable noun. Abstract nouns that refer to events are almost usually countable: a noise; a meeting.
Read more at Abstract Nouns - Glossary Definition - UsingEnglish.com

Isn't that exactly what Barb_D is saying?