There is a large supply of?

[vkhu]

I was told to look for a mistake in this sentence:
"There are a large supply of pens and notebooks in the storeroom."

The answer here is the word "are". I have no idea why it would be so. If I recall correctly, I have to use "are" when I refer to "a number of". Then why do I need to correct the are word in the above sentence?

Oh and could anyone tell me should I use "is" or "are" in front of phrases like "quite a few", "am amount of", "a large majority" and the like?

 

[TheParser]

NOT A TEACHER


(1) You are correct: this is a very confusing matter.

(2) First, I think the following are correct:

(a) The number of people waiting in line is 100.
(b) A number of people are waiting in line. (A number of = many)

(3) When a sentence starts with "there," my teachers told me to forget that

word when analyzing the sentence. So we have:

Are a large supply of pens and notebooks in the storeroom.

(4) Now we need to put the words in "regular" order:

A large supply of pens and notebooks ___ in the storeroom.

(a) Do we put "is" or "are" in the space?

(i) Well, let's delete (erase) the "unnecessary" words "of pens and notebooks."

(b) We now have:

A large supply ____ in the storeroom.

Which word sounds better to you: "is" or "are"?

 

[JohnParis]

The question is one of agreement between subject and verb.

There are pens and notebooks in the storeroom.

There is a large supply in the storeroom.

As for the rest of your question, it will depend on the individual context. Perhaps you would like to provide some sentences?