There is there are

According to subject-verb agreement, you use singular verbs for singular subjects and plural verbs for plural subjects.

There are 10 sentences

Now forget all that. When a sentence begins with there (also known as the existential there) the subject isn’t singular or plural — it’s just there. So how do you decide when to use there is or there are in a sentence?

If the noun that follows there is or there are is singular, use there is.

Technically, the noun is the object of the sentence, since there is the subject. For example:

• There isastudent in class today.
• There isa coyote in the distance.
• There isan issue with the new irrigation system.
• There is smoke in the air.

Notice the determiner, such as a or one, when the noun is countable (student, coyote, issue).

You can replace these determiners or add adjectives — for example, “There isanother new student in class today” — and the sentence still uses there is.

When the noun is uncountable (smoke), you don’t need a determiner after is, but you can ad

there is subject verb agreement

there verb subject