Subject-Verb Agreement with There Is and There Are

“There” often appears first, which makes writers mistake it for the subject. In sentences such as “There are several reasons,” the subject is reasons, so the verb must be plural.

Find the subject after the verb

Existential there introduces the existence or presence of something. The sentence’s real subject usually follows the verb. Ask “what is there?” in “There is a problem”: the answer is problem, singular. In “There are two problems,” the answer is problems, plural.

Ignore intervening phrases

A prepositional phrase can separate the verb from its subject and distract from the number. In “There is a stack of forms on the desk,” the subject is stack, not forms; stack is singular, so is is correct. In “There are stacks of forms,” the subject stacks is plural, so are is correct.

Compound and mixed subjects

When the postverbal subject is compound, determine whether the parts function as a plural unit and follow the sentence’s intended meaning. In formal edited writing, a compound subject joined by and usually takes a plural verb: “There are a chair and two tables in the room.” Recast an awkward sentence if the agreement sounds strained: “A chair and two tables are in the room.”

A quick agreement procedure

1. Locate the verb after there.
2. Find the noun or noun phrase that actually exists or is present.
3. Ignore nearby nouns inside prepositional phrases when identifying the subject.
4. Choose is for a singular subject and are for a plural subject.
5. If the subject is a long compound phrase, revise the sentence for clarity when possible.

Common errors

• Incorrect: “There is many reasons.” Correct: “There are many reasons.”
• Incorrect: “There are a list of steps.” Correct: “There is a list of steps.”
• In formal writing, avoid choosing the verb based on the nearest noun when that noun is inside an of-phrase.

Check compound postverbal subjects

If the subject after there contains two or more nouns joined by and, standard formal agreement is generally plural: “There are a chair and two tables in the room.” The sentence can sound awkward because there separates the subject from the verb, so recast it when clarity matters: “A chair and two tables are in the room.” If the items form one understood unit or a compound phrase is treated as singular, meaning may affect agreement; use the construction the context establishes.

Distinguish existential there from place there

There can also function as an adverb meaning in that place: “The books are there.” In that sentence, books is the subject before the verb. The agreement rule about a postverbal subject applies to existential there, as in “There are books on the shelf.” Identify the sentence pattern rather than applying a rule to every occurrence of the word there.

Read long subjects carefully

An introductory there can be followed by a phrase that contains several nouns before the true subject appears. In “There is a collection of maps, photographs, and letters in the archive,” the subject is collection, singular; the plural list is inside an of-phrase. In “There are maps, photographs, and letters in the collection,” the subject itself is the plural list. Covering intervening phrases can expose the controlling noun.

Use the number of the real subject

Some speakers use there is informally before a plural list, especially in conversation. Formal edited writing and exam answers generally prefer there are when the postverbal subject is plural. Do not confuse common speech patterns with the agreement expected in a standard written sentence. If a construction becomes cumbersome, move the subject to the beginning and rewrite the clause directly.

A quick editing method

1. Decide whether there means existence or location.
2. In an existential sentence, find the noun phrase that follows the verb.
3. Ignore nouns in intervening prepositional phrases when identifying the head subject.
4. Match is/was to a singular head and are/were to a plural head.
5. Rewrite a long or awkward compound subject at the beginning of the sentence.

Key takeaway

With existential there, look past the opening word and agree the verb with the real subject that follows. Nearby nouns may be distractions.

Find the postponed subject after there

In an existential sentence, there introduces the statement but is not the subject. The verb agrees with the noun phrase that follows: “There is one reason”; “There are two reasons.” Identify the postponed subject before choosing the verb. A nearby plural phrase later in the sentence does not control agreement if it is not the subject.

The same applies to here: “Here is the updated schedule”; “Here are the revised schedules.” Reordering the sentence can make agreement obvious: “The updated schedule is here.” In formal writing, moving the subject to the front often produces a cleaner sentence, especially when the subject is compound or long.

Check compound and interrupted subjects

With a compound subject after there, plural agreement is usually expected: “There are a desk and two chairs in the room.” The sentence may sound awkward because are precedes a singular noun. A clearer revision is “A desk and two chairs are in the room.” Moving the compound subject before the verb also removes any doubt about agreement.

Do not let an intervening phrase confuse the subject: “There is, among the listed options, one answer that fits.” One answer is singular, so is is correct. In “There are, among the listed options, several answers,” several answers is plural. Strip away the interruption and read the core clause.

Distinguish existential there from location there

There can also function as an adverb of place: “The files are there.” In that sentence, files is the subject and are agrees with it before the adverb. In “There are files on the desk,” there introduces an existential construction and files follows the verb. The same word has different grammatical roles depending on the sentence.

In formal editing, consider whether the existential construction is necessary. Rewriting “There are several reasons that the rule matters” as “Several reasons explain why the rule matters” puts the subject first and may sharpen the sentence. Preserve the intended emphasis when revising.

• In existential there-constructions, find the noun phrase that follows the verb.
• Use is for a singular postponed subject and are for a plural one.
• Move long or compound subjects to the front when it improves clarity.
• Ignore interrupting phrases when identifying the subject.
• Distinguish there as an introductory word from there as a location adverb.