Sunday, June 25, 2017

grammatical number - 'is' or 'are' in lists of counted nouns




Which of the following is correct?
Does the is/are depend on the total number of things in the list, or only on the thing immediately following the is/are?




There is 1 apple and 1 orange available.
There are 1 apple and 1 orange available.





Also, would it make a difference if one would put the is/are near the end, like so?




1 apple and 1 orange is available.
1 apple and 1 orange are available.



Answer



This one is right:





There is 1 apple and 1 orange available




This is wrong:




There are 1 apple and 1 orange available.





I would personally say




There is an apple and an orange available.







This is now wrong





1 apple and 1 orange is available




This is right (almost):




1 apple and 1 orange are available.





But again, I would say




An apple and an orange are available.







These are both correct:





There is an apple and 2 oranges available.
There are 2 apples and an orange available




So it depends on the number of objects the is/are is referring to first.




2 apples and an orange are available.
An apples and 2 oranges are available.





When it is at the end, it refers to the total number of objects.


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