Should you say "there are a bunch of people" or "there is a bunch of people"?

Question

the "be" is on the 'bunch' so i think "is" is more correct, but i've seen "are" is more widely used

Answer 1

In the specific example you give, you almost certainly need to say "There ARE a bunch of people'.


There is a rule that people try to apply to this expression, and its couns "a lot of. . . " that often does not work. Supposedly these are singular nouns so the verb used should be in the singular. But that is NOT how they are generally used.

Actually, "bunch" is used in different ways, so it might take singular or plural. How do you figure out which?

First -- and this is MOST of the time -- in cases where you can use "bunches of" for "a bunch of" or "lots of" in place of "a lot of" -- and mean EXACTLY the same thing -- the rule above does NOT apply.

In ALL these cases is this, the verb is singular or plural based on the noun that FOLLOWS these expressions

Specifically:

1) If the main noun is something that can be COUNTED (a 'count noun') you use the plural -- "There were bunches/a bunch of people"//"Bunches/A bunch of people were..."

2) If the main noun is a NON-count noun, use the singular -- "It was a lots/a lot of trouble"

"Lot(s)" and "bunch(es)" in these expressions are NOT functioning like ordinary nouns. Rather each funtions as "determiner", the equivalent of
"many" for things that are counted (in #1 above ='many people were') and "much" for those that are not (#2 = 'it was too much trouble!'). Indeed, the fact that you CAN use a non-count noun like trouble (furniture, etc) SHOWS that these are not ordinary nouns.


Note that the use of these expresssion described so far is NOT the same sort of construction as "a group of". That is NOT a substitute for "much/many" but functions as an ordinary noun. Thus you would say, "There IS a large group of people outside"/ "Many different groups [of people] WERE coming to see me."

The examples given for "group(s)" show other differences from the use of 'bunch/lot' , etc. For instance, "group" can take an adjective", as you would expect from a noun; 'bunches'/'a lot'/lots cannot. ("A bunch of " CAN, but only if used in a different sense... see below.) This again shows that bunches/lots, etc. are not being used in the same way.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue/reams.html
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/5741-there-lot-people-there-lot-people.html
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=174362
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=172515
http://www.udel.edu/eli/grammar2.html


Now there ARE some instances where "a bunch of" and "bunches of" ARE used in the same sense as "group(s)" (something which is not true for "a lot of"/"lots of"). This is a less common use, but it does happen. If that is your point then you DO follow the ordinary rule. So, for instance, you would say "That was an interesting bunch of friends you brought with you!"

One final note: in colloquial American English it is permitted to use the form "there's" as a substitute for EITHER "there is" or "there are". Thus, you may say "There's a bunch of people" alongside "There are a bunch of people", but "There is a bunch of people" is correct ONLY if you are specifying that it is ONE identifiable/countable group.

Answer 2

The Oxford Guide to English Grammar says it is correct to use the plural if the subject of a sentence is a collective noun, like family, company, etc.. British English would prescribe " This bunch of people a r e....
It doesn't say anything about your case here, but I suspect it would be the same. To me "there are" sounds right, but others might disagree.
Who cares, anyway? Both versions are generally accepted.

Answer 3

In this sentence it is - "there is a bunch of people".

BUT - if you wrote it in an essay or document it is wrong use of English (I know, I am a pain!!).

You can say "there is a bunch of grapes" because the 'bunch' is a singular entity.

It is better English to say "there is a group or a crowd of people"
A bunch of people is slang.

Answer 4

There IS a group of people....There ARE a bunch of people

Group is singular...there is one group

Bunch is plural....because you can't say there are bunches of people

Answer 5

There are many people - sounds better - get rid of the bunch.

Answer 6

Technically "is", as it refers to a single bunch, despite the number in that bunch

Answer 7

Since you used bunch in the singular then you must use is in order to correctly correspond.

Answer 8

"is" there is only one bunch of people so "bunch" is singular.

There is a bunch of people.
There are bunches of people.

I agree though, It should be There are many people. That does sound better.

Answer 9

There are. Is=singular are=plural bunch=plural.

Answer 10

"is". Bunch is singular.