english grammar question.?

Question

fill in the blanks and explain:

there____(is/are) a truck and a car across the street.

there____(is/are) a bank, a supermarket and a convenience store next to my house.

Answer 1

is
is

Answer 2

Both are "is". While it is correct that "are" implies plural, it all depends on the subject of the sentence. "There" is the subject, and is dependent on the first subject to which it is equaled by using the verb "to be".

"There" is the subject in both sentences, and the subject is "the STATE of affairs" in the said town. State is a singular abstract noun. Bank, supermarket and convenience stores are the direct objects. The verb refers to the subject(s), and that is why we say "is".


The sentence 'There "are" truckS and carS across the street' refers to multiple statuses, which is inferred by the fact that the first direct object is plural.

In "A truck and a car ARE to be found across the street" we use "are", because there are two subjects, even though they are singular if viewed separately.

It call comes down to what the subject of the sentence is. The verb operates on the subject.

Answer 3

There IS a truck and a car across the street.
There IS a bank, a supermarket and a convenience store next to my house.

Umm, I'm not sure how to explain myself. Is English your first language? When I say these sentences aloud, it just sounds right to say "is", instead of "are"

I think you use "is" in both these sentences, because the word "are" refers to multiple things. Even though (for example) you are saying a truck AND a car, you are not saying trucks and cars. You would use the word "are" if the sentence was There are trucks and cars across the street.

I believe you use "is" because there is an article (the word "a") before the noun (words such as truck, bank, etc.)

Hope this helped!!!

Answer 4

The answers to both are "are" because the subjects are plural

1. subj = truck AND car
2. subj = bank, supermarket AND convenience store

usually when a sentence starts with there or any other vague indicator, rearrange the sentence and remove the word:

A truck and a car are across the street.

and that will cue you into deciding whether the subjects are plural or singular.

Also just because something "sounds right" it doesn't necessarily mean it IS right.

Answer 5

"'There' is the subject in both sentences...
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It call comes down to what the subject of the sentence is. The verb operates on the subject."
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Kwaaikat's explanation is incorrect, yet "is" is the answer.

The word "there" is NOT the subject of the sentence. Never is, never will be. Example:

*There are two reasons for this.
*There is no reason for this.

These are expletive constructions -- the subject follows the verb but still determines the number of the verb.

Got it?

The subject follows the verb in these constructions.

Cheers to those who answered "is" for both.

Answer 6

"Is" is for singular things, "are" is for plural. Therefore for both it is "there IS a..." - if there was more than one it would be "there ARE 2 trucks and a car" or "there ARE some banks and a..."

Answer 7

Actually, when the word "and" is used to join nouns or pronouns, whatever is being mentioned becomes plural. Therefore, in both cases, though it may sound awkward, one should use "are".

Answer 8

In addition to the correct answers above...

There is = There's

Answer 9

dont listen to them its both ARE plus i have a degree in english

Answer 10

are; are - conjunction "and" implies the plural