Which one is correct?

littletiger

There is a dictionary and a file on the desk.

There are a dictionary and a file on the desk.

Do you know which sentence is correct?

littletiger

Thank you very much for your answer.  I also think the second one is correct.  However, the textbook of my kid uses the first one.........

NeoMom

I don't know grama very much, but I think "1" sounds more natural since dictionary and file are different things. Unless you want to highlight there are 2 things on the table.

Dr.Cool

"There is a dictionary and a file on the desk." is correct.

There is a boy and a girl.
There is a boy and two girls.
There are two boys and a girl.

mosy

Agree with Dr Cool.

Unclejt

If you trust him,

There is a book and a picture on the wall （ 牆 上 掛  一 個 鐘 和 一 幅 畫 ） 一 語 ， 為 什 麼 用 單 數 形 式 動 詞 is ？ 主 詞 （ subject ） a book and a picture 不 是 複 數 嗎 ？ 這一 句 的 is 嚴 格 而 言 應 改 為 are ， 但 隨 便 的 英 文 往 往 用 there is 帶 出 複 數 名 詞 。 假如 there is 之 後 的 第 一 個 名 詞 是 單 數 ， 則 用 is 更 為 常 見 ， 例 如 ： (1) There is a dictionary and some other books on the table （ 桌 子 上 有 一 本 字 典 和 一 些其 他 書 籍 ） 。 （ 2 ） There are some books on the table （ 桌 子 上 有 些 書 籍 ） 。總 之 ， 看 見 這 樣 的 句 子 ， 不 要 隨 便 說 人 家 文 法 錯 誤 ， 但 自 己 寫 作 不 宜 模 仿 ， 特 別 是寫 作 謹 嚴 的 文 字 。

( 本 欄 轉 載 自 《 蘋 果 日 報 》 的 「 征 服 英 語 」 專 欄 ， 作 者 為 古 德 明 先 生 )

link

雯雯

咁即係兩個都正確   

Unclejt 寫道:
If you trust him,

There is a book and a picture on the wall （ 牆 上 掛  一 個 鐘 和 一 幅 畫 ） 一 語 ， 為 什 麼 用 單 數 形 式 動 詞 is ？ 主 詞 （ subject ） a book and a picture 不 是 複 數 嗎 ？ 這一 句 的 is 嚴 格 而 言 應 改 為 are ， 但 隨 便 的 英 文 往 往 用 there is 帶 出 複 數 名 詞 。 假如 there is 之 後 的 第 一 個 名 詞 是 單 數 ， 則 用 is 更 為 常 見 ， 例 如 ： (1) There is a dictionary and some other books on the table （ 桌 子 上 有 一 本 字 典 和 一 些其 他 書 籍 ） 。 （ 2 ） There are some books on the table （ 桌 子 上 有 些 書 籍 ） 。總 之 ， 看 見 這 樣 的 句 子 ， 不 要 隨 便 說 人 家 文 法 錯 誤 ， 但 自 己 寫 作 不 宜 模 仿 ， 特 別 是寫 作 謹 嚴 的 文 字 。

( 本 欄 轉 載 自 《 蘋 果 日 報 》 的 「 征 服 英 語 」 專 欄 ， 作 者 為 古 德 明 先 生 )

link

mollymolly

一定係1. 是對的!
因用is 定 用 are, 不是跟意思的,而是跟 is/are 後的名詞是單數定複數.
I got this answer from a native speaker!

pumbaa

June 18, 2000 - Grammar Lady: 'There Is' vs. 'There Are'

06 February 2002
  


INTRO: There is a common grammatical mistake that our Wordmasters, Avi Arditti and Rosanne Skirble, talk about this week.

MUSIC: "There's a Cloud in My Valley of Sunshine"/Roy Rogers

AA: Poor Roy Rogers, there's clouds in his valley of sunshine.

RS: No, there's just one. But say some more clouds appeared on the horizon. These days a lot of people would say, "There's clouds in my valley of sunshine."

AA: And they'd be wrong. "There's" is the contraction of "there is." And "is" refers to something singular. So, with the plural "clouds," you would say "there are clouds."

RS: Grammar Lady Mary Newton Bruder offered to shed a little more sunshine on "there is" vs. "there are."

TAPE: CUT ONE - BRUDER/ARDITTI

BRUDER: "This is a very interesting structure because this is one of the only places in English where the subject actually comes after the verb. If you say `there is a book' or `there are four books,' the subject is book or books, so the speaker has to anticipate what is coming up."

"And since the mind of an English speaker is not set up to delay the subject, most people forget that the subject is coming up, and they think that maybe `there' is the subject, so they always say `there is.' You hear lots of people say `there's a lot of stuff going on' or there's . "

AA: "There's ten movies opening."

BRUDER: "There's ten movies opening,' `there's three boys on the street,' whereas proper grammar requires us to say `there are seven movies' or `there are a lot of people on the street.'"

RS: There is a simple way in many cases to avoid confusion. Mary Newton Bruder says all you have to do is put the subject first.

AA: Take the sentence: "There are four people here to see you." Turn it around and you get:

"Four people are here to see you."

TAPE: CUT TWO - BRUDER/ARDITTI/SKIRBLE

BRUDER: "It's a stronger way to start, and the reader then knows what the subject is right away without having to wait."

AA: In any case, if the current trend continues, the phrase "there are" could drop out of common usage.

RS: Grammar Lady Mary Newton Bruder predicts a time when, regardless of whether the subject of a sentence is singular or plural, people will just say "there is."

TAPE: CUT THREE - BRUDER

"Educated speakers in informal situations use it frequently, and that's generally an indicator of an evolutionary process."

AA: "Is that progress, or is that a step back?"

BRUDER: "Well, there are those who say that you can't stop the change of language, and that's true. Who knows? The curmudgeons would say it's a step back, I say it's basically a process that we can't stop and probably shouldn't even bother to try, although I will say that in formal writing, I would require my students to make the distinction between `there is' and `there are,' because people form perceptions on these kinds of things that could make a difference."

RS: ... when it comes to, say, applying for college or interviewing for a job. If you'd like more advice from Grammar Lady Mary Newton Bruder, you can visit her Web site, at www.grammarlady.com.

AA: That's all for this week. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.

MUSIC: "There's a Cloud in My Valley of Sunshine"/Roy Rogers

http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2002-02/a-2002-02-06-10-1.cfm

ah-shui

to the best of my memory about the grammar( which is not so much leaving behind after graduation), the word "and" makes the difference. i would have thought that the 2nd 1 is correct.     

littletiger

Dr Cool

Can you please kindly provide the explanation?

Thank you very much!

Little Tiger

Dr.Cool 寫道:
"There is a dictionary and a file on the desk." is correct.

There is a boy and a girl.
There is a boy and two girls.
There are two boys and a girl.

Dr.Cool

littletiger,

Please see mollymolly's explanation:
因用is 定 用 are, 不是跟意思的,而是跟 is/are 後的名詞是單數定複數。

There is a boy and ...
There are two boys and ....

leschelems

Very interesting.  You guys are arguing a linguistic issue on which linguistists and native speakers of English cannot reach a consensus

TRADITIONAL PRESCRIPTION:
There {are a girl and two boys}........
Here the plurality of the noun phrase counts.  

However, in actual usage preference of native speakers of English, there is a PROXIMITY PRINCIPLE:

There {is a girl and two boys}......
There {are two boys and a girl}........

According to linguistic surveys, a majority apply the proximity rule in such cases.  We have a situation in which the actual usage preference of native speakers is different from the traditional prescripton.

However, as a model answer, teachers usually prefer Traditional Prescription over Proximity Principle.

littletiger

then which one is correct?!

you know the teachers always stick with the textbooks.....

how should i teach my kid???????

leschelems

I would rather rephrase your question.  

The language we are speaking is a social contract, not a design.  In other words, grammar is a  summary description of actual usage preference.  So in real world, we only have grammar accepted by people, esp the so-called native speakers.  And they are the most influential in shaping their native language.  By the nature of social contract, grammar could be of different opinions and even contradictory.  

However, it is very difficult to pass on the idea of this very nature of language to our kids.  So, to our kids, we do prescriptive/pedagogical grammar which serves as a model for teaching.  It's generally conservative in the sense that it doesn't catch up with latest language developments.   

So, to your question, I would not ask myself which one is correct.  Instead, I would ask which one is accepted in the given setting.  I know the idea of descriptive grammar is much harder to get assimilated than that of prescriptive grammar.  C'est la vie.     

littletiger

thank you so much!!!