‘There is’ and ‘There are’

Which is right, ‘There is a table, chair, bed and a sofa in my room’ or ‘There are a table, chair, bed and a sofa in my room?’ – Talha Farhan @TALHAFARHAAN

The sentence is made of 4 others:

• There is a table.
• There is a chair.
• There is a bed.
• There is a sofa.

When it is contracted, it became: ‘There is a table, chair, bed, and sofa in my room.’

‘Are’ will be of use if one of the items is in plural forms, example: ‘There are tables, a chair, a bed, and a sofa in my room.’

One of

One of the boys is/are … One of the men is/are I get confused with ‘one of’ and sentences related with it. – LearnerG @always_I_Learn

When using the form ‘one of many things’, the subject is the word ‘one‘. Therefore, the verb or the verb ‘be’ following it is the one for singular noun, example:

• One of the boys is caught smoking at school.
• One of four men prefers having the first date at the cinema.

Two negative words

What if we make a sentence use two negative words such ‘You are not going nowhere’ is it allowed? Can i use it in essay? – umi^^ @Umi21Fatonah

The sentence ‘You’re not going nowhere’ or ‘I don’t have no money’ is considered informal and so should be avoided when writing.

The form is called double negative. More on the topic can be found here: https://englishtips4u.com/2011/10/31/grammartrivia-double-negative/

Compiled by @alicesaraswati for @EnglishTips4U on Monday, 11 January, 2016

Related post(s):

• #GrammarTrivia: Double negative
• #EngClass: “One of the” (plural noun)
• #EngClass #EngQuiz: Simple Present Tense
• #EngClass: Irregular plural nouns
• #EngClass: Everybody – singular or plural?

^MD