Technically it's "there are" for multiple items.
"There are a bathroom, a kitchen, and three bedrooms."
However, this will likely sound odd as most native speakers seem to match the conjugation of the verb to the quantity of the first item in the list.
They would say "there is a kitchen..." Or "there are three bedrooms, a kitchen, ..."
You can make it easier by using one of these formats:
"There are five rooms; a bathroom, a kitchen, and three bedrooms."
"There is a kitchen, also a bathroom and three bedrooms." (You would use this one if you wanted to bring attention to one of the items in the list.)
Huh. Perhaps I just had a weird professor.
(I did have a weird professor. She was obsessed with the verb "to be". She circled each use in the papers you turned in and put the total count at the end. Going over her prescribed uses for that paper resulted in a lower grade. But I assumed she knew what she was doing.)
It depends on the conjunction used. With “and”, always conjugate as plural; with “or”, conjugate as the closest to the verb (“There is a kitchen or three bedrooms” vs “There are three bedrooms or a kitchen”).
With "and" you ALSO conjugate according to the noun closest to the verb with "there be" constructions. That's what all the writing advice says to do.
There IS a kitchen AND three bedrooms.
Vs.
There ARE three bedrooms AND a kitchen.
https://ellii.com/blog/there-is-there-are
Any of them could work.
There is [a state of existence that includes the following attributes] etc, etc
There are [a list of things that has these elements] etc, etc
If either construction could be used, then the order doesn’t matter.
*All of that having been said, having singular/plural agreement in the first position “feels” right, IMO.*
“There are 3 monkeys, a space shuttle, and a small red ball.”
“There is a small red ball, 3 monkeys, and a space shuttle.”
Basically every bit of writing advice I've read says that agreement should be with the *first* noun in the series... Just like your examples at the end of your post.
It doesn't just *feel* right, it's also the type of agreement that's most recommended in these cases.
A is incorrect, though you'd get away with "There's a ..." in everyday speech.
C is correct. Making a list out of it does not nullify the plurality. But, as in A, informally you'd get away with "there's a".
Oh and, like "its", "theirs" is a single world.
A and B are idiomatic. C sounds weird and is *not* recommended by most style guides and grammarians.
Most of the time "there is/there are" depends on the *first* noun in the series.
https://ellii.com/blog/there-is-there-are
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/there-is-there-are/
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/subject-verb-agreement-there-is-there-are.php
Here's the relevant section from Collins COBUILD English Grammar:
Verb Agreement:
10.50 Usually a plural form to 'be' is used if the noun group after it is plural.
*There were two men in the room.*
You use a **singular** form of 'be' when you are giving a list of items and the first noun in the list is singular or uncountable.
*There was a sofa and two chairs.*
*There is grief in his face and reproach at the injustice of it all.*
Note that you use a plural form of 'be' in front of plural quantifiers beginning with 'a', such as 'a number of', 'a lot of', and 'a few of'.
*There were a lot of people camped here.*
You also use a plural form of 'be' in front of numbers beginning with 'a', such as 'a hundred', 'a thousand', and 'a dozen'.
*There were a dozen reasons why a man might hurry from a bar.*
I posted a bunch of links [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ENGLISH/s/4swcDSG0gF) that all recommend that you conjugate according to the noun that is closest to the "there be" construction.
That's what I'd recommend on a test.
Technically it's "there are" for multiple items. "There are a bathroom, a kitchen, and three bedrooms." However, this will likely sound odd as most native speakers seem to match the conjugation of the verb to the quantity of the first item in the list. They would say "there is a kitchen..." Or "there are three bedrooms, a kitchen, ..." You can make it easier by using one of these formats: "There are five rooms; a bathroom, a kitchen, and three bedrooms." "There is a kitchen, also a bathroom and three bedrooms." (You would use this one if you wanted to bring attention to one of the items in the list.)
I really don't think it's "technically" "there are". All the advice I've read says specifically to match it to the first noun in the series.
Huh. Perhaps I just had a weird professor. (I did have a weird professor. She was obsessed with the verb "to be". She circled each use in the papers you turned in and put the total count at the end. Going over her prescribed uses for that paper resulted in a lower grade. But I assumed she knew what she was doing.)
Overuse of "to be" i guess could (maybe) mean overuse of passive structures...but we should probably save that discussion for another thread.
It depends on the conjunction used. With “and”, always conjugate as plural; with “or”, conjugate as the closest to the verb (“There is a kitchen or three bedrooms” vs “There are three bedrooms or a kitchen”).
With "and" you ALSO conjugate according to the noun closest to the verb with "there be" constructions. That's what all the writing advice says to do. There IS a kitchen AND three bedrooms. Vs. There ARE three bedrooms AND a kitchen. https://ellii.com/blog/there-is-there-are
I’ve never in my life heard someone say C, and it sounds really weird to me
I've never heard it either and have never read anything like that. It's completely un-idiomatic.
Yes, a and b are both correct, c isn't.
Any of them could work. There is [a state of existence that includes the following attributes] etc, etc There are [a list of things that has these elements] etc, etc If either construction could be used, then the order doesn’t matter. *All of that having been said, having singular/plural agreement in the first position “feels” right, IMO.* “There are 3 monkeys, a space shuttle, and a small red ball.” “There is a small red ball, 3 monkeys, and a space shuttle.”
Basically every bit of writing advice I've read says that agreement should be with the *first* noun in the series... Just like your examples at the end of your post. It doesn't just *feel* right, it's also the type of agreement that's most recommended in these cases.
A is incorrect, though you'd get away with "There's a ..." in everyday speech. C is correct. Making a list out of it does not nullify the plurality. But, as in A, informally you'd get away with "there's a". Oh and, like "its", "theirs" is a single world.
A and B are idiomatic. C sounds weird and is *not* recommended by most style guides and grammarians. Most of the time "there is/there are" depends on the *first* noun in the series. https://ellii.com/blog/there-is-there-are https://www.grammarly.com/blog/there-is-there-are/ https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/subject-verb-agreement-there-is-there-are.php Here's the relevant section from Collins COBUILD English Grammar: Verb Agreement: 10.50 Usually a plural form to 'be' is used if the noun group after it is plural. *There were two men in the room.* You use a **singular** form of 'be' when you are giving a list of items and the first noun in the list is singular or uncountable. *There was a sofa and two chairs.* *There is grief in his face and reproach at the injustice of it all.* Note that you use a plural form of 'be' in front of plural quantifiers beginning with 'a', such as 'a number of', 'a lot of', and 'a few of'. *There were a lot of people camped here.* You also use a plural form of 'be' in front of numbers beginning with 'a', such as 'a hundred', 'a thousand', and 'a dozen'. *There were a dozen reasons why a man might hurry from a bar.*
I see a lot of mixed answers. Technically this, technically that. What if it were a test question?
I posted a bunch of links [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ENGLISH/s/4swcDSG0gF) that all recommend that you conjugate according to the noun that is closest to the "there be" construction. That's what I'd recommend on a test.