English Grammar Pet Peeves

[poli]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Because it is incorrect. It should be

There are a lot of people who go shopping everyday.

(That's what I would say)

I love grammitcal puzzlements, but I think a lot of people like a gaggle of geese is singular. I think the use of are is suboptimal grammar . You can say there are lots of people and be safe.

There are lots of people on the street today.
There is a lot of people on the street today.

Look, there's a gaggle of geese.
Look, there are gaggles of geese.

Is this not logical?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by poli

I love grammitcal puzzlements, but I think a lot of people like a gaggle of geese is singular. I think the use of are is suboptimal grammar . You can say there are lots of people and be safe.

There are lots of people on the street today.
There is a lot of people on the street today.

Look, there's a gaggle of geese.
Look, there are gaggles of geese.

Is this not logical?

If 'a lot of people' is singular, then

A lot of people is stupid
A gaggle of geese was crossing the road

[poli]

That's true. English gets fuzzy. Sometimes the grammar is unfathomable.

[Rusty]

It seems to me that the confusion lies in not really knowing the grammar.


Maybe this video will help.

The following sentences are ALL acceptable English, but only the last one is grammatically correct.

There's a lot of people in the street. (31,800,000 Google hits)
There is a lot of people in the street. (8 Google hits)
There are a lot of people in the street. (15,400,000 Google hits)

The first one is by far the most popular, although it's grammatically wrong. Most Americans say it this way and would claim that they're correct. They even make up grammar rules to support it (like saying that 'lot' is the subject), but the simple truth is that most Americans will say "there's" for BOTH a singular and a plural subject, whether the phrase contains 'a lot of' or not.
That's simply how the language is used by quite a few people.

Is it wrong to use "there's" with a plural subject? When taking a grammar test, most definitely. Otherwise, it sounds quite natural and is the way most of us speak. When in Rome, ...

By the way, I've had to train myself to use "there are" with a plural subject (and I always associate 'a lot of' with 'many'), but I still catch myself slipping up and using "there's" with a plural subject.

[poli]

Wow. There's a lot to learn.