Craig Dodge - Blog

In English, we use "there is" and "there are" to describe the existence of something. Usually, there is subject-verb agreement with the "to be" verb, depending on whether there exists one (=1) or more-than-one (>1) of something. For example:

But what about compound subjects? Here it gets a little tricky, and this question has come up several times recently. Just the other day, a former colleague asked which would be "correct" in the following sentence, "is" or "are"?

If language always followed rules, and if you used the same logic as described above for subject-verb agreement, you might choose "are", because: A bowl of rice and a plate of noodles are on the table.

Alas, life is not so simple. Language doesn't always follow rules and is seldom logical (like math).

According to Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage (bold is mine):

...when a compound subject follows the verb and the first element is singular, we find mixed usage—the verb may be either singular or plural.

 

Penn & Ebbitt 1972 also suggests that many writers feel the plural verb is awkward before a singular noun, and Bryant 1962 cites studies that show the singular verb is much more common in standard English. ... Some writers, however, follow formal agreement and use a plural verb...

In the more complex constructions, you are best guided by your own sense of what sounds right in the particular context to avoid awkwardness and maintain the smooth flow of the sentence.

So either "is" or "are" could be used in the above question. Not very convenient on multiple-choice tests, huh.