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HS1
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:09 am
Post subject: "the is" or "there are" |
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Hello
Could you please tell me which one is correct (and why): "there is" or
"there are" a variety of natural languages.
thank you
S.Hoa
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Daniel Hoehr
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 12:31 pm
Post subject: Re: "the is" or "there are" |
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HS1 wrote:
| Quote: | Hello
Could you please tell me which one is correct (and why): "there is" or
"there are" a variety of natural languages.
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"Variety" being singular, the correct version is "There is a variety
of natural languages."
DH |
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Daniel Hoehr
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:49 pm
Post subject: Re: "the is" or "there are" |
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Daniel Hoehr wrote:
| Quote: |
HS1 wrote:
Hello
Could you please tell me which one is correct (and why): "there is" or
"there are" a variety of natural languages.
"Variety" being singular, the correct version is "There is a variety
of natural languages."
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Having said that, I'm not so sure myself now.
For some reason "There are a variety of natural languages" sounds
better now.
DH
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meirman
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 7:59 pm
Post subject: Re: "the is" or "there are" |
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In alt.english.usage on Mon, 20 Sep 2004 14:49:10 +0200 Daniel Hoehr
<dhoehr.invalid@aedes.Jagonis.com> posted:
| Quote: |
Daniel Hoehr wrote:
HS1 wrote:
Hello
Could you please tell me which one is correct (and why): "there is" or
"there are" a variety of natural languages.
"Variety" being singular, the correct version is "There is a variety
of natural languages."
Having said that, I'm not so sure myself now.
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It's not easy. One problem is that it could mean, There is a variety
of natural languages called sub-natural languages.
| Quote: |
For some reason "There are a variety of natural languages" sounds
better now.
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Think about, There is a lot of natural languages. That really sound
wierd compared to "are". And what is it that there is? a lot, or
natural languages?
It's not so obvious with "variety"
I think "variety" is used in more situations than need by, anyhow.
How about, There are several|more than 20|countless|etc. natural
languages, some quite different from others.
s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 20 years |
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Pat Durkin
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 8:53 pm
Post subject: Re: "the is" or "there are" |
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"Daniel Hoehr" <dhoehr.invalid@aedes.Jagonis.com> wrote in message
news:2r816oF1720joU1@uni-berlin.de...
| Quote: |
Daniel Hoehr wrote:
HS1 wrote:
Hello
Could you please tell me which one is correct (and why): "there is" or
"there are" a variety of natural languages.
"Variety" being singular, the correct version is "There is a variety
of natural languages."
Having said that, I'm not so sure myself now.
For some reason "There are a variety of natural languages" sounds
better now.
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I agree with your first choice, but recognize that many people are more
comfortable with "There is". I mainly shrug my shoulders, and wouldn't dare
try to correct anyone on this matter. I think that "There" reflects on
what comes after the verb, but that requires planning ahead, which isn't the
usual procedure in everyday conversation. In writing, one has a chance to
look back on what one has written.
I would say "There are various (or varied) natural languages." and "There is
a variety of natural languages."
If I realize after speaking "There is" that a plural complement is coming
up, I can always say "There are" or just "are".
Of course, after saying all of that, I might as well say that "There are
varieties of natural languages", which leads on to a listing of types:
spoken, sign, body, etc. |
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Bill McCray
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 6:33 pm
Post subject: Re: "the is" or "there are" |
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On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 14:49:10 +0200, Daniel Hoehr
<dhoehr.invalid@aedes.Jagonis.com> wrote:
| Quote: |
Daniel Hoehr wrote:
HS1 wrote:
Hello
Could you please tell me which one is correct (and why): "there is" or
"there are" a variety of natural languages.
"Variety" being singular, the correct version is "There is a variety
of natural languages."
Having said that, I'm not so sure myself now.
For some reason "There are a variety of natural languages" sounds
better now.
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I'm inclined to think that "a variety of" is similar to "a number of".
Both mean "several". Therefore, I would use "are".
"A lot of" means "many".
Bill
Swap first and last parts of username and ISP for address. |
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