Use the correct form of the word a lot of people

I think «There are a lot of people» is the correct one, but you’d hear «There is a lot of people» quite frequently, which must be why I had to think about this question for a bit!

Nevertheless, I think I’d write, based on that sentence only, «Many people are in the classroom,» or perhaps another verb besides «to be» if context allows it.

Hola a todos!! Tengo una duda en la siguiente expresión, porque creo haberla visto de las dos formas. ¿ Me podéis ayudar y decirme cuál es la forma correcta o si ambas lo son?
Gracias.

There is a lot of people who think… o There are a lot of people who think…

There are a lot of people who think…

«A lot of people» are countable, and therefore plural.

Sheila

There are.
«People» is plural, unlike «gente.»

Agreed. Don’t be misled by the apparent singular collective noun «a lot,» which is treated like «many» when followed by a plural noun. There are a lot of people = there are many people.

Agreed. Don’t be misled by the apparent singular collective noun «a lot,» which is treated like «many» when followed by a plural noun. There are a lot of people = there are many people.

Hmmm…this got me thinking. Why would you use there are a lot of people? Shouldn’t the verb agree with «a lot?»

You wouldn’t say «There are a group of people.» Rather, «There is a group of people.»

What changes about «a lot» that we need to make the verb plural?….hmmm….

Hmmm…this got me thinking. Why would you use there are a lot of people? Shouldn’t the verb agree with «a lot?»

You wouldn’t say «There are a group of people.» Rather, «There is a group of people.»

What changes about «a lot» that we need to make the verb plural?….hmmm….

In some circumstances you might say «there are a group of people,» though that’s really another story, to distinguish between:

«There are a group of people interested in the job (that is, there are several separate individuals, acting separately).»
«There is a group that deals with that sort of issue (that is, several people who work together).»

Of course you might argue in the former the individuals don’t actually constitute «a group» at all.

«A lot of» is a special case, because it only rarely functions as a collective noun (mostly in auctions, as in «a lot of rare editions is being auctioned tomorrow»). Instead, it’s treated as if it were a quantifier (there are two books, there are a lot of books). Some people say «there are lots of books» — but also «there’s lots of cheese,» even though «cheese» in this case is not countable. In any case, «a lot / lots» is ignored when determining whether to apply a plural or singular verb to what follows it.

There are lots of sellers, they have a lot of things to sell.
There are a lot of sellers, they have lots of things to sell.
There is a lot of sellers, they have a lot of things to sell.
There’s lots of sellers, they’ve lots of things to sell. OK in informal speech.

(By the way, I would call these sentences examples of asyndeton, not examples of comma splices.)

Prescriptively speaking, “there is a lot of + plural” is incorrect.

The operative word is «prescriptively.» In actuality, as far as syntax is concerned, «There is a lot of + plural» is fine, or at least syntax is completely neutral. What happens is simply this, you start with a noun phrase

a lot of sellers

if you want to turn that phrase into a sentence, with «a lot of sellers» as part of the predicate, you add «There:»

There __ a lot of sellers

This is known as «There-insertion.» Of course, this is not a sentence yet; we need a verb. The basic and main purpose of the verb that needs to be added is to signal «present tense;» «agreement» is secondary. And so you can say «are» to agree with the plural «sellers» (the informative word of the sentence), or you can say «is» to agree with the singular sense of «There» (a word that suggests «location» or «existence»). Either way is fine, because the point of the verb is to anchor this newly formed sentence in the proper «present tense.»

There is a lot of sellers, they have a lot of things to sell

And «There is» usually gets contracted, particularly in speech

There’s a lot of sellers, they have a lot of things to sell

That’s as far as «There-insertion» is concerned. If you make «a lot of sellers» the subject, agreement will necessarily be plural:

A lot of sellers are here, they have a lot of things to sell

No one would say «A lot of sellers is here,» but this is a different construction, without «There-insertion.»

The operative word is «prescriptively.» In actuality, as far as syntax is concerned, «There is a lot of + plural» is fine, or at least syntax is completely neutral.

Isn’t verbal number a syntactical element?

What happens is simply this, you start with a noun phrase

a lot of sellers

if you want to turn that phrase into a sentence, with «a lot of sellers» as part of the predicate, you add «There:»

There __ a lot of sellers

This is known as «There-insertion.» Of course, this is not a sentence yet; we need a verb. The basic and main purpose of the verb that needs to be added is to signal «present tense;» «agreement» is secondary.

In terms of syntax, a finite verb always has tense and number, and which is most «needed» is a semantic matter.

And so you can say «are» to agree with the plural «sellers» (the informative word of the sentence), or you can say «is» to agree with the singular sense of «There» (a word that suggests «location» or «existence»).

In fact, verbal number is a clue to which «there» is meant.

Are you saying that «There _ a lot of sellers» can mean «That place is a lot of sellers»?

I don’t see much sense in that, but if you mean «

In

that place _ a lot of sellers», only «are» fits in the English I am used to, not «is» (assuming that «a lot» is not intended to mean something like «a complete batch» or «a parcel»).

I need «are» in this type of sentence:

Is there many sellers with lots of things to sell?
There is really not many sellers with a lot to sell.
There is a lot of sellers, they have a lot of things to sell.