"There's a few books over there" or "there's a couple of things..." How come?
Is it right? I mean is it not supposed to be "There are a few / a couple of"

Question

"There's a few books over there" or "there's a couple of things..." How come? 
Is it right? I mean is it not supposed to be "There are a few / a couple of"

Answer

"are" is incorrect. The number value of "a few" is singular, even though it means more than one book. It is like a family. A family is ONE group, made of many people. The word "a" tells you that it is only ONE group of several things. However both are acceptable in everyday speech with the shorthand "there's" being much more common. Neither forms are good for formal writing so avoid general statements like "there is, there are" in papers for school or work.

Answer

That's terribly wrong. Yes, ARE is right in both cases.

Answers · 2

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