“There are believed to be some ghosts” or ”There is …”?
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There are believed to be some ghosts in that house
There is believed to be some ghosts in that house
Can anyone tell me which of the to be verb is correct in this case?
grammatical-number conjugation
edited Dec 8 at 6:57
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6,45012651
asked Dec 7 at 5:31
Vi Kiet Tieu
256
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
There are believed to be some ghosts in that house
There is believed to be some ghosts in that house
Can anyone tell me which of the to be verb is correct in this case?
grammatical-number conjugation
edited Dec 8 at 6:57
200_success
6,45012651
asked Dec 7 at 5:31
Vi Kiet Tieu
256
Similar: “Is likely to be” vs “are likely to be”
– sumelic
Dec 7 at 7:06
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
There are believed to be some ghosts in that house
There is believed to be some ghosts in that house
Can anyone tell me which of the to be verb is correct in this case?
grammatical-number conjugation
edited Dec 8 at 6:57
200_success
6,45012651
asked Dec 7 at 5:31
Vi Kiet Tieu
256
There are believed to be some ghosts in that house
There is believed to be some ghosts in that house
Can anyone tell me which of the to be verb is correct in this case?
grammatical-number conjugation
grammatical-number conjugation
edited Dec 8 at 6:57
200_success
6,45012651
asked Dec 7 at 5:31
Vi Kiet Tieu
256
edited Dec 8 at 6:57
200_success
6,45012651
asked Dec 7 at 5:31
Vi Kiet Tieu
256
edited Dec 8 at 6:57
200_success
6,45012651
edited Dec 8 at 6:57
200_success
6,45012651
edited Dec 8 at 6:57
200_success
6,45012651
6,45012651
asked Dec 7 at 5:31
Vi Kiet Tieu
256
asked Dec 7 at 5:31
Vi Kiet Tieu
256
asked Dec 7 at 5:31
Vi Kiet Tieu
256
256
Similar: “Is likely to be” vs “are likely to be”
– sumelic
Dec 7 at 7:06
add a comment |
Similar: “Is likely to be” vs “are likely to be”
– sumelic
Dec 7 at 7:06
Similar: “Is likely to be” vs “are likely to be”
– sumelic
Dec 7 at 7:06
Similar: “Is likely to be” vs “are likely to be”
– sumelic
Dec 7 at 7:06
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
up vote
2
down vote
The predicate of this sentence 'are believed to be...' is called a modal complex predicate.
Its finite verb form must correspond with the Subject Number which is plural /ghosts/.
So the only grammatically correct sentence is 'There are believed to be...'
answered Dec 7 at 5:57
user307254
1,022110
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
This is one of those situations where no matter which version of the verb is the correct one, it can still sound awkward.
Aside from using the correct verb form (the plural, as provided by the other answers), you could also choose to simply rephrase the sentence, avoiding its awkwardness.
Either of the following would work:
Some ghosts are believed to be in that house.
It is believed that there are some ghosts in that house.
answered Dec 7 at 15:01
Jason Bassford
15.1k31941
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
The first one is correct since you are referring to the ghosts, which is plural.
answered Dec 7 at 9:55
Bramble Inhabitant
1
New contributor
Bramble Inhabitant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
2
down vote
The predicate of this sentence 'are believed to be...' is called a modal complex predicate.
Its finite verb form must correspond with the Subject Number which is plural /ghosts/.
So the only grammatically correct sentence is 'There are believed to be...'
answered Dec 7 at 5:57
user307254
1,022110
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
The predicate of this sentence 'are believed to be...' is called a modal complex predicate.
Its finite verb form must correspond with the Subject Number which is plural /ghosts/.
So the only grammatically correct sentence is 'There are believed to be...'
answered Dec 7 at 5:57
user307254
1,022110
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
The predicate of this sentence 'are believed to be...' is called a modal complex predicate.
Its finite verb form must correspond with the Subject Number which is plural /ghosts/.
So the only grammatically correct sentence is 'There are believed to be...'
answered Dec 7 at 5:57
user307254
1,022110
The predicate of this sentence 'are believed to be...' is called a modal complex predicate.
Its finite verb form must correspond with the Subject Number which is plural /ghosts/.
So the only grammatically correct sentence is 'There are believed to be...'
answered Dec 7 at 5:57
user307254
1,022110
answered Dec 7 at 5:57
user307254
1,022110
answered Dec 7 at 5:57
user307254
1,022110
answered Dec 7 at 5:57
user307254
1,022110
1,022110
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
This is one of those situations where no matter which version of the verb is the correct one, it can still sound awkward.
Aside from using the correct verb form (the plural, as provided by the other answers), you could also choose to simply rephrase the sentence, avoiding its awkwardness.
Either of the following would work:
Some ghosts are believed to be in that house.
It is believed that there are some ghosts in that house.
answered Dec 7 at 15:01
Jason Bassford
15.1k31941
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
This is one of those situations where no matter which version of the verb is the correct one, it can still sound awkward.
Aside from using the correct verb form (the plural, as provided by the other answers), you could also choose to simply rephrase the sentence, avoiding its awkwardness.
Either of the following would work:
Some ghosts are believed to be in that house.
It is believed that there are some ghosts in that house.
answered Dec 7 at 15:01
Jason Bassford
15.1k31941
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
This is one of those situations where no matter which version of the verb is the correct one, it can still sound awkward.
Aside from using the correct verb form (the plural, as provided by the other answers), you could also choose to simply rephrase the sentence, avoiding its awkwardness.
Either of the following would work:
Some ghosts are believed to be in that house.
It is believed that there are some ghosts in that house.
answered Dec 7 at 15:01
Jason Bassford
15.1k31941
This is one of those situations where no matter which version of the verb is the correct one, it can still sound awkward.
Aside from using the correct verb form (the plural, as provided by the other answers), you could also choose to simply rephrase the sentence, avoiding its awkwardness.
Either of the following would work:
Some ghosts are believed to be in that house.
It is believed that there are some ghosts in that house.
answered Dec 7 at 15:01
Jason Bassford
15.1k31941
answered Dec 7 at 15:01
Jason Bassford
15.1k31941
answered Dec 7 at 15:01
Jason Bassford
15.1k31941
answered Dec 7 at 15:01
Jason Bassford
15.1k31941
15.1k31941
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
The first one is correct since you are referring to the ghosts, which is plural.
answered Dec 7 at 9:55
Bramble Inhabitant
1
New contributor
Bramble Inhabitant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
The first one is correct since you are referring to the ghosts, which is plural.
answered Dec 7 at 9:55
Bramble Inhabitant
1
New contributor
Bramble Inhabitant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
The first one is correct since you are referring to the ghosts, which is plural.
answered Dec 7 at 9:55
Bramble Inhabitant
1
New contributor
Bramble Inhabitant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
The first one is correct since you are referring to the ghosts, which is plural.
answered Dec 7 at 9:55
Bramble Inhabitant
1
New contributor
Bramble Inhabitant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered Dec 7 at 9:55
Bramble Inhabitant
1
New contributor
Bramble Inhabitant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered Dec 7 at 9:55
Bramble Inhabitant
1
answered Dec 7 at 9:55
Bramble Inhabitant
1
1
New contributor
Bramble Inhabitant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Bramble Inhabitant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Bramble Inhabitant is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
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Similar: “Is likely to be” vs “are likely to be”
– sumelic
Dec 7 at 7:06