Teach me English

If you can still call this little mountain town India, that is not a cow.


But today, a lesson on English grammar.

Up until two weeks ago, my English was operational on a level far from conscious, as is usually is with native speakers of any language. Well. Allow me to shed some light on its world of grammatical complications. I'll be using sentences that utilize "there is" and "there are" for examples.

HERE GOES!

1) You can only use "there are" and "there is" when you are saying "where" something is. For people, you use "this" and "that". You use "these" if there is more than one thing, and "those" if these things are out of reach.

ex.
"Is that your family sitting at the table?"
not "Is there your family sitting at the table?"

"There are many monks in McLeod Ganj."
"Where?"
"In McLeod Ganj."

2) You can only use "many" with "are". If you are using "is", you must use "a lot".

ex.
"There is a lot of rain today."
not "There is many rain today."

"There are many students in the class."
You can also use "a lot" with many.
"There are a lot of students in the class."

3) If the noun changes its spelling in the plural, you must use "are", even if there is no "s" at the end of the noun. If the spelling stays the same, use "is".

ex.
"There are many women selling momos on the street today."
"There are many children at school today."

4) When using "there aren't" (negative), do not use "some". Use "any" to say there are "none" or "many" to say there are only a few.

"There aren't many vegetables at my house." (There are only a few).
"There aren't any vegetables at my house." (There aren't any).
not "There aren't some vegetables at my house."

5) Only use "something" with "is", because "something" means not a lot or not very many.

ex.
"Is there something in the paper about Tibet?"
not "Are there something in the paper about Tibet?"

Conclusively:
Is English convoluted and full of loopholes? Yes, it is.

ex.
"There is a lot of fish on the menu." (adheres to point 3)
"There are many fish in the sea." (defies point 3)

Otherwise inconclusive bonus question:

Why do we say:
"Sorry I couldn't meet you yesterday."
not "Sorry I couldn't met you yesterday?"

The comments box is waiting.


A goat, perhaps?

-Tara