0

Possible Duplicate:
“There are so many” vs. “There is so many”

I know this is correct:

There's no problem.

But what if it was plural, i.e. problems? Would this be correct, too:

There are no problems.

Or should it be:

There is no problems.

I always wondered about the usage of there is.

Community
  • 1
Albus Dumbledore
  • 103

3 Answers3

3

when "problem" is plural you use the plural "are". So, like you said:

There are no problems

masarah
  • 2,732
  • 2
    This is correct (+1), but note that lots of people, when speaking informally do say things like "There's no problems" - so don't be surprised if you hear it - but it sounds a bit sloppy so I don't recommend copyig them :) – psmears Apr 29 '11 at 07:32
  • Indeed. But when speaking informally people say a lot of things that are wrong... :) – masarah Apr 29 '11 at 07:35
  • Thanks. Actually, I've heard it both ways so I've always wondered. By the way, Masarah, are you a native speaker? I just want to be sure it's right. – Albus Dumbledore Apr 29 '11 at 07:43
  • 1
    It is definitely correct. But English is not my mother tongue. But it is my daily language. – masarah Apr 29 '11 at 07:46
  • 3
    masarah: Yes, that's true, and it's very confusing for a lot of learners - I just wanted to point out that what you say is correct, even if the questioner hears the "wrong" version a lot! @Albus - I am a native speaker and can confirm that what masarah says is true :-) – psmears Apr 29 '11 at 08:09
  • 1
    @psmears thanks! I'm be a better educated person now. :-D – Albus Dumbledore Apr 29 '11 at 08:44
2

It should be

There are no problems.

"There is no problems" is wrong.

Mehper C. Palavuzlar
  • 35,654
2

The answers given are indeed correct in that they give the correct usage for a plural:

There is no problem. (singular)

There are no problems. (plural)

However, it is important to note that when one says "There is no problem", the sentence already negates multiple problems. By saying there is no problem, we mean that there is not even one single problem - not one - not any - none at all.

Therefore, the plural "There are no problems" is redundant; even if there were multiple problems and now they have all been cleared up, the singular 'no problem' still covers this.

Hope that helps.

Karl
  • 6,526