I find many Americans say there's a lot of people/cars/programs....is that correct or should "there's" be replaced with there are?? This question just keeps bugging me quite a bit
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The Ngram shows an even choice between 'there's a lot/there is a lot/ there are a lot'. BrE seems to favour 'there is a lot'. (Link playing up - just hit the 'Search lots of books' key.) – Nigel J Apr 24 '18 at 13:02
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Also see Is “there're” (similar to “there's”) a correct contraction? – choster Apr 24 '18 at 15:12
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The argument/ assumption seems to be that the focus in
There … a lot of people/cars/programs …
is on a lot which is apparently singular.
Now recall that a lot is synonymous with lots:
There … lots of people/cars/programs …
With exactly the same meaning.
Of course, we'd use are in "There … lots of people/cars/programs …".
It's a quirk of grammar that a seemingly singular phrase is a synonym of a patently plural word, so that grammar books always insist that it should be:
There are a lot of people/cars/programs …
This needs to be followed in writing. In speech, people find it more logical (makes better sense) to say is a lot of things because of the article a.
Note: I'm not relating this question to the identical one on ELL or the ones right here on ELU because the answers there are either incorrect or incomplete.
Kris
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I don't think the use of "there's" is really related to the presence of "a lot". I can say "There's three cars" or "There's tons of cars" just as well. – herisson Apr 24 '18 at 14:50
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1@sumelic Kris is making the point that ...a lot of... begins with the indefinite article hence native speakers find it more natural to use the verb in the singular. It's a valid point, not sure if it deserves a downvote. Not sure if it's worth upvoting either. If Kris finds the answers in the original question either incorrect or incomplete, see footnote, maybe they should post their answer there. – Mari-Lou A Apr 25 '18 at 10:43
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*There's some people* in this world who you can just love and love and love no matter what. ― John Green (American author) – Mari-Lou A Apr 25 '18 at 10:51