2

I came across this on the internet. What is the correct form? Singular or plural?

"Here is a pen and a ball."

or

"Here are a pen and a ball."

And please give me your thoughts on the contradiction in 'Here's some ideas about what you can do:'

Does it mean 'here are' or 'here is'? Thank you.

moefetish
  • 35
  • 2
  • 5

1 Answers1

-1

'here're' is not a strict grammatically correct contraction. While it is valid to use in colloquial settings it should not be used in formal or professional communications.

In your scenario the correct contraction would be; "Here's a pen and a pencil", because the following "a pen and a pencil" is a singular grouping of singular items, not a plurality or an abstract multiplicity.

Chris Hirst
  • 9
  • 2
    But you'd never say "a pen and a pencil is", so why can you say "Here's a pen and a pencil"? – Peter Shor Jul 08 '18 at 15:13
  • @PeterShor You're right; you shouldn't. Reversing the sentence should not produce a different subject-verb agreement. Unlike fish and chips, a pen and a pencil is not a singular noun. I like this explanation. – Jason Bassford Jul 08 '18 at 16:02