How to rewrite "There are a red apple and a green apple on the table."?

Asked Oct 26 '21 at 21:45

Active Oct 26 '21 at 21:45

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Consider the following sentence.

There are a red apple and a green apple on the table.

Can I rewrite it as follows?

There are a red and a green apple on the table.

Or, should I rewrite it as follows?

There is a red and a green apple on the table.

Which one is correct? If both are correct, which one is better?

Thanks for your help.

asked Oct 26 '21 at 21:45

Tom

3

Does this answer your question? "There Is"/"There are" depends on plurality of the first list element or not? – livresque Oct 26 '21 at 22:16
An English speaker, if forced to say that sentence, would say There's a red apple and a green apple on the table. The contraction is almost automatic, like I'll for I will or he's for he is. Forms of be are normally contracted, once contracted they don't inflect, and not contracting them draws attention. Of course, this is about English, not writing. – John Lawler Oct 27 '21 at 22:04

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