Here is or Here are: Which grammar form is correct?

The here is or here are grammar issue tests a few things about your English knowledge. It tests your comfort with singular and plural nouns. It also tests your understanding of countable and uncountable nouns.

Here is or Here are — Which is Correct?

There is no standard correct answer for the here is or here are grammar question. The noun that follows either of them controls everything else.

If the succeeding noun is singular, then you should use “here is.” For example, “Here is a book. ” Because there is only one book, the verb form is singular.

If the following noun is plural, use “here are,”. For instance,” Here are some questions.” As you can see here, there is more than one question, making the noun plural. Therefore, it takes on the plural verb form.

Verb forms

 For clarity, we should discuss what we mean by verb forms. In the case of here is and here are, there are two forms of the verb “to be”.

These are the present tense singular form, “is” and the present tense plural form “are”. We’ve already learned that our subjects and verbs must agree.

Now let’s see how they operate in sentence. There is the present tense singular “The dog is hungry” and the present tense plural “The dogs are hungry”.

When there is only one dog, we have to use the singular form. If there are two dogs, we have to use the plural. This is seen above.

The same principles apply when we are talking about “here is” and “here are”.

Why is This So Tricky?

In most sentences, there is normally a clear subject, verb and object. In sentences that start with here is or here are, that isn’t the case.

“Here” is what is called a locative adverb. This adverb indicates that something is at a particular location.

What most people don’t understand is that in these sentences, “here” is not the subject. They try to make the verb form agree with “here”, which causes the confusion.

In these types of sentences, whatever comes after the verb form is the subject. In keeping with good grammar, your subject and your verb should always agree.

Countable and Uncountable nouns

The inclusion of countable and uncountable nouns in here is or here are sentences adds to the uncertainty surrounding how they are used.

Countable nouns are individual people, animals, places, things, or ideas which can be counted. like a table. Uncountable nouns are not individual objects, so they cannot be counted, like salt or sugar.

Depending on the way the sentence is written, countable and uncountable nouns can take either form of the verb.

To Wrap Up

Just keep the above guidelines in mind when you are writing. Here is and here are will no longer confuse you if you do.