Subject-Verb Agreement with "There" Sentences 🎓

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1. What We're Solving

We need to figure out whether to use "have" or "has" in the sentence: > "There have/has been one crisis after another."

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2. The Approach

The key to solving this is understanding how "there" sentences work. The word "there" looks like a subject, but it's actually a placeholder — a grammatical decoy! The real subject is hiding later in the sentence, and that's what the verb must agree with.

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3. Step-by-Step Solution

Step 1: Identify the Grammatical Subject

The word "there" is an expletive (a filler word that delays the real subject).

To find the true subject, flip the sentence around: > "One crisis after another has/have been there."

Now the subject reveals itself: "one crisis after another"

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Step 2: Analyze the Subject Closely

The phrase is "one crisis after another."

Key observations:

• The grammatical head of this phrase is "one crisis"
• "One" signals → singular
• The phrase "after another" is a modifier — it describes a pattern, but it doesn't change the grammatical number of the subject

| Phrase Part | Role | Number | |---|---|---| | One crisis | Core subject | ✅ Singular | | after another | Prepositional modifier | Doesn't count! |

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Step 3: Grammar vs. Meaning

The phrase does suggest multiple crises in meaning. However, this important distinction applies:

> 📌 Grammar follows grammatical structure, not implied meaning.

Compare these examples:

• "One student after another was struggling." ✅
• "One car after another was damaged." ✅

Native speakers consistently use the singular verb here, even though multiple students/cars are implied.

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Step 4: Apply the Rule

Since the true subject is "one crisis" (singular), the verb must be singular too:

> ✅ "There has been one crisis after another."

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4. The Answer

"Has" is correct! ✅

> "There has been one crisis after another."

The verb agrees with the grammatical subject ("one crisis"), not with the implied or conceptual meaning of the phrase.

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5. Memory Tip 💡

"There" sentences — flip them to find the truth!"

Whenever you see a sentence starting with "there is/are" or "there has/have," mentally flip the sentence to reveal the real subject hiding at the back. Once you see it clearly, choosing the right verb becomes much easier!

> 🔄 "There has been one crisis..." > ➡️ "One crisis has been there..." → Singular → Has ✓