There's or there are?

Commenting on something, and I realized I could use 'there's' or 'there are.' Which one is more grammatically correct? I would typically say 'there are.'

Here's my sentence:

Gnarly dude. I 404'd that link. lol. I've been looking at some instructors, the one I like says he's a 2nd level in tai chi. There's (or there are?) no others in my area.

 

How you speak it and how you write it are very different and forum posts blur that line a lot Grammatically it should be "there are" but in spoken word it's easy to shorten and use bad grammar because it sounds better. "There is no others in my area" is wrong, but "There's" becomes idiomatic or whatever that word is that means how people speak naturally. If you use it in writing, then you can put it in a character's speech, but not in narration, unless it's a first person that is already riddled with natural speech patterns.

 

"There are" is correct, since it refers to "no others", which is plural (more than one).

You can also write "There's no other in my area". Since "no other" is singular, it's correct to use "there is".

"There are" can also be contracted to "there're".

I agree, though, that you can use grammatical errors in dialogue. In your character's case, it seems to fit in very well stylistically.

 

Thanks guys, just checking for future reference. Ran into it and seemed like it could go either way. 'There are' sounded better to me though.

 

verbs should agree in number with the subject. "There" is not the subject. though. "No others" is the real subject, despite the inverted order in the sentence.

There are no others in the area.

There is no one else like that in the area.

Of course, what others have said is also corrrect, that dialogue will often contain improper grammar, and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

Thanks man. I always learn something from your posts!

 

Is it just me or does

There are no others and There's no other actually mean the same thing in most cases?

 

i'd say so...

 

This type of usage is known as the "existential there". It cannot be the subject of the sentence as it does not carry any meaning, being used in stead to anticipate the subject in a clause that refers to the existence or occurance of something.