There were a lot of people vs There was a lot of people

The correct phrase is 'there were a lot of people.' 'Were' is the correct verb to use because 'people' is a plural noun. 'Was' should not be used with a plural noun like 'people'.

Explained by Jennifer
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: November 01, 2024 • 10656 views

There were a lot of people

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

Use 'there were a lot of people' when referring to a large number of individuals. 'Were' is the correct verb to use with the plural noun 'people.'

Examples:

There were a lot of people at the concert.
There were a lot of people waiting in line.
There were a lot of people in the park.
There were a lot of people in the room.
There were a lot of people on the bus.

Show examples from the web [+]

There were a lot of people at that party that night, I figured someone, took off with it, later.
[Scoffs] There were a lot of people at that party.
There were a lot of people back then, too.
There were a lot of people at the fund-raiser.
I and my sister went down, and I was happy 'cause there were a lot of people.
Once I watched a movie on TV where there were a lot of people in bus station and they didn't get to leave.
There were a lot of people in the park.
No There were a lot of people
Yesterday there were a lot of people.
But there were a lot of people on that beach yesterday, so anyone could have stolen it from his trailer.
Realising that there were a lot of people out to get him, he conjured up a plan... to fake his own death.
...there were a lot of people here who wanted to see you fall and fall hard.
There were a lot of people walking past.
There were a lot of people who thought that.
There were a lot of people ahead of her on the list.
There were a lot of people in Ali's life we didn't know about.
There were a lot of people like that around where I lived.
There were a lot of people on Blade Runner, looking around, watching...
There were a lot of people there.
There were a lot of people on both sides of the street.

Alternatives:

There was a large crowd of people.
Many people were present.
A large number of individuals were there.
The place was crowded with people.
The area was filled with people.

There was a lot of people

This phrase is incorrect in English. 'Was' should not be used with the plural noun 'people.'

Show examples from the web [+]

Aug 23, 2012 ... What would you say in the past tense: "There was a lot of people" or "There were a lot of people"? Would both be common and acceptable in ...
Jan 28, 2011 ... The sentence might start 'there was': 'There was a lot of people' is colloquial, and not everyone likes it or think it's correct. But some people do ...
2 hours ago ... "There were a lot of people trying to help, there was a lot of people really trying to do something, everyone was worried and scared," said ...
It was just overwhelming, there was a lot of people there. And I don't think my dad ever did anything because it was gonna have a big crowd at his funeral or ...

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There were a lot of people vs There was a lot of people

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