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 • 10803 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 [+]
Last updated: November 15, 2024

Jan 2, 2019 ... Use "There were a lot of people" because "people" is a countable noun. If you were talking of an uncountable noun, you would use was, eg. "There ...
May 8, 2024 ... "There were a lot of people, so I didn't have enough space to play." Grammar / Syntax. Is this sentence grammatically correct? I am ...
Aug 10, 2008 ... There were a lot of people in there. Does "to be" accord with "a lot" or with "people"? I would think the first one but my computer gives me ...
Dec 16, 2014 ... I noticed there were a lot of people posting the night sky on Route 120 in ORAS, so I tried my hand at it. · Comments Section · Community Info ...
Nov 7, 2017 ... there WERE a lot of people or there WAS a lot of people ? · There were alot of people · were. "Was" is used for singular past tense.
Aug 5, 2024 ... 180 likes, 1 comments - rudyfrancisco on August 5, 2024: "Since there were a lot of people on the waitlist who couldn't get tickets to the ...
Aug 19, 2024 ... But there were a lot of people who didn't do good things, and I had some friends who got caught up in that. My parents helped keep me away ...
Aug 16, 2024 ... When I crowdfunded Godspell 13 years ago, I was testing a thesis. I believed there were a lot of people out there interested in investing in ...

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 [+]
Last updated: November 15, 2024

Jan 2, 2019 ... “There was a lot of people at the party.” ('a lot' is singular, hence 'was'). Semantically, this phrase means: 'There was one large party of ...
Jan 11, 2024 ... There was a lot of people in my life who helped raise this bad bad boy right here in the middle, my tio danny and tia tere, my nino eddie, ...
Aug 10, 2008 ... Which is correct? There was a lot of people in there. There were a lot of people in there. Does "to be" accord with "a lot" or with "people" ...
Oct 27, 2024 ... 28 likes, 5 comments - caseyanne_henderson on October 27, 2024: "there was a lot of people curous about the random boot lol #diy ...
Nov 7, 2017 ... there WERE a lot of people or there WAS a lot of people ? · There were alot of people · were. "Was" is used for singular past tense.
Jul 25, 2024 ... Facing outside pressure to transfer, Michigan Football's culture prevailed; Colston Loveland: 'There was a lot of people hitting us up, pulling us every which ...
Jan 7, 2020 ... ... There was a lot of people"? ·. “A lot of people” means “many people”, so it's plural. “A lot of people” means “a big collection of people ...
Jul 16, 2023 ... 12K likes, 75 comments - stephengokulomas on July 16, 2023: "There was a lot of people there. @alixandstephenshow @lgmboys @breakaway ...
May 22, 2024 ... David Meredith (@dmeredithphoto). 1 Reply. 1 Like. There was a lot of people unhappy about the cops shooting the bear.

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

There were a lot of people

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