Bending grammar rules
There’s – it is a contraction we don’t give a second thought to in conversation.
And it seems many of us are using it slightly different in spoken language compared to written language – but that’s not a bad thing, a linguistics expert says.
‘‘There’s’’ is typically used as a shortened form or contraction of ‘‘there is’’ (and also ‘‘there has’’). The grammar rule is that when you are referring to a singular subject ‘‘there is’’ is correct, but for plurals that would switch to ‘‘there are’’.
But Waikato University linguistics senior lecturer Dr Andreaa Calude said people are bending the grammar rules, using ‘‘there’s’’ for not only ‘‘there is’’ but also ‘‘there are’’ – regardless of what follows the verb.
‘‘We don’t plan very well, so we have a stock phrase that just comes out like a formula, for example, there’s,’’ Calude explained.
‘‘By the time we get into a long sentence, we realise we need to use a plural, but we’ve already used ‘there’s’. We don’t plan for it, but we carry on and the listener can still understand and knows what we mean.’’
She added it’s not wrong, but not so black and white compared to written form. And she wanted people to know that it was OK.
‘‘We measure speech by the same yardstick as writing, even though speech is done differently and has a different function. The grammar of speech is different to the grammar of writing.
‘‘We’re not clued up with what happens in speech. We think it must be bad because it’s not like writing, but that’s not the case.’’
And it can’t be blamed on millennials being lazy either – Calude said recent research shows it dates back to Irish migrants who first used the contraction.
‘‘It’s been like that for quite a long time, it’s not even new … It’s not corrupt from text language.
‘‘The New Zealand English language is fascinating and speech is its own separate communication channel.’’