Q: I first heard the expression “one of the best there is” in a game from 2011, and it’s been on my mind ever since. Shouldn’t it be “one of the best there are”? Please help!
A: The usual expression is “one of the best there is,” an expanded version of the singular noun phrase “one of the best,” which first appeared in the late 1400s.
The full expression appeared in the early 20th century, with “there is” (technically an “existential clause” showing that something exists) apparently added for emphasis.
Google’s Ngram Viewer, which tracks terms in digitized books, recognizes “one of the best there is” but not “one of the best there are,” indicating that the “are” version is seen rarely, if at all, in edited published writing.
The earliest example we’ve found for “one of the best” is from the English printer William Caxton’s late 15th-century translation of an Old French tale that dates from the 12th century:
“But of all Fraunce I am one of the best & truest knyght that be in it.” From The Right Plesaunt and Goodly Historie of the Foure Sonnes of Aymon (circa 1489), Caxton’s translation of of Quatre Fils Aymon.
And here’s an example from “A Gest [tale] of Robyn Hode,” an anonymous ballad about Robin Hood, written in the late 15th or early 16th century:
“Thou art one of the best sworde-men that euer yit sawe I.” From English & Scottish Popular Ballads (popularly known as the Child Ballads, 1888), edited by Francis James Child.
The longer expression, “one of the best there is,” first appeared at the turn of the 20th century. The earliest example we’ve found is from a description in a horticultural magazine of the Blenheim Orange melon, a muskmelon or cantaloupe:
“This Melon holds its own as one of the best, not only so far as flavour and size are concerned, but also in the matter of constitution; indeed, from this latter standpoint, I think it is absolutely one of the best there is, any sign of canker among the plants being very rare” (from The Garden, London, Aug. 24, 1901).
In the clause as a whole—“it is absolutely one of the best there is”—“there is” refers to “one,” and the entire noun phrase (“one of the best there is”) refers to the singular subject “it.” That’s why “there is,” not “there are,” is used here.
On the other hand, “there are” would be used in a clause with a plural subject—“they are absolutely three of the best there are.”
You may be confused because of the tricky use of “there” when it’s a dummy subject at the beginning of a sentence or clause in which the real subject follows.
As The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language explains, “Most clauses with there as subject have be as the verb, and these are called existential clauses.”
In such clauses, Cambridge says, “the dummy pronoun there” lacks “semantic content,” and is “simply the marker of a grammatical construction, serving to fill the subject position.” In other words, “there” in this case is a placeholder without meaning of its own.
When a statement begins with “there,” the verb can be either singular or plural, as in these examples from Pat’s grammar and usage book Woe Is I:
“ ‘There is [or there’s] a fly in my soup!’ said Mr. LaFong. ‘And there are lumps in the gravy!’ The choice can be tricky, because there is only a phantom subject. In the first example, the real subject is fly; in the second it’s lumps.”
As Pat writes, “The rule to remember is that the verb after there should agree with the following subject: there is (or there’s) when the real subject is singular, there are when it’s plural.”
However, she adds that when a compound subject follows “there,” you have a choice:
“ • You can follow the formal rule and use a plural verb: There are chicken, vegetables, and gravy in the soup.
“ • You can make the verb agree with the closest noun: There’s [or There is] chicken, vegetables, and gravy in the soup.”
We follow those guidelines in our writing, but some respected writers do their own thing.
Shakespeare, for example, often uses “there is” along with plural subjects, as in this example from his history play Henry V, believed written around 1599: “there is throats to be cut, and works to be done.”
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