There Has Been or There Have Been: Which Is Correct?

When you want to say that something has happened, existed, or occurred recently, you may wonder whether to use “there has been” or “there have been.” Both forms are correct, but they are used with different kinds of nouns. The key is to look at the noun that comes after there has/have been, not at the word there itself.

Use “there has been” with a singular noun or an uncountable noun: There has been a problem or There has been some confusion. Use “there have been” with a plural noun: There have been several problems. Understanding this simple agreement rule will help you avoid one of the most common mistakes with the present perfect form of there is/there are.

Quick Answer

Use “there has been” before a singular or uncountable noun, and use “there have been” before a plural noun. For example, “There has been a delay” is correct because delay is singular, while “There have been several delays” is correct because delays is plural.

Why Do People Confuse “There Has Been” and “There Have Been”?

The confusion happens because there is not the subject controlling the verb.

In sentences beginning with there has been or there have been, the noun or noun phrase that follows determines whether you need has or have.

Compare:

• There has been a mistake. → mistake is singular.
• There have been several mistakes. → mistakes is plural.

The same pattern applies to there is/are:

• There is a problem.
• There are two problems.

And to the present perfect:

• There has been a problem.
• There have been two problems.

“There Has Been”: Meaning and Usage

There has been is used when the noun that follows is singular or uncountable.

The structure is:

There has been + singular noun

Examples:

• There has been a change.
• There has been an accident.
• There has been a misunderstanding.
• There has been some confusion.
• There has been too much noise.

“There Has Been” With Singular Nouns

Use has when you are talking about one countable thing.

There has been a problem with the computer.

Here, problem is singular, so has been is correct.

Another example:

There has been an increase in prices.

The noun increase is singular.

“There Has Been” With Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns also take has because they are grammatically singular.

Examples include:

• information
• advice
• traffic
• confusion
• progress
• trouble
• pollution
• damage

For example:

There has been some progress.

Not:

There have been some progress.

“There Have Been”: Meaning and Usage

There have been is used when the noun that follows is plural.

The structure is:

There have been + plural noun

Examples:

• There have been several changes.
• There have been many complaints.
• There have been three accidents.
• There have been some problems.
• There have been several delays.

“There Have Been” With Plural Nouns

When you are talking about more than one person, thing, event, or situation, use have been.

There have been many changes this year.

The noun changes is plural, so have been is required.

Another example:

There have been several meetings this week.

Because meetings is plural, have been is correct.

There Has Been vs There Have Been: Comparison Table

Phrase	Used With	Example
There has been	Singular countable noun	There has been a problem.
There has been	Uncountable noun	There has been some confusion.
There have been	Plural noun	There have been several problems.
There have been	Plural people/things/events	There have been many visitors.

The easiest rule is:

Singular or uncountable → has been
Plural → have been

When Should You Use “There Has Been”?

Use there has been when the following noun is singular or uncountable.

Singular examples

• There has been a mistake.
• There has been a delay.
• There has been an improvement.
• There has been a change.
• There has been a misunderstanding.

Uncountable examples

• There has been some progress.
• There has been a lot of traffic.
• There has been too much noise.
• There has been little discussion.
• There has been considerable damage.

When Should You Use “There Have Been”?

Use there have been when the noun that follows is plural.

Examples:

• There have been many complaints.
• There have been several changes.
• There have been three accidents.
• There have been many improvements.
• There have been some interesting developments.

The number of things matters:

There has been one accident.

There have been two accidents.

12 Examples of “There Has Been” and “There Have Been”

1. There has been a problem with the printer.
2. There has been an important change in the schedule.
3. There has been some confusion about the instructions.
4. There has been a lot of rain this week.
5. There has been significant progress on the project.
6. There has been an increase in demand.
7. There have been several problems with the system.
8. There have been many changes since last year.
9. There have been three meetings this month.
10. There have been several complaints from customers.
11. There have been many opportunities to learn.
12. There have been some unexpected delays.

Notice that has and have change according to the noun that follows.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Using “have” with a singular noun

❌ There have been a problem.

✅ There has been a problem.

Problem is singular.

Mistake 2: Using “has” with a plural noun

❌ There has been many problems.

✅ There have been many problems.

Problems is plural.

Mistake 3: Focusing on “there”

Some learners think there should determine the verb.

It does not.

Compare:

There has been a problem.

The relevant noun is problem.

There have been several problems.

The relevant noun is problems.

Mistake 4: Treating uncountable nouns as plural

❌ There have been some information about the incident.

✅ There has been some information about the incident.

Information is uncountable and normally takes a singular verb.

A Simple Memory Trick

Think:

One → HAS
More than one → HAVE

For example:

• One problem → There has been a problem.
• Two problems → There have been two problems.

You can also remember:

HAS = singular
HAVE = plural

For uncountable nouns, remember that they normally behave grammatically like singular nouns:

There has been some progress.

American vs British English

The basic rule for there has been and there have been is the same in American and British English.

Both varieties use:

There has been a change.

And:

There have been several changes.

The difference between American and British English is more noticeable in some other present-perfect constructions, but it does not change this basic subject–verb agreement rule.

Similar Words and Structures

Understanding related structures can make this rule easier.

There is vs There are

There is is generally used with singular or uncountable nouns.

There is a problem.

There are is used with plural nouns.

There are several problems.

There was vs There were

For the past tense:

There was a problem.

There were several problems.

There has been vs There have been

For the present perfect:

There has been a problem.

There have been several problems.

There will be

With will be, the form does not change according to singular or plural nouns:

There will be a meeting.

There will be several meetings.

Final Verdict: There Has Been or There Have Been?

Both “there has been” and “there have been” are correct. The choice depends on the noun that follows.

Use there has been with a singular or uncountable noun:

There has been a mistake.

Use there have been with a plural noun:

There have been several mistakes.

So, the best rule to remember is:

There has been + singular/uncountable noun
There have been + plural noun

Frequently Asked Questions

Is “there has been” grammatically correct?

Yes. There has been is correct when it is followed by a singular noun or an uncountable noun.

There has been a problem.

There has been some confusion.

Is “there have been” grammatically correct?

Yes. There have been is correct when it is followed by a plural noun.

There have been several problems.

Which is correct: “there has been many” or “there have been many”?

There have been many is correct when many refers to a plural noun.

There have been many changes.

Not:

There has been many changes.

Is it “there has been a lot” or “there have been a lot”?

Usually, there has been a lot is correct when a lot means a large amount of an uncountable thing.

There has been a lot of rain.

But with a plural noun:

There have been a lot of problems.

Can “there has been” be used with an uncountable noun?

Yes. Uncountable nouns generally take singular agreement.

There has been some progress.

There has been enough information.

Can “there have been” be used with people?

Yes. If people is plural, use have been.

There have been many people at the event.

What is the easiest way to remember the difference?

Look at the noun after been. If it is singular or uncountable, use has been. If it is plural, use have been.

Remember This

There has been → singular or uncountable

• There has been a problem.
• There has been some progress.

There have been → plural

• There have been several problems.
• There have been many improvements.

Do not let there confuse you. The noun that follows determines whether you need has or have.

The most useful shortcut is simply: one thing = has; more than one = have.

Conclusion

The difference between there has been and there have been is mainly a matter of subject–verb agreement. Although there appears at the beginning of the sentence, the noun following been determines the correct form. Use there has been for a singular or uncountable noun and there have been for a plural noun.

Once you identify whether the noun is singular, uncountable, or plural, the choice becomes easy. Remember the basic pattern—there has been a problem but there have been several problems—and you will be able to use both expressions naturally and correctly.