"There is a large number" Or "There are a large number"? [duplicate]

Solution 1:

"A large number of proverbs" indicates a plural phrase because "proverbs" is the subject, and "a large number of" is of an adjective,which modifies its subject. Therefore, I'd say "There are a large number of something."

There is also a similar look phrase "the number of X". In contrast to "a number of", "the number of" is the subject of the phrase, and all the time it represents to a number, like 8 or 11. "The number of" phrase always pairs with a verb in singular, e.g. the number of vehicles in the place A is as twice many as it in the place B.

Solution 2:

'Number' is singular. Correct usage is 'There is a large number', though many native speakers make the mistake of using 'are'.