The sentence "There are a pen and two books" is often used to illustrate a common point of confusion in English grammar.
Strictly speaking, the grammatically correct form should be: "There is a pen and two books." This is because the verb typically agrees with the first item listed after "there"—in this case, the singular "a pen."
However, many native speakers use "There are..." when the overall subject feels plural (because of "two books"). Both forms appear in real usage, but formal writing usually prefers agreement with the nearest noun.
Example variations:
- There is a pen and two books on the table. ✅ (formal)
- There are two books and a pen on the table. ✅ (also correct—verb agrees with "two books")
- There are a pen and two books on the table. ⚠️ (common in speech, but debated in writing)