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Techniques and methods in Language Teaching > There is, There are
There is, There are
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HOLYMARY_852
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There is, There are
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We usually use the phrases �There is � or �There are � in the beginning of sentences. But what do we call this in English Grammar. How to explain this to students?
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18 Jul 2009
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anitarobi
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I usually tell them this is how you start a sentence to describe a place, picture or situation, to show what is situated there or part of sth.
edit: sorry, I see you meant the name for it. My high school English teacher called it the descriptive sentence introduction, though I don´t remember anyone ever telling us (even at university) the official name for it. You make an interesting point. Though I´m not big on names - ´A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet.´  |
18 Jul 2009
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meteorit91
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There is ,There are are constructions we use when we want to say the location of an object/objects or a person,an animal ...and we use the prepositions of place.eg. There is a dog under the bed.
It - is an impersonal pronoun when we talk about weather ,e.g. It snows. It is cold.
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18 Jul 2009
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almaz
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According to David Crystal, when we want to bring the content of a whole clause to the attention of the reader/listener, we can use a construction where the first few words have no meaning and so don �t detract from the important information of the clause. The principal means is to use there is/ there are. This is known as an �empty theme � (sometimes �dummy theme �) or the �existential there �. eg There are lots of fairies at the bottom of my garden.
Shouldn �t be confused with there as an adverb of place ( THERE they are! Over there!)
So, �empty � or �dummy � theme, anyone? |
18 Jul 2009
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HOLYMARY_852
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Thanks everyone for the clarification.
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18 Jul 2009
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ballycastle1
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Parrott calls them �dummy subjects �, while Swan simply refers to �a kind of preparatory subject �. |
18 Jul 2009
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