“There” as Subject: Existential There
Summary
The word there functions as the subject of a sentence to introduce a situation that exists. It is then called the existential there.
- There’s an elephant in the garden.
- There are three eggs left in the tray.
- There is something I needed to tell you.
- There were hundreds of daffodils dancing in the field.
What is existential there?
The word there can be used as a dummy subject to say that something happens or exists. When used as such, the pronoun there doesn’t refer to anything specific but merely introduces a situation that exists. It is therefore called the existential there or anticipatory there.
- There is a cat in my hat.
not “Is a cat in my hat”
- There’s a storm coming.
- There is no reason to worry.
- There’s still hope and plenty of it.
A clause needs a subject, which tells us whom or what the sentence is about. When a subject isn’t available, there functions as the subject. Such usage is perfectly natural in both speech and writing.
- Correct: There’s some ice-cream for you in the freezer
Incorrect: Is some ice-cream for you in the freezer.
Incorrect: Some ice-cream is for you in the freezer.
Apart from the word there, the empty it is also used as a dummy subject in English.
- Correct: It’s Sunday morning.
Incorrect: Is Sunday morning.
When is there used as subject?
There is used as a subject to talk about time and place, and quantity and number.
- There’s always hope.
Not “Is a storm coming.” We could say, “A storm is coming,” but that would sound unidiomatic.
- There’s no such thing as a good lie.
- There is something I wanted to check with you.
- There is light at the end of this tunnel.
Not “Light is there at the end of this tunnel.”
- There is a full moon tonight.
- There’s a strange spot on the wall.
- There are many ways to solve this problem.
- There are only three apples left in the basket.
- There is a lot of water in the ocean.
There is used not only to assert the existence of something but also to negate it.
- There isn’t a cloud in the sky.
In general, use there to introduce a new topic, to quantify, and to assert the existence of something.
- There is also the issue of credibility.
- There are numerous ways to solve this problem.
- There’s a path that leads down to the river.
Existential there + be verb
Since existential there as subject presents new information and describes the existence of something, it is usually followed by forms of the be verb— there is/are, there was/were, there will be.
- There’s a mouse in the house.
- There is something we need to talk about.
- There isn’t any money left.
- There are three questions you must answer.
- There are many things that I would like to say to you.
- There was no reason to panic.
- There were seven ways out of the forest, but we didn’t know that.
- There will be cake and ice-cream after dinner.
Only in formal and literary styles is existential there used with verbs other than the be verb.
The next morning, when Thomasin withdrew the curtains of her bedroom window, there stood the Maypole in the middle of the green, its top cutting into the sky.
— Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native (1878)In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.
— J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (1937)And then there came the pounding of another drum, as if another giant were coming yards behind him, and each giant, intent on his own drum, gave no notice to the rhythm of the other.
— Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire (1976)Once upon a time, there lived a boy and a girl.
— Haruki Murakami, The Elephant Vanishes (1993)
Agreement with real subject
To check whether to use is or are after the existential there, find the real subject of the sentence. Remember that the word there is just a dummy subject used to introduce the real one. The verb used should agree with the real subject of a sentence.
- There is an elephant in the garden.
The real subject, “an elephant,” is singular. Use the singular verb “is.”
- There are three elephants in the garden.
Aside from the fact that this must be a pretty big garden, what we know is that the real subject is “three elephants.” Use the plural verb “are.”
- There are an elephant and a giraffe in the garden.
The real subject, “an elephant and a giraffe,” is a plural compound subject. Use “are.”
In informal communication, particularly in speech, there is or there’s is often used in both singular and plural constructions.
- There’s a bus to George Town leaving every half hour from here.
- There’s three buses going every day to George Town.
- There’s a few almonds left, if you want one.
In formal writing, however, contractions like there’s are generally avoided, and the distinction between there is and there are is maintained.
- But there is an exception to this rule.
- But there are a few exceptions to this rule.
The real subject of the sentence, “a few exceptions,” is plural.
With indefinite subject
Existential there is preferred in sentences with an indefinite subject (An indefinite subject is someone or something that is unknown). Using there to introduce such a subject places focus on it.
- There’s someone I would like you to meet.
Note how there wouldn’t work with a definite subject: “There’s Jenny I would like you to meet” sounds wrong, but there works perfectly to introduce an unknown “someone.”
- There’s something I should tell you.
- We looked out the window, and there was a man standing in our garden with a spade in his hand.
- There are people who still believe in truth and justice.
- There are stories in every life, if we only listen.
In passive constructions
There may be used as a dummy subject when the speaker or writer wants to distance themselves from a statement. It can also be used in passive constructions where the doer or agent is relatively unimportant.
- Impersonal: There is no evidence of fraud in this case.
More personal: We found no evidence of fraud in this case. - Impersonal: There are three steps to remember in the process.
More personal: You should remember three steps in the process. - Impersonal: There have been protest marches across universities.
More personal: Students have held protest marches across universities.
There as subject introduces an objective or impersonal assertion. This can sound evasive in certain situations.
- Impersonal (evasive): There may be reason to believe that the president’s statement is false.
More personal (less evasive): We have reason to believe that the president’s statement is false.
Overuse
Unfortunately, the word there is easily overused as the subject of a sentence. A dummy subject like there is not required in sentences that describe an action rather than a state and where the performer of the action can be clearly identified. When you have a clear and direct agent, using there can make a sentence unnecessarily wordy and vague.
Before you start a sentence with there, check whether you can provide a more specific subject instead. This will help you convey a clearer picture to the reader.
- Poor: There are three hypotheses that we tested.
Better: We tested three hypotheses. - Poor: There have been many theories.
Better: Researchers have advanced many theories. - Poor: There were two jobs I worked while in college.
Better: I worked two jobs while in college.
Many sentences starting with existential there can be rewritten to provide more specific details. This is especially true of sentences where the real verb isn’t the be verb but another verb.
- Poor: There are many who believe
Better: Many analysts believeThe verb here is believe rather than are. - Poor: There are studies that have been conducted
Better: Studies have been conducted - Poor: There is a need
Better: We see a need - Poor: There are issues to consider
Better: We should consider certain issues
Examples from literature
In the following sentences from famous novels, examine how there is used as subject to introduce the existence of a situation or an indefinite subject.
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.
— Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847)The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.
— Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)In the town, there were two mutes and they were always together.
— Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940)There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.
— C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)This time there would be no witnesses.
— Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (1987)There was even a bit of sullen thunder now, not the outgoing sort that cracks the sky but the other sort, which hangs around the horizons and gossips nastily with other storms.
— Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum (1998)Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.
— Anne Tyler, Back When We Were Grownups (2001)