THE
VERB “TO BE” “THERE IS (ARE)” CONSTRUCTION
We use ―there is
(are)‖ constructions talking about the existence or absence of people or things in a definite place. These constructions have the meaning «есть, имеется, находится, существует».
The verb ―to be‖ in such
constructions can be used in different tense forms: there is/are, there was/were, there will be, there has/have been, there had been. The verb ―to be‖ in such constructions can be used with
modal verbs (can, may, must, ought to):
There must be a dictionary on the shelf. We can also use some other verbs
after ―there‖ – to
live, to exist, to stand, to lie,
etc.: There exist different opinions on
the problem.
In ―there
is (are)‖ constructions
we
observe the following word order:
―there is
(are)‖+subject+adverbial modifier
of time/place.
The corresponding Russian
sentences begin with adverbial modifiers: There
is a telephone in my room. – В моей комнате есть (имеется) телефон. See the
difference: The telephone is in my room.
– Телефон в моей комнате.
If the subjects are of different number the
predicate agrees with the subject that stands first: There is a table and six chairs in the room. There were some books and
a dictionary on the desk. Commentary: ―There
are plenty of books on the bookshelves in her study‖ is
a sentence with the introductory ― there‖ which is used to point out the existence
of some things in a definite place, the subject of the sentence is
expressed by a countable noun in plural.
―There
isn‘t any soup in the plate‖ ‖
is a sentence with the introductory ― there‖ which
is used to point out the absence of something in a definite place, the
subject of the sentence is expressed by an
uncountable noun.
Ex. 1
Use
“there is (are)” construction in the necessary tense form.
1.
… a good film on TV tomorrow.
2.
The book is good. …
interesting stories in it.
3.
It was late and … many
people in the street.
4.
… a flight to London
tomorrow?
5.
… no meeting next week. It has been cancelled.
6.
… anybody at home when you came?
7.
anything strange about him yesterday.
8.
How many students … in your
group next year?
9.
How many mistakes … in his
last test?
10. …
a lot of clothes in the wardrobe. Choose anything you like.
11. …
no work for him yesterday. He had nothing to
do.
12. …
any classes on Friday? No, … . It‘s a holiday.
13. …
anything in this box? Let‘s have a look. … a pair of shoes and two dresses.
14. …
many guests at the hotel when you stayed there?
15. …
enough food for all of us and we had a nice lunch.
Ex. 2
Give
short answers.
1.
Are they on holiday? - … .
They are working.
2.
Are there any holidays in
September? - … . It‘s a busy month.
3.
Were they present at the
meeting? - … . I saw them.
4.
Were there many people
present at the meeting? - … . Almost everybody
came.
5.
Were they on holiday last
month? - … . They are having a holiday next month.
6.
Were there many people in
the doctor‘s waiting room? - … . I was alone.
7.
Are your friends nice
people? - … . They are the best people I‘ve ever seen.
8.
Are there any flowers in
their garden? - … They are fond of flowers.
