EXISTENTIAL SENTENCE

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | 700+ words | Copyright

EXISTENTIAL SENTENCE. A SENTENCE stating that something exists, usually consisting of there, the verb be, and an indefinite noun phrase: There's a tavern in the town. There must be somebody we can ask. Where more information follows (as in There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, who had … ), there can be dispensed with (An old woman lived in a shoe, who had … ). When there is used like this, as a prop subject, the newness of the information in the sentence is emphasized. That there is subject-like is shown by its use in question tags: There's no problem, is there? Existential there-sentences can also occur with some other verbs: There came a big spider, and sat down beside her; There then began a time of great fear. See GRAMMAR.

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TOM McARTHUR. "EXISTENTIAL SENTENCE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "EXISTENTIAL SENTENCE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-EXISTENTIALSENTENCE.html

TOM McARTHUR. "EXISTENTIAL SENTENCE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-EXISTENTIALSENTENCE.html

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