E Write: Put in have been, have gone, has been, is beingorwere. IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL EVENING!

This is what Angela wrote in her diary last night: Mr and Mrs Lucas 1 have gone to the theatre. They 2 … away for two hours now and I 3… with Jenny. This is the first time I 4 (ever) … a baby-sitter and I'm not finding it easy. Jenny is seven years old. She is very nice, but she5 … a real nuisance. She won't stay in bed and she won't sit still. I really don't know what to do.' This is what happened next:

Mr and Mrs Lucas 6 … home at 11.30. The house was very quiet and all the lights 7 … on. Jenny was sitting on the floor, playing with her toys. Her mother rushed up to her. 'Hullo, Jenny.' She said. 'Are you all right? I hope you 8 (not) … naughty’. ‘Where's Angela?' 'She's sitting at the kitchen table,' Jenny answered. 'She9 …asleep for the last two hours. She 10 …a very good girl. I've had a lovely time. It 11… a wonderful evening!'

 

10.3 ‘There' + 'be' 10.3A There' + 'be' as a 'natural choice' [> LEG 10.19]

1 We use there is, etc. (Not "it has*or "it is") when we are talking about or asking about the existence of people, things, etc. It is more 'natural' to say: There's a man at the door, than to say: A man is at the door.

2 We use there is, there was, there will be, there has been/had been when we want to:

- announce or report events: There'll be a meeting tomorrow. There's been an accident.

- set a scene for story-telling: There had been no rain for months. The earth was bare.

Write: a Tick the sentences which sound more idiomatic or 'natural'. b Rephrase the unticked sentences using There.

1 There are two men at the door. V 2 A good clothes shop is not far from here. There is a good clothes shop not far from here. 3 There was an interesting article about that in yesterday's paper… 4 A photograph of that girl was in last week's magazine… 5 A new security system will be in operation from next week… 6 There'll be a lot of supporters at the match. 7 A public holiday is on May 1st… 8 A meeting between the two world leaders will be in Helsinki.

 

10.3B 'There is', etc. compared with 'it is', etc. [> LEG 10.20]

First we show existence with There is, then we use personal pronouns (he, she, it or they) to give more details: There was a concert in our village last night, ('existence') It (= The concert) was in the village hall, ('more details') Note how this happens in the following sentences: There's a bus coming, but it's full.There's a man at the door. It's the postman, [compare > 3.4A, 4.1 A] There's a man at the door. He wants to speak to you. There are some children at the door. They want to see Jimmy. There's a van stopping outside. It's someone delivering something.

Write: Supply there and a personal pronoun (it, he, she or they) in the blanks.

1 There were a lot of people at the concert, and they all enjoyed it. 2… 's a policewoman waiting to see you. …. 's in your office. 3 … 's a parcel here for you. I think …'s that book you've been waiting for. 4 …'II be a new boy in your class today. … 's just arrived from Hong Kong. 5 … has been a lot of argument about the plan. … has all centred on traffic problems. 6 … have been serious riots in this country. …have all been about the price of food. 7... 's a review in today's paper of the film we saw last night. ….'s very favourable. 8 … 's a dog in our garden …'s our next door neighbour's. 9 Is … a route ([ru:t] маршрут; шлях, курс, траса;; засіб, шлях) to the town centre from here and is … more direct? 10 Are … any applicants for the job and are … suitable?

 

10.3C Combinations with 'there' + 'be' [> LEG 10.17,10.21 -2,11.76]

1 There is, there are, there was and there were are the most common combinations:There's a phone call for you. There was a phone call for you this morning.

2 We also use there with different tenses, for example [compare > 11.13D]:

- perfect tenses: There has (there's) been an accident. He said there had (there 'd) been an accident. There haven't been many earthquakes in England.

- future tenses: There will (there'll) be a letter for me tomorrow. There'll have been an answer by Friday.

3 There also combines with seem to be and appear to be: There seems to be a mistake in our bill. There appears to be no one in.

Write: Complete these sentences with the correct forms of there + be or seem.

1 There was an exhibition of Venetian glass last month. 2 … days when I don't feel like going to work. 3 … any letters for me today? – No, … none. Oh, yes, sorry … some here. 4 … anything I can do to help? – Yes, … something. You can file those reports. 5 We'll have to rearrange the room … a lot more people here than we thought. 6 I've just driven down South Street …a terrible accident on the corner. 7 … more jobs for everybody if more money is invested by large companies. 8 Where can I put these cherries? - …my shopping bag. You can put them in there. 9 What did he say? - He said …no news from Fred for months. 10 There's a big match on TV tonight …? 11 … to be fewer teaspoons in the drawer than there should be. 12 … to be less money in my pay packet than I had expected.