Lecture 17,Existential Sentence
? Aims,
? 1,Structural properties of existential sentences
? 2,non-finite existential clauses
? Key words,
? existential sentence 存在句,introductory (there) 引导词,
notional subject 实意主语
?
? The existential sentence is a special type of sentence
structure that denotes the existence of something,The
communicative function of an existential sentence is to
elicit a new topic,which,as focus of information,is
generally expressed by the,notional subject” coming after
the verb phrase,
? 24.1 Structural properties of existential
sentences
? The existential sentence generally begins with an
unstressed there as formal subject followed by a
form of the verb be or other verb that is related to
the notion of existence,Following the verb is a
noun phrase,which is known as the,notional” or
“real” subject as distinguished from the formal
subject,and the notional subject is usually followed
by a locative,or at times by a temporal adverbial,
Thus,the general pattern of an existential sentence
is as follows,
? There + be + NP + locative / temporal adverbial
? 24.1.1 Introductory there
? Introductory there functions as formal subject not only in
statements but also in questions,where the formal subject
and operator are inverted,
? In informal style,introductory there often determines
subject-verb concord in an existential sentence,that is,the
form of the verb is not determined by the number of the
following noun phrase but by the non-plural form of the
introductory word,
? Introductory there is different from a fronted adverb there
in that it is unstressed and meaningless,while the initial
adverb there is stressed and acts as an adverbial of place,
? 24.1.2 Notional subject
? The notional subject,which is actually the focus of information,is
usually a noun phrase with indefinite specific reference,The
determiners commonly occurring in this kind of noun phrase include
the indefinite article,the zero article,and other indefinite determiners
such as some,any,no,several,many,much,more,(a) few,(a) little,
less,another,a lot of,plenty of,a number of,enough,as well as the
cardinal numerals,
? The notional subject can also be realized by some-,any-,no-
compounds,such as something,nothing,anyone,etc,
? Just as the notional subject of existential sentence is commonly an
indefinite noun phrase,so any statement with an indefinite noun
phrase as subject and a verb phrase containing the verb be can
generally be transformed into an existential sentence,
? e.g.,Plenty of people are getting promotion,
? = There are plenty of people getting promotion,
? 24.1.3 Predicator in existential sentence
? The predicator or predicate verb of an existential sentence is
commonly a form of the verb be,finite or non-finite,simple or
perfective,The predicator may also be realized by,modal + be / have
been” or,semi-auxiliary + be”,
? e.g.,There can be very little doubt about his guilt,
? There can’t have been much traffic so late at night,
? There appears to be no doubt about it,
? Apart from the verb be,there are at least three classes of
semantically-related verbs that can act as predicator in an existential
sentence,These include verbs of existence and position,such as exist,
live,stand,lie; verbs of motion,such as come,go,walk; and verbs of
emergence or development,such as appear,arise,emerge,develop,
happen,occur,etc,
? e.g.,There arose in his imagination visions of a world empire,
? Long,long ago,there lived six blind men in India,
? Behind the village,there flows / lies a murmuring stream,
? 24.2 Non-finite existential clauses
? A non-finite existential clause is one whose
predicator is a non-finite verb phrase,There are two
types of non-finite existential clauses,
? There to be / have been + NP + locative / temporal
adverbial
? There being + NP + locative / temporal adverbial
? These forms can be used,
? 24.2.1 As prepositional complementation
? Both forms can be used as prepositional
complementation,If the preposition is for,it usually
takes the,there to be” form as complementation,
With other prepositions,the complementation
usually takes the,there being” form,
? e.g.,They planned for there to be another
meeting,
? John was relying on there being another
opportunity,
? 24.2.2 As object
? This applies more often than not to the,there to be”
form,There are only a limited number of verbs that
can take a,there to be” form as object,These verbs
include expect,mean,intend,want,like,prefer,
hate,etc,
? e.g.,Members like there to be plenty of choice,
? 24.2.3 As subject and adverbial
? As subject,the,there being” form is commonly
used,
? e.g.,There being a bus stop so near the house
is a great advantage,
? When the,there to be” form is used as subject,it is
usually introduced by for,
? e.g.,It was unusual for there to be so few
people in the streets,
“there be...”句型的几个变异结构
? 英语存在句的表现形式很多，但要数 "there be..."句型
最引人注目。
? "there be..."句型是存在句的常用基本结构,there在句
中处于主语位置，起形式主语的作用，真正的主语是
随后的名词词组。其谓语动词通常是 be的各种时、体
等形式。如,
? There is ice on the lake,湖上有冰。
? There were three students in the classroom then,当
时教室有三个学生。
? There has never been anybody like you,从来还没有
像你这样的人。
? There will be snow on high ground.在高地上将会有雪。
? 除此之外,there be句型还有一些特殊的结构,
? 1,there + 情态助动词 + be表示 "预见 ","可能 ","必
然 "或 "过去习惯存在 "等。如,
? There might be some desserts if you wait a bit,如果
你等一会儿，可能会有甜点。
? There ought to have been someone on duty all the
time,本来应该有人全天值班。
? There shall be no more wars,再也不会打仗了。
? 也可以用 there + 某些半助动词 + be（ 很少使用完成体
形式），如,be going to,be certain to,be sure to,be
likely to,have to be等。
? There is going to be a rain,要下雨了。
? There's likely to be an interview.可能会有一场面试。
? There has to be a mistake,必定有错。
? 2,在正式文体中，某些表示存在、发生、出现、坐落等意义的不及物动词也
可以与 there连用，如,appear,seem,come,remain,exist,live,stand,lie,
arise,enter,follow,occur,rise,grow,happen,belong,arrive,fly,flash,sail,
pass,run,spring up,emerge等。如,
? There exist many ancient temples in the country,那个国家有很多古老的寺
庙。
? There lies a small village in the mountain.山里有个小村子。
? Once upon a time,there lived an old queer man in the city,从前，城里住着
个怪老头。
? There remains nothing more to be done,没有什么别的事可做了。
? There followed the first world war,接着就是第一次世界大战。
? There flashed through his mind the image of a heroic fighter.他的头脑中闪
过英雄战士的形象。
? There sprang up a wild gale.突然刮起一阵狂风。
? 偶尔也能见到 there后接及物动词,
? There struck me a sudden idea,突然我有了一个主意。
? 如果句中的地点状语前移就可以省略 there。 如,
? Behind the house (there) is a small river,
? 3,there + 不定式 to be 或 there + being形式，称为非限定存在
句，可以作主语、宾语、介词补足成分。
? 1) 作主语
? There being a railway station in the town is a great advantage,
镇上有个火车站，真方便呀！
? "there to be+NP"作主语时，通常用 for作引导词,
? For there to be a mistake in a computer's arithmetic is
impossible,计算机计算错误是不可能的。
? It was seldom for there to be no late comers,新来者很少没有
迟到的。
? 2) 作宾语
? The committee anticipated there being less debate in the
second discussion,委员会期望在第二次讨论中争议能少一些。
? We expect there to be no objections,我们希望不会有人反对。
? I'd prefer there to be more cooperation,我希望有更多的合作。
? 3) 作介词补足成分,介词是 for,用 there to be形式； 介词不是
for,则用 there being形式。
? What's the chance of there being an election this year?今年进
行选举的可能性有多大？
? We have no objection to there being a meeting here,在这儿举
行会议，我们不反对。
? Jill is waiting for there to be a big party.吉尔等着举行一次盛大
的晚会。
? 此外,there + being形式还可以用作状语分句，形成独立主格结
构,
? There being no further discussion,the chairman stood up and
left the meeting-room.没有可讨论的了，主席站了起来，离开了
会议室。
? There having been no rain,the stream was dry,一直没有下雨，
小溪都干涸了。
? "there be..."句型的难点在于它的非限定形式,怎
样分辨使用 there to be 和 there being 呢? 两个
要点是关键：它们在句子中的成分及与句子中
其他成分的搭配关系。如非限定形式的第 2小点
中的例句,anticipate与 there being搭配，而
expect 和 prefer与 there to be配伍。
? "there be..."句型是我们写作中常用的句型，多
了解及掌握它的使用，可以丰富英语句子的表
现力，提高英语句子的层次。
Exercises
? 下面是几道练习题，大家可以试一下用 there to be 和 there
being填空。
? 1,I'd like ________ a swimming pool in the garden,
? 2,There's little hope of ________ a settlement of the dispute,
? 3,For ________ so many mistakes in my homework is
impossible,
? 4,Sam was counting on ________ another chance,
? 5,It's necessary for ________ more houses built next year,
? 6,________ no more choice,the old man cried bitterly,
? 7,________ an index to this dictionary is a great advantage,
? 8,The chairman was surprised at ________ such heated
discussion about the problem,
? 9,Jim intended ________ a family reunion during the
Christmas,
? 10,I hate ________ stops every stop when I travel by train,
Homework
? Exercise 28A on Pages 491-492
? Exercise 28B on Page 493
? Exercise 28A on Pages 491-492
? Exercise 28C on Pages 494-495
? 预习 第 29讲 （ 496-515页）
? Aims,
? 1,Structural properties of existential sentences
? 2,non-finite existential clauses
? Key words,
? existential sentence 存在句,introductory (there) 引导词,
notional subject 实意主语
?
? The existential sentence is a special type of sentence
structure that denotes the existence of something,The
communicative function of an existential sentence is to
elicit a new topic,which,as focus of information,is
generally expressed by the,notional subject” coming after
the verb phrase,
? 24.1 Structural properties of existential
sentences
? The existential sentence generally begins with an
unstressed there as formal subject followed by a
form of the verb be or other verb that is related to
the notion of existence,Following the verb is a
noun phrase,which is known as the,notional” or
“real” subject as distinguished from the formal
subject,and the notional subject is usually followed
by a locative,or at times by a temporal adverbial,
Thus,the general pattern of an existential sentence
is as follows,
? There + be + NP + locative / temporal adverbial
? 24.1.1 Introductory there
? Introductory there functions as formal subject not only in
statements but also in questions,where the formal subject
and operator are inverted,
? In informal style,introductory there often determines
subject-verb concord in an existential sentence,that is,the
form of the verb is not determined by the number of the
following noun phrase but by the non-plural form of the
introductory word,
? Introductory there is different from a fronted adverb there
in that it is unstressed and meaningless,while the initial
adverb there is stressed and acts as an adverbial of place,
? 24.1.2 Notional subject
? The notional subject,which is actually the focus of information,is
usually a noun phrase with indefinite specific reference,The
determiners commonly occurring in this kind of noun phrase include
the indefinite article,the zero article,and other indefinite determiners
such as some,any,no,several,many,much,more,(a) few,(a) little,
less,another,a lot of,plenty of,a number of,enough,as well as the
cardinal numerals,
? The notional subject can also be realized by some-,any-,no-
compounds,such as something,nothing,anyone,etc,
? Just as the notional subject of existential sentence is commonly an
indefinite noun phrase,so any statement with an indefinite noun
phrase as subject and a verb phrase containing the verb be can
generally be transformed into an existential sentence,
? e.g.,Plenty of people are getting promotion,
? = There are plenty of people getting promotion,
? 24.1.3 Predicator in existential sentence
? The predicator or predicate verb of an existential sentence is
commonly a form of the verb be,finite or non-finite,simple or
perfective,The predicator may also be realized by,modal + be / have
been” or,semi-auxiliary + be”,
? e.g.,There can be very little doubt about his guilt,
? There can’t have been much traffic so late at night,
? There appears to be no doubt about it,
? Apart from the verb be,there are at least three classes of
semantically-related verbs that can act as predicator in an existential
sentence,These include verbs of existence and position,such as exist,
live,stand,lie; verbs of motion,such as come,go,walk; and verbs of
emergence or development,such as appear,arise,emerge,develop,
happen,occur,etc,
? e.g.,There arose in his imagination visions of a world empire,
? Long,long ago,there lived six blind men in India,
? Behind the village,there flows / lies a murmuring stream,
? 24.2 Non-finite existential clauses
? A non-finite existential clause is one whose
predicator is a non-finite verb phrase,There are two
types of non-finite existential clauses,
? There to be / have been + NP + locative / temporal
adverbial
? There being + NP + locative / temporal adverbial
? These forms can be used,
? 24.2.1 As prepositional complementation
? Both forms can be used as prepositional
complementation,If the preposition is for,it usually
takes the,there to be” form as complementation,
With other prepositions,the complementation
usually takes the,there being” form,
? e.g.,They planned for there to be another
meeting,
? John was relying on there being another
opportunity,
? 24.2.2 As object
? This applies more often than not to the,there to be”
form,There are only a limited number of verbs that
can take a,there to be” form as object,These verbs
include expect,mean,intend,want,like,prefer,
hate,etc,
? e.g.,Members like there to be plenty of choice,
? 24.2.3 As subject and adverbial
? As subject,the,there being” form is commonly
used,
? e.g.,There being a bus stop so near the house
is a great advantage,
? When the,there to be” form is used as subject,it is
usually introduced by for,
? e.g.,It was unusual for there to be so few
people in the streets,
“there be...”句型的几个变异结构
? 英语存在句的表现形式很多，但要数 "there be..."句型
最引人注目。
? "there be..."句型是存在句的常用基本结构,there在句
中处于主语位置，起形式主语的作用，真正的主语是
随后的名词词组。其谓语动词通常是 be的各种时、体
等形式。如,
? There is ice on the lake,湖上有冰。
? There were three students in the classroom then,当
时教室有三个学生。
? There has never been anybody like you,从来还没有
像你这样的人。
? There will be snow on high ground.在高地上将会有雪。
? 除此之外,there be句型还有一些特殊的结构,
? 1,there + 情态助动词 + be表示 "预见 ","可能 ","必
然 "或 "过去习惯存在 "等。如,
? There might be some desserts if you wait a bit,如果
你等一会儿，可能会有甜点。
? There ought to have been someone on duty all the
time,本来应该有人全天值班。
? There shall be no more wars,再也不会打仗了。
? 也可以用 there + 某些半助动词 + be（ 很少使用完成体
形式），如,be going to,be certain to,be sure to,be
likely to,have to be等。
? There is going to be a rain,要下雨了。
? There's likely to be an interview.可能会有一场面试。
? There has to be a mistake,必定有错。
? 2,在正式文体中，某些表示存在、发生、出现、坐落等意义的不及物动词也
可以与 there连用，如,appear,seem,come,remain,exist,live,stand,lie,
arise,enter,follow,occur,rise,grow,happen,belong,arrive,fly,flash,sail,
pass,run,spring up,emerge等。如,
? There exist many ancient temples in the country,那个国家有很多古老的寺
庙。
? There lies a small village in the mountain.山里有个小村子。
? Once upon a time,there lived an old queer man in the city,从前，城里住着
个怪老头。
? There remains nothing more to be done,没有什么别的事可做了。
? There followed the first world war,接着就是第一次世界大战。
? There flashed through his mind the image of a heroic fighter.他的头脑中闪
过英雄战士的形象。
? There sprang up a wild gale.突然刮起一阵狂风。
? 偶尔也能见到 there后接及物动词,
? There struck me a sudden idea,突然我有了一个主意。
? 如果句中的地点状语前移就可以省略 there。 如,
? Behind the house (there) is a small river,
? 3,there + 不定式 to be 或 there + being形式，称为非限定存在
句，可以作主语、宾语、介词补足成分。
? 1) 作主语
? There being a railway station in the town is a great advantage,
镇上有个火车站，真方便呀！
? "there to be+NP"作主语时，通常用 for作引导词,
? For there to be a mistake in a computer's arithmetic is
impossible,计算机计算错误是不可能的。
? It was seldom for there to be no late comers,新来者很少没有
迟到的。
? 2) 作宾语
? The committee anticipated there being less debate in the
second discussion,委员会期望在第二次讨论中争议能少一些。
? We expect there to be no objections,我们希望不会有人反对。
? I'd prefer there to be more cooperation,我希望有更多的合作。
? 3) 作介词补足成分,介词是 for,用 there to be形式； 介词不是
for,则用 there being形式。
? What's the chance of there being an election this year?今年进
行选举的可能性有多大？
? We have no objection to there being a meeting here,在这儿举
行会议，我们不反对。
? Jill is waiting for there to be a big party.吉尔等着举行一次盛大
的晚会。
? 此外,there + being形式还可以用作状语分句，形成独立主格结
构,
? There being no further discussion,the chairman stood up and
left the meeting-room.没有可讨论的了，主席站了起来，离开了
会议室。
? There having been no rain,the stream was dry,一直没有下雨，
小溪都干涸了。
? "there be..."句型的难点在于它的非限定形式,怎
样分辨使用 there to be 和 there being 呢? 两个
要点是关键：它们在句子中的成分及与句子中
其他成分的搭配关系。如非限定形式的第 2小点
中的例句,anticipate与 there being搭配，而
expect 和 prefer与 there to be配伍。
? "there be..."句型是我们写作中常用的句型，多
了解及掌握它的使用，可以丰富英语句子的表
现力，提高英语句子的层次。
Exercises
? 下面是几道练习题，大家可以试一下用 there to be 和 there
being填空。
? 1,I'd like ________ a swimming pool in the garden,
? 2,There's little hope of ________ a settlement of the dispute,
? 3,For ________ so many mistakes in my homework is
impossible,
? 4,Sam was counting on ________ another chance,
? 5,It's necessary for ________ more houses built next year,
? 6,________ no more choice,the old man cried bitterly,
? 7,________ an index to this dictionary is a great advantage,
? 8,The chairman was surprised at ________ such heated
discussion about the problem,
? 9,Jim intended ________ a family reunion during the
Christmas,
? 10,I hate ________ stops every stop when I travel by train,
Homework
? Exercise 28A on Pages 491-492
? Exercise 28B on Page 493
? Exercise 28A on Pages 491-492
? Exercise 28C on Pages 494-495
? 预习 第 29讲 （ 496-515页）
