OPTIONAL

CONTRASTIVE GRAMMAR 4

GRAMMAR: IT vs. THERE (the existential !se" One of the perpetual puzzles that students of English have is the use of dummy subjects, i.e. there and it. They are called empty or dummy subjects, because they have no semantic content and are placed in the sentence only to fill the subject position, a sine qua non requirement of this language. hy are there and it so difficult to use! hen do "e use one and "hen do "e use the other! These are the questions "e "ill be happy to ans"er in this section. #o", consider the e$amples e$tracted from the te$t above% &'( #ot that there is any suggestion it is rape. &)( There is, of course, the one really disgusting scene... &*( +o" enjoyable it is, &-( .t is, of course, /hett 0utlers 1neecaps that seem ripest for the treatment &2( .t is high time for 3carletts come4uppance. The more one loo1s at these e$amples, the more puzzled one seems to become. This is because there seems to be no rhyme or reason in the use of there and it. .ndeed, there seems to be no apparent pattern of usage in this set of e$amples. 5et us try and establish a fe" rules and then go bac1 to our sentences. It is muddy on the street. / There is mud on the street. The first rule students should remember in connection "ith dummy subjects is that normally existential it is combined "ith an adjective "hereas there is followed by an (indefinite) noun. 6onsider the e$amples belo" and remember this rule%

.t is muddy on the street. .t is foggy today. .t is glorious outside. .t is nice and quiet all around. .t is naughty of you to behave li1e that.

There is mud on the street. There is fog outside. There is glory to be gained from her actions. There "as peace and quiet all around. There "as naughtiness in his tone.

3o, remember never to use a noun after it "ith an e$istential meaning% There is a #at on the mat. There is a $%%& on the table. 0ut not% 7.t is a #at on the mat. 7 .t is a $%%& on the table.

! the star indicates that the sentence followin" it is "rammatically incorrect

This rule practically tells us something very important about the e$amples "e have listed at the beginning of this section. .t tells us that all those sentences "here it is follo"ed by a noun are not in fact existential it sentences. 8or instance, e$ample &-( contains the so4called em#hatic it. hat is the difference bet"een existential it and em#hatic it! Translation is a good test% only the existential it sentence can be translated by a sentence beginning "ith the verb a fi% &9( .t is muddy on the street : este noroi pe strad; &<( .t is /hett "ho needs to be 1issed : Rhett este cel care are nevoie s; fie s;rutat.

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The translation for &<( sho"s you that this sentence lays emphasis on a certain element, in this case /hett. On the other hand, the e$ample under &9( introduces a ne" object= property in the "orld of our discourse, and thus has an e$istential meaning. It is hi"h time$ / There is enou"h time$ +o" do "e account for these t"o constructions! e have just stated that existential it should never be follo"ed by a noun. ell, then, ho" about the sentence under &2(! This is an instance of idiomatic use. There is practically no accounting for it. 3tudents are advised to learn these e$amples by heart% Idioms with it It s n% se#'et that mother li1es pearls. It s n% s!'('ise)*%n+e' that he 1no"s English so "ell. It s n% !se),%%+ telling me no". It *as n% #%in#i+en#e)a##i+ent that they met in the station. It *as a$%!t ti-e for her to admit her mista1e. It is th'ee -iles)&il%-ete's to the ne$t village. It is (.ive" /ea's)an ete'nit/ since they first met in the station. Idioms with there .m sorry, but the'e s n% alte'native)#h%i#e but to tell her the truth. The'e s n% +en/in, that he is handsome. The'e s n% nee+ to tell me your secret. The'e s n% 0!esti%n of going to the concert tonight. The'e s n% #han#e of finding a cure for cancer in the near future. The'e s n% +%!$t that she enjoys dancing. The'e s n% tellin, "hat shell do "hen she finds out,

>s you can notice, the theres no$ pattern is very productive. There is a cat on the mat. / %h& theres the cat next door& we can use it in our movie. There is one last remar1 to be made. This concerns the so called indefiniteness effect rule. hat is this rule about! .t states that dummy there should be followed by an indefinite noun only. 6onsider the follo"ing table for this rule% There is a #at on the mat. There is a ,i'l in the room. 0ut not% 7 There is the #at on the mat. 7 There is the ,i'l in the room.

+o"ever, there are cases "hen this rule is not observed, as you could see in e$ample &)(. This e$ample is possible "hen "e "ant to introduce a ne" object in our discourse about "hich there e$ists some previous 1no"ledge. ?enerally the definite noun must be followed by further modification for the sentence to be correct. 6onsider also the e$amples under &@( and &'A( and notice the underlined modifiers attached to the definite noun% &@( >lternatively, there is the choice to vote against the planned changes. &'A( B>nd then there is the question of "ho is going to pay. #ota bene, Cont forget that dummy there is not combined only "ith the indicative. .t can appear in the vicinity of participles or infinitives in formal English% &''( There being nothing left to say, 3usan left the room enraged. &')( .t is desirable for there to be at least t"o sets of e$amples in your dissertation. E1ERCISES: 2. 3se the -%st l%,i#al .%'- %. the ve'$s $et*een $'a#&ets: a( .t &be( just this that gave me my perspective for finding her there. b( There &be( t"o men and one dog in that room. c( There &be( one dog and t"o men in that room.

d( hat you need and "hat you get &be( your problem. e( hat you need and "hat you get &be( t"o different things. f( +e li1ed her. There &be( some tal1 of her marrying illiam 0an1s once, but nothing had come of it. 4. T'anslate int% En,lish: a( DEn; la casa unde locuia 8lorin erau cel mult dou; sute de metri. 6ei doi mergeau Fncet, t;cuGi. Drea Fncet Hi prea t;cuGi pentru o distanG; atEt de mic;. .on se temea s; nu vorbeasc;, fiindc;, mergEnd al;turi, ar fi trebuit s; se Fntoarc; mai mult decEt ar fi fost normal, ca s;4i vad; Hi s;4Hi arate faGa. 6a Hi cum i4ar fi ghicit gEndurile, 8lorin se opri Hi se Fntoarse spre el, care imit; brusc miHcarea, aHa FncEt se puteau privi. Ea rosti% ImulGumesc, cred c; am ajuns.J K;zEnd c; tEn;rul nu spunea nimic Hi o privea numai, ad;ug;% Ise spune c; veGi mai sta pe la noi un timp.J b( Era uHor s; fie centrul atenGiei. Ori de cEte ori era solicitat, se ducea pe scen; Hi recita o poezie. Oamenii Fl rugau mereu s; se produc;. c( #u Fmi e greu s; fac niHte calcule. E greu Fns; s; trag concluziile Hi s; FGi ofer soluGii. d( 34ar putea ca mEine s; plou;. TotuHi nu se aude nici o veste despre acest lucru la radio. Doate c; s4 au plictisit s; anunGe ploaie Hi apoi s; nu plou;. e( Ce4abia intrar; Fn sal;, c; unul din spectatori se apuc; s; strige la ei Hi s;4i faca Fn toate felurile. f( #4are nici o importanG; cEnd a spus profesorul lui Tom c; poate p;r;si clasa. .mportant e c; a f;cut4o. g( >junHi acas;, se apucar; s; fac; de mEncare. h( 6e m; deranjeaz; cel mai mult sunt ideile lui fi$e. i( 6End o s; Fnceap; s; bat; vEntul, ar fi bine s; ne Fntoarcem din parc acas; Hi s; d;m drumul la c;ldur;. j( Ciplomatul Htia bine englezeHte Hi nu acest lucru Fl sup;ra pe Tom. .ritant era ce spunea Hi modul Fn care FnghiGea cuvintele. 1( I6ine spuneai c; a venit Hi a mEncat tot tortul!J ITom, bineFnGeles c; Tom.J l( 3unt vreo doi 1ilometri pEna la aeroport. Dutem merge pe jos pEn; acolo dac; nu c;l;toreHti cu multe bagaje. m( /ecunosc c; e foarte nepl;cut s; intre la Fnchisoare acum Fn floarea vErstei. Car Hi mie mi4e greu s; nu spun adev;rul despre el. n( Cintre toate posibilele variante care ni s4au e$plicat pEn; acum, nici una nu pare a fi la fel de palpitant; ca penultima. o( #imeni dintre cei de faG;, fie c; erau profesori sau doar p;rinGi, nu p;rea s; Fl asculte pe vorbitor. p( 3ocotesc c; e o prostie s; depind de un asemenea om. q( E timpul s; mergi la culcare, dar mai e timp s;4Gi citesc o poveste. r) TerminEnd de mEncat Hi l;sEndu4i s; vorbeasc; alandala, am ieHit. Era un aer rece Hi Fnmiresmat. Ln soare uriaH, apunEnd, FnroHea cerul. 3us, pe un deal, se vedea albind mEn;stirea Craga. 6urEnd se f;cu Fntuneric ochilor noHtri. Eram fericit f;r; s; se Htie de ce. &5. 0laga M 'ro()( s) Ln viciu urEt, sau ce4Hi Fnchipuie lumea c; e un viciu urEt, oricEt l4ai ascunde, 4 Hi dac; judeci bine, tocmai pentru c;4l ascunzi, 4 conHtiinGa ta veHnic neliniHtit; ajunge cu vremea s;4l cread; public. Doate c; nu era nimic. Dutea fi e$agerarea de moment a unui lucru, care totuHi, Fn principiu, n4ar fi fost e$clus s; nu se FntEmple. 6u 0rummer discuta direct. 6u ?eorgeoiu, deHi Fi purta simpatie, veriga de Fncredere ce4i lega fiind uriaH;, nu reuHea niciodat; s; vorbeasc; deschis, din cauza ironiilor Hi zeflemelilor lui, cu toate c; Htia c; ele sunt aparente Hi c; dedesubtul lor se ascundea altceva, oricum nu i s4ar fi dest;inuit niciodat;. &6onstantin Noiu M *aleria cu vi+) s)lbatic)( t) #u sunt un spirit HtiinGific. .at; de ce nu4mi pot e$plica Fn ciuda l;muririlor dumneavoastr; competente, cum se face c; Fn locul acesta e Fntotdeauna timp frumos, Doate c;, Hi asta v4a uHurat probabil sarcina, locurile pe4aici sunt mai ferite! #u v;d Fns; nici un fel de dealuri Fn jur care s; le fereasc; de intemperii, Ce altfel, dealurile nu gonesc norii, nu Fmpiedic; ploaia, o Htie oricine. E$ist; poate curenGi calzi Hi luminoHi care vin dintr4un al cincilea punct cardinal sau de la o a treia Fn;lGime! #u4i aHa c; nu! Ce altfel, asta s4ar Hti. 3unt un caraghios. #u e nici o briz;, cu toate c; aerul miroase frumos. E totuHi ciudat, domnule arhitect al orasului, foarte ciudat, &Tudor Octavian M Istoria unui obiect ciudat( u) 5a >le$andru Dopescu ma gEndesc adesea. KiaGa m4a apropiat de el Fn chip neaHteptat. 34a FntEmplat, cum se spune, ceea ce era dat s; se FntEmple. &Tudor Octavian M Istoria unui obiect ciudat( *. 5ill in the ,a(s *ith a s!ita$le va'iant %. it is/are %' there is/are:

a( b( c( d( e( f( g( h( i( j( 1( l( m( n( o( p( q( r( s( t( u( v(

OOOO a man at the door, "aiting to see you. OOOO a good idea to sleep after a heavy meal. OOOO every reason to believe that he is a thief. OOOO a fact that most men are larger and heavier than most "omen. OOOO a concert at the 8estival +all tomorro" evening. OOOO no sense in "aiting for herP shes al"ays late. OOOO often believed that the English are reserved. OOOO . "ho cannot bear these hateful "ords. OOOO time you left this place. OOOO enough time for you to "ash your hair. OOOO fog outsideP dont go out. OOOO "indy outsideP please, stay indoors. OOOO time you confessed your crime, you 1no", OOOO a lot of smo1e in this place, . cant stay here. OOOO a long "ay to 5ondon, OOOO sunny outside and the birds are chirping. OOOO t"o boo1s and one chair in the room upstairs. OOOO so much mud outside that "e "ont be able to "al1 to church. OOOO a "hile since "e last met. OOOO a cat that ate our canary, despite "hat you might thin1. OOOO so stuffy in here, +o" can you bear it! OOOO no room for you in my plans, .m sorry,

4. 5ill in the $lan&s *ith eithe' it %' there: Toni thought OOOOO "as probably better to be a little vague about the intervie" until OOOOOO "as over. OOOOO "as no guarantee that she "ould get that job, any"ay. Qiss 0lac1 had been careful to point out that OOOOO "ould be other applicantsP and then OOOOOO"as this Qanaging Cirector, Qr. 5a"rence, "ho sounded rather a brute. #ot an easy man to satisfy, Qiss 0lac1 had said, and Toni 1ne" from e$perience "hat that meant. OOOOOO meant that he "as a perfectionist and OOOOOOO "as hardly any doubt that he "as a slavedriver as "ell. 0ut she didnt suppose OOOOOOO "as him she "ould be "or1ing for. OOOOOOO "as doubtless that he had his o"n personal secretary, "ith years of faithful service behind her. OOOOOOO being no choice in the matter, she "ould try to ma1e the best of it.