The Trouble with "There"

Marvin asks:
Should this sentence in the Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat newspaper of 10/19/07 have a plural verb in the phrase "there was no lives lost"?

"Even those who suffered the most structural loss marveled that there was no lives lost or serious injuries."

Absolutely not! But this is a common error. We expect the subject to come before the verb, so if the sentence starts with "there," we (too often) treat it as the subject. It's not.

The real subjects in the clause are "lives" or "injuries." You can determine this by removing "there": "...marveled that no lives were lost or serious injuries suffered."

Here's why:

"There" is usually an adverb (She went there yesterday). But it can also be used as an expletive, a word used as an exclamation or to fill out a sentence. And that's where the trouble arises.

We're used to starting sentences with "there":
There are three problems that face the company today.
There were two keys lying on the table.
There is something I've been meaning to tell you.

Normally, English sentences show the subject before the verb, but when we use "there," we invert the sentence order—the verb comes first. However, we may think of "there" as the subject, and "there" sounds singular, so we use a singular verb:
There was no lives lost.
There is lots of work to do.

Long ago, an editor taught me something else about "there": it's a terrible word to start a sentence. The start of a sentence is a "hot spot" where readers pay extra attention, but "there" means nothing. So you're wasting the reader's time.

Worse yet, "there" sentences are longer than they need to be. Consider the following:
The company faces three problems today.
Two keys were lying on the table.
I've been meaning to tell you something.

These sentences are shorter—and clearer—than the original versions. We have no doubt about the verb in each sentence, because the subject is either singular or plural.

So rather than risk making a grammatical error, and wasting your readers' time, avoid using "there" whenever possible. You can still use it in expressions like these:
There she is!
There! My essay is finished at last.
There, there—don't feel bad!

But think about it before you do.

Comments

[michael murphy]

There are so many little dyings that it doesn't matter which of them is death.

[michael murphy]

There is really only one tragedy in life, not to have been a saint.

[michael murphy]

There are two marks of salvation: candor and endless docility to the facts.

[vareok]

Hello,Mr.Kilian.

I'm vareok. Long time no see. How are you? I 've sent you an e-mail for help.Have you got it ?