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New2grammar Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

there

How many lawsuits have [there] been filed?

Is there optional?
Thanks.
  

Top answer

Yes. It's use here would be rare. It would be necessary only when there's no transitive verb.

— Avangi

  • Yes.
  • It's use here would be rare.
  • It would be necessary only when there's no transitive verb.
  • " - A.
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6 Answers
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Yes. It's use here would be rare. It would be necessary only when there's no transitive verb. "How many other men have there been?"

- A.
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No, it is an error in my opinion. I have never seen a passive voice construction formed like this.
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AvangiIt would be necessary only when there's no transitive verb.
The construction posted by the OP is passive voice, i.e. the verb is always transitive. Your construction is completely different. It's plain old active voice with the verb "to be" as the lexical verb, i.e.
  • "How many other men are there?"
  • "How many other men were there?"
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Huevos appears to be correct. I'm getting single digits on Google for various similar questions using "there."

I was thinking of an interrogative form of "There are thousands of lawsuits filed every day," or something like that. - Poor excuse! His analysis makes perfect sense.

- A.
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Thank you, Huevos and Avangi.
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