There live?

Question

"There live a lot of sportsmen due to the fact that..."In friend's essay there were a lot of corrections of his mistakes, but what I find quite strange is the sentence above that hasn't been somehow corrected by his English teacher, either unintentionally or she overlooked it.Is this sentence incorrect, isn't it?Thanks in advance.

Agarista · Accepted Answer

Hi,
Why do you think it is incorrect? How would you change it? I am curious because I don't find anything wrong with it.

CalifJim · Answer

Marold~~Is this~~ This sentence is incorrect, isn't it?

Yes, it is incorrect. Note also that it is not a sentence. It's just the beginning of a sentence. Without the rest it's hard to guess what the writer meant, but I'll try to guess anyway.

There are a lot of sportsmen alive today because ...

CJ

Marold · Answer

CalifJimI'll try to guess anyway

I didn't actually write down the rest of the sentence because I was mainly interested in the beginning that seemed gramatically unacceptable.

CalifJimYes, it is incorrect.

There are/is is a set phrase, isn't it? As a result, it cannot be used with other verbs than to be in accordance with the correct person. Otherwise, it would be an inversion of a subject and a verb, which is used solely in a literary style and is also not acceptable with the structure mentioned above?

Ozzourti · Answer

It's possible to use the structure "there live" but you would need to include additional information, for example a specific location:

In my hometown, there live a lot of sportsmen who...

It works in a way similar to "there is/are":

There are a lot of people in this room.

CalifJim · Answer

MaroldThere are/is is a set phrase, isn't it?

Yes. It's always used with be.

Nevertheless, 'there' can occur in similar constructions with indefinite noun phrases.

There appeared a ship on the horizon.

Often with "locative inversion"

On the horizon there appeared a ship.

And also with 'there' deleted

On the horizon appeared a ship.
_______________

These constructions are very limited. Only certain types of verbs can be used and with varying degrees of stylistic success.

live works with locative inversion.

In that cave there lived an old monk.
_______________

You are correct that these are all characteristic of literary works, not ordinary conversation or writing.

CJ

Marold · Answer

I got what I wanted, even in more detail than I demanded!

So I assume the sentence itself is highly likely to be incorrect, despite the small amount of provided information.

Thanks again, you've been most helpful!

There live?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions