There they are vs. There are they

Question

Hello,Could you please help me with my questions?  Thanks.A.  Are they coming?  Oh, there they are.B.  Are they coming?  Oh, there are they.C.  I've included the link in this email.  Here is the link to the website.D.  I've included the link in this email.  Here the link is to the website.E.  I've got a pencil.  Here it is.F.  I've got a pencil.  Here is it.1.  Which of the above sentences are correct?2.  If both are correct in a pair, is there any difference?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Hi Anon;
Please indicate your choices for the right sentences. We will comment on your answers. That way, you will learn to do others.

Regards,
A-

s

Anonymous · Answer

Hi AlpheccaStars,

Based on what I commonly hear or read, my answers are: A, C, and E. However, I wonder if the other choice in each pair is possible as well because I think they are grammatically correct.

Please confirm if they are indeed the common expressions.
If both are correct in a pair, what is the difference?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousHi AlpheccaStars,Based on what I commonly hear or read, my answers are: A, C, and E. However, I wonder if the other choice in each pair is possible as well because I think they are grammatically correct.Please confirm if they are indeed the common expressions.If both are correct in a pair, what is the difference?Thanks in advance for your assistance.

You are exactly correct. It is not grammatically correct to invert the subject and verb except in questions. Sometimes authors will take poetic license and use an inverted word order for literary effect. That is not the case in your example sentences.

CalifJim · Answer

A. Are they coming? Oh, there they are. [Y]

B. Are they coming? Oh, there are they.

C. I've included the link in this email. Here is the link to the website. [Y]

D. I've included the link in this email. Here the link is to the website.

E. I've got a pencil. Here it is. [Y]

F. I've got a pencil. Here is it.

When demonstrative Here orThere begins a clause, a subject noun occurs after the verb, even in an assertion. A subject pronoun occurs before the verb. (The verb is usually be.)

With nouns:
Here/There is the pen.
Here/There are the guests.
[Here comes / There goes] Professor Lincoln.

With pronouns:
Here/There it is.
Here/There they are.
[Here she comes. / There she goes.]

In a question, the subject always occurs after the verb, whether noun or pronoun. Of course, here or there is no longer clause-initial in these.

Is [the pen / it] here/there?
Are [the guests / they] here/there?
{ No idiomatic question form for sentences like Here she comes, There she goes.}

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, AlpheccaStars, for confirming my answers and for your explanation.
Thank you, too, CJ, for your detailed explanation. I believe you covered everything I needed to know. Just one question below...

CalifJimWhen demonstrative Here orThere begins a clause, a subject noun occurs after the verb, even in an assertion. A subject pronoun occurs before the verb. (The verb is usually be.)

What is an assertion? Could you please give an example sentence related to this Here/There topic? Thank you.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Hi;
An assertion is a positive statement. For example, in these sentences the subject follows the verb be.

There's that old cat on the kitchen table again! (The subject is cat.)

Here are the keys. (The subject is keys)

Compare with:

The keys aren't here in their usual place.
The old cat isn't there anymore. I chased him away.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, AlpheccaStars, for your explanation.

AlpheccaStarsAn assertion is a positive statement.

I also looked up 'assertion' in the dictionary. It says a statement that one stongly believes is true. I think it's definition is similar to an opinion and I believe one can have a negative opinion about things. Can one also have a negative assertion?

eg. There isn't any hope for you to change.

Is the sentence above an assertion, although a negative one?

I'm sorry, but I might have choose a different definition from the dictionary than the 'assertion' we are talking about here. Please enlighten me. Thanks.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousI might have ~~choose~~ chosen a different definition from the dictionary than the 'assertion' we are talking about here.

You have. In grammar, assertions refer to non-negative, non-interrogative sentences. "assertive" is the adjective form, and sometimes the word "affirmative" is used as a synonym.

Assertive / Assertion: You went to Chicago.
Negative / Negation: You did not go to Chicago.
Interrogative / Interrogation: Did you go to Chicago?
Interrogative and Negative: Didn't you go to Chicago?

Here "you went to Chicago" is considered non-assertive by some grammarians because it's not in a main clause.

If you went to Chicago, ... / ... when you went to Chicago. / ... before you went to Chicago. / ...

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you for making that clear about what assertion is.

CalifJimHere "you went to Chicago" is considered non-assertive by some grammarians because it's not in a main clause.

If you went to Chicago, ... / ... when you went to Chicago. / ... before you went to Chicago. / ...

So to be 100% sure that a sentence is an assertion, the verb in the main clause has to be positive.

I hope I've got this right. Again, thanks.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi again,

I've thought up another related example below.

John: Would you like a burger or a fajita?
Ana: I'd like a burger.
A. John: OK, burger it is.
B. John: OK, burger is it.

1. Could you please advise which is correct between A and B above?
2. By the way, is my grammar with all the sentences in the exchange above correct (except, of course, the incorrect choice between A and B)?

Again, I would really appreciate your help here.

There they are vs. There are they

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