Representing being and having

Students' problems

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Ungrammatical use of there be

Many student sentences containing there be are in fact ungrammatical. In many cases, such sentences can be improved by simply deleting there and the relevant form of be:

I take the MTR every morning on my journey to work. Most days there is a lot of passengers wait on the platform and surround the platform assistant. (TeleNex Students)

It is estimated that there are 74 per cent of the adult population of Great Britain think there should be a complete ban on trapping animals for their fur. (TeleNex Students)

Hong Kong is currently experiencing its highest unemployment rate for many years. According to the relevant statistics, there were almost two hundred thousand people lost their jobs in last few months.
(TeleNex Students)

In addition, there are 40 animals will be killed to make just one fur coat.
(TeleNex Students)

Sometimes, more extensive changes are needed to ensure that the verb is in the appropriate tense:

Do you remember the fire accident in Pat Sin Leng? There were a lot of students receiving serious burns. (TeleNex Students)

Do you remember the fire accident in Pat Sin Leng? A lot of students received serious burns.

We reached Ocean Theatre by cable car and sat down to watch the show. There were many dolphins are playing funny games and performing tricks for the audience. (TeleNex Students)

We reached the Ocean Theatre just after the show had begun. Many dolphins were playing funny games and performing tricks for the audience.

For information about the correct use of there be, see Representing being and having: Using there be to represent existence and location.

Introduction
Ungrammatical use of there be
Overuse of there are…who
Underuse of have to describe things
 Problems with have
 Problems with lack
 Problems with linking verbs