Representing being and having

Students' problems

page 3 of 7

Overuse of there are … who

In general terms, sentences with there are … who are used when the author wants to introduce into a text some information that deserves special attention. They should therefore be used sparingly.

Sentences of the type there are … who are often used inappropriately by students when they are adding something that is fairly predictable in light of the preceding text. Simple deletion can greatly improve such sentences:

However, the standard of written Chinese of Hong Kong school children is poor. There are increasing numbers of students who have failed Chinese language over the past 10 years. (TeleNex Students)

Last month, a girl passed away as she could not receive suitable heart and lungs for transplant. There are altogether 2000 patients who are waiting for suitable organs. (TeleNex Students)

Last Sunday, I went to a clinic with my lovely pet rabbit, Dodo, who had become sick that morning. When we arrived at the clinic, there were two people who were waiting for the vet, Dr Chris Wong, with their sick pets. (TeleNex Students)

For further information about these types of sentences, see Representing being and having: Using there be to represent existence and location (p 4).

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