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Old 25-Mar-2008, 17:08
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zoja is an unknown quantity at this point
Default there is/there are

hi,i have one question
what is the difference between
Eg.: A boy is in the garden. and There is a boy in the garden.
Is it the same? or the second one has more existencial or locative meaning...that it wants to emphasize it....
I think about all the sentences where there is /are is used...
thanks, bye
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Old 26-Mar-2008, 07:25
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Default Re: there is/there are

I think you have to consider the uses to see the difference here and should also take into account intonation. For example, which would you choose to say if on looking out of the window you saw an unknown boy in your garden? Which if when your mother looked out of the same window, she failed to see the boy and said you were mistaken? Which is more likely to be used in setting the scene in the script of a play?

The difference in meaning is small or non-existant in the bare sentences. Essentially you are right when you talk about 'more existential'.
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